My interest in mountains dates back to my childhood, when my brother and I would scramble around our backyard of British Columbia’s coastal range on Vancouver’s North Shore. My reverence for these snow-capped peaks extends itself into a devotional pursuit whereby I not only paint these mountains but climb most of them as well. Recent ski mountaineering expeditions into the Grand Tetons for example give an intimate sense for the mountain range and its characteristics, forging a relationship between the images I create and my experience.

In removing the individual mountain from the surrounding range I decontextualize the subject, making it symbolic rather than representational. I treat the mountains like celebrities, fashioning larger than life, unattainable, beautiful and mysterious portrayals. I also record their rugged features in detail, as they individually assume their own unique personalities. My use of bright monochromatic colors and dot overlay draws aesthetic and conceptual comparisons to Pop Art, implicating these colossal stone figures in the pop culture lexicon. In this light the work becomes an exercise in re-framing how we perceive the mountains; examining the function of representation and how preserving something in imagery can make it iconic.

My studying and mapping of these various mountains is also a form of personal inquiry. The dots may represent coordinate plotting, metaphorically pointing to the impermanence of their man-made structures that attempt to prescribe location at the intersection of human and geological time. I also paint evidence of erosion, hoping to remind us of the temporal nature of the mountains which, seemingly anchored in time, force us to acknowledge our transient existence on this earth.

David Pirrie’s CV

 

David Pirrie Mt Edith Cavell, Canadian Rockies

Mt Edith Cavell, Canadian Rockies  2023
Oil on canvas  40″ x 40″
$6,000.00

 

David Pirrie Jumbo Pass, Selkirks BC

Jumbo Pass, Selkirks BC  2023
Oil on canvas  40″ x 40″
$6,000.00

 

David Pirrie Howse Pk, Summer

Howse Peak, Summer  2023
Oil on canvas  40″ x 40″
$6,000.00

 

David Pirrie Howse Pk, Winter

Howse Peak, Winter  2023
Oil on canvas  40″ x 40″
$6,000.00

 

David Pirrie Snowpatch Spire, Bugaboos BC

Snowpatch Spire, Bugaboos BC  2023
Oil on canvas  54″ x 54″
$8,900.00

 

David Pirrie Mt Columbia, Canadian Rockies

Mt Columbia, Canadian Rockies  2022
Oil on canvas  54″ x 54″
$8,900.00

 

David Pirrie Mt Sir Donald, Rogers Pass BC

Mt Sir Donald, Rogers Pass BC  2022
Oil on canvas  56″ x 56″
$9,400.00

 

David Pirrie Mt Assinaboine, BC Rockies

Mt Assiniboine, BC Rockies  2022
Oil on canvas  56″ x 72″
$11,400.00

 

David Pirrie Mt Bryce

Mt Bryce, Canadian Rockies  2022
Oil on panel  30″ x 30″
$4,100.00

 

 

 

David Pirrie Castle Mountain

Castle Mountain, Canadian Rockies  2022
Oil on panel  24″ x 30″
$3,500.00

 

David Pirrie Overlord Glacier

Overlord Glacier, Whistler  2022
Oil on panel  24″ x 30″
$3,500.00

 

David Pirrie The Black Tusk

The Black Tusk  2021
Oil on panel  24″ x 36″
SOLD

 

David Pirrie The Lions, East Butress

The Lions, East Buttress  2023
Oil on canvass  24″ x 24″
SOLD

This artist’s work is represented in Ian Tan Contemporary Art Exhibits