Greg Garand

Greg Garand was born in Welland, Ontario.  He studied illustration at the Ontario College of Art & Design and thereafter worked as an illustrator and graphic designer while living in Toronto.  In 1991, he moved to Prince Edward Island where he soon after settled in Indian River.

Greg was commissioned to paint five historical murals for the city of Summerside in 1997-2002.  This experience led him to the sets of Emily of New Moon, which was being filmed near his home. 

With his love of the outdoors and the tranquil Island lifestyle, Greg was immediately drawn to painting out on location.  His small oil paintings on board are painted directly from his local surroundings with decisive brushwork.  “My work is my immediate response to what I see around me; there’s not much time to ponder and reflect. I just get absorbed in what is in front of me.”  His larger paintings are usually painted in his studio from photographs, yet his plein-air techniques continue to influence his studio works. 

Greg Garand’s landscapes are a depiction of the open space and the mysterious power of nature.  "A connection is reaffirmed with nature when I settle on a painting site. This connection or dialogue with nature is not always immediate and occasionally there seems to be more frustration than anything else going on but later when I have another fresh look at my work I find something going on in the painting. In varying degrees there is something in a painting that can resonate with me, there is a sign of the exchange that took place. I believe landscape painting to be especially valuable today, because of the increasing population and degradation of our natural environment. Our visual surroundings are often times disregarded because of the frantic pace of our modern times."

Greg’s paintings have been exhibited on PEI, Nova Scotia and in New Brunswick and can be found in private collections throughout North America.