Bert Weir

Bert Weir started his adventure as an artist in 1948. The first 21 years he taught art, worked as a graphic designer and raised 3 daughters with his sculptor wife, Elena Zebrauskaite Weir (1919 - 1995). He considered this time as an apprenticeship. The 27 years, painting from Loon Studios in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, was devoted to understanding nature and its place in his life. In 2002 he married Joy Allan and they are now living in the straw bale house they built in McKellar, Ontario which now houses Loon Studios. 

Artist's Statement

A long time ago
I began working very close
with nature
attempting to understand various feelings
sent to me
by
the warm earth smells
the sound of leaves
the movement of clouds
the growth of all organic things
the wind activated movement
the motion and sound of waters
the light change
and most of all
the spiritual relations between
all of these things
and me

I began painting
spiritual impressions
and worked through
stages
where I would
hear trees communicating
feel wind spirits
blend with the water movement
and enjoy the ever-changing
pigmentation in the plants

After forty-five years
of painting in this direction
a change

Influenced by native
thought
exploring my
Celtic background
I became aware of
a common rhythm
flowing through
nature, the ancients, and earthmother

The change
has created the need
for expanded expression
I have been exploring
words
to underline
my visual experiences

2005
I am eighty years old and have been an artist all my life. My work has supported me for fifty six years. Now when I enter the studio, I become a cloud and float into my work with a sense of openness and wonder. What appears surprises and causes me to sing with joy. Pictures of little animals for children, poems and illustrations turning into handmade books, the making of drums, small oils that leak inner secrets to the world.
All this happening for no other reason than the joy of doing.
I am a fortunate human being.

 Bert Weir