I hold a Bachelor of Art Education (BFA equivalent) from Queen’s University. My training included drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, and art history. I also taught myself the fundamentals of animation.
During university, I produced several short animated films, including one for the National Film Board. Following graduation, I operated a small graphics and audio-visual production studio with a team of five artists. I then moved into the animation industry, where I managed what became one of the largest animation studios in North America at the time. Later, I established a consulting practice, primarily in IT, while continuing to work with cultural institutions.
I have returned to painting with the intention of exhibiting professionally. In 2026 to date, I have completed one large and five medium paintings and begun a series of smaller works. Based on current productivity, I project an output of two to four paintings per month.
I invite viewers to contemplate the living organisms, objects, and phenomena of the natural world: rare thorn-like frost on burdock, ripples and reflections on water, bare branches and fallen leaves, cracked rocks and eroded cliffs—elements shaped by both history and present moment. I seek to capture their ephemeral nature through contrasts of tracery and broad undiluted strokes, light and dark, and a pulsating figure–ground relationship where underpainting bleeds through in an unexpected colour. At the same time, I want viewers to wonder: what lies beyond the promontory, down the path, around the corner, or behind the curtain of grass?
Email: dgrimes@sympatico.ca
