Exhibition features art of prolific Central Butte painter William Philpott
The oil paintings of Central Butte artists William (Bill) Philpott convey a strong sense of place about life in rural Saskatchewan.
The colourful canvasses provide a glimpse into farming and ranching activities on the landscape of the southern prairies seen through the keen eye of someone with a lifelong appreciation for this lifestyle.
The Art Gallery of Swift Current’s current exhibition Born of the West features a collection of Philpott’s work painted over a period of 40 years. He spoke about his art during a well-attended public reception at the gallery, June 10.
He has been an observer of this lifestyle since his childhood on a farm near Central Butte. His father was involved in the purebred cattle business for many years and won breed awards across North America.
“I learned a lot about the cattle industry and the farming industry from just experiencing it as an outsider looking in,” he said. “I wasn’t a farmer myself, so I don’t really understand the farming deeply, but I understand from the point of view of being the son of a farmer, and that really is the focus of my paintings. It’s memories from my time and also helping on the farm over the years and the experience I got just observing the farming practices in the area. I also listened to the conversations of the farmers and how they express their lifestyle, their frustrations and the hardships they go through, and I try to put those stories into my paintings.”
His strong connection to the land was nurtured from a young age through the relationship with his father and it eventually became the focus of his art.
“He would take me out in the pastures at 6 a.m. to check cows,” Philpott recalled. “We would see the hillsides and we would talk about the First Nations people that were on the land and we talked about the farming practices and the ranching practices and it really brought the whole thing to life for me.”
He started drawing at an early age and his interest in art continued to develop during his childhood years with the encouragement of family members.
“One of my cousins taught me to hold a pencil and draw a picture when I was three years old, and I never looked back,” he said. “So I drew all my life. The way I played was to draw pictures and pretend.”
He received an easel from an aunt when he was 10 years old and Christmas gifts from aunts and uncles were oil paints, pastels, and drawing pads. He already began using oil paints around the age of 10 or 12, and it was also during this time that he took his first painting class offered by the Swift Current Community College.
“It came to Central Butte and I took this painting class, which was where I really learned to use oil paints,” he said. “I always found myself more attracted to oil paints than acrylic. I tried water colour and I was pretty good at water colour, but it never really got stuck with me. Oil paint seemed to hit the mark and so I’ve been doing oil paint all my life now.”
His father was an art collector and he even hosted Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC) exhibitions in the basement of the family home in Central Butte. He encouraged Philpott’s interest in art through visits to various art galleries and artists.
He studied art at Medicine Hat College and at the University of Regina, and then returned to Central Butte. He won his first art competition at the age of 20, when he entered an OSAC regional competition. The series of painting also won the provincial competition and toured for three years with a travelling OSAC exhibition.
His works can be found in collections of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Art Gallery of Swift Current and in private collections across Canada.
According to Philpott his painting style has not changed over time, but it became more matured. For example, there are finer, more cautious brush strokes in his earlier paintings.
“I’ve become more confident,” he said. “At the start I was scared to take on too much risk when I drew or painted. If it seemed like it was too big a challenge, I would back away from it, but over the years I got so that I just took it all on. I’m not scared anymore. I’ll take on any challenge at all, and I don’t paint them perfect, but I paint them in my style and I do a good job in my style of painting.”
He usually works on up to six different paintings at a time, because the oil paints need to dry on a canvas and he will then work on another art piece.
“So there are times when I can’t work on the painting,” he explained. “Quite often I can work for a short while on a painting and then because of the logistics of the whole thing I have to let it go. I might paint on one painting for an hour and then go to a different painting and paint for another hour, and then go to another painting. So I might paint four to six paintings at one time, and I also have 20 to 30 canvasses that are partially finished at any time, and that gives me ample material to work with.”
His process also includes reviewing artworks that were created a year or two ago to rework details in these paintings.
“I see things that could be improved,” he said. “I often ask for insight from people, whether they are professionals or whether they’re just my family. I think if I can’t please my family or lay people looking at the art, then I haven’t done the job right.”
Art Gallery of Swift Current Director Heather Benning delivered opening remarks during the public reception. She recalled meeting Philpott for the first time about six years ago when she was travelling in rural Saskatchewan as an artist mentor for CARFAC Saskatchewan.
“Upon entering his home, I was struck by the amount of paintings that hung throughout his living room floor to ceiling and the canvasses that were standing on the floor were six to 10 canvasses deep,” she said. “So there was so much to look at and so much to appreciate. I think that any of us who have had the privilege of visiting Bill’s home leave a little bit awestruck. The rest of my drive that day I remember just looking into the landscape and continually seeing Bill Philpott paintings everywhere I looked.”
She felt his paintings are very unique. They tell a story that will be familiar to anyone who grew up in a rural environment or who has a farming or ranching background, but he has an interesting way of presenting the stories in his paintings to viewers.
“His perspective is often shifted, as though we’re looking down from above but not quite reality,” she said. “This vantage point to me mimics memory or daydreams of thinking of way back. There are these great moments of juxtaposition as well in many of his works. Bill does not simply romanticize farm life with bountiful pastures and glowing fields and fat cattle and living skies. Yes, he includes all of this in his paintings, but he also presents the reality of the now.”
His paintings will also include details such as abandoned farm machinery, discarded beer packaging on the side of a grid road, cowboys with cell phones, and farmers checking their e-mails on laptops.
A catalogue with an essay written by artist Dean Bauche was produced for Philpott’s exhibition. It is available for sale at the art gallery.
Bauche said during his remarks at the public reception that he appreciates Philpott’s dedication to use his art to tell the story of people and their way of life. He mentioned that he actually met Philpott’s father many years ago, but until recently he did not realize the family connection.
“It was clear to me even at the time that Edgar, your dad, was a man who was inspired by the land that he lived on,” he said. “He was a man who believed in the cultural possibilities that art brings and so he began to collect western art and he began to, if you will, create a vocabulary for the way he appreciated the land at a different level of culture. He would be so proud to be here and he probably is in spirit.”
The exhibition Born of the West by William Philpott will be showing at the Art Gallery of Swift Current until Aug. 20. Admission is free and the gallery is open Monday, Friday and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., and Tuesday to Thursday from noon to 6 p.m.