Exploring nature, space, and connectedness through landscape

January 7, 2026

By Bill Kilpatrick

On Jan. 2 the Art Gallery of Bancroft held an opening reception for their first feature artist of 2026 Alex Jack, entitled Landscape engaged. The evening was filled with good food and conversation as patrons got to explore nature through Jack’s artistic interpretation and experiences while in nature. Only three of the paintings were done in studio as Jack prefers to work in nature when the seasons and weather permit. Despite his love for the outdoors, he says that he spends more time in his studio working than he does outdoors pointing out that “the core of my approach to my landscape drawings and paintings comes from the time I spend outside and the work I do there.”

In his artist statement Jack explained why his exhibition was titled Landscape engaged. He said it was because it “sums up my whole approach to drawing and painting the landscape. I’m not interested in describing the landscape as scenery, as something outside of myself, but as something I am part of.” He went on to point out that the marks he makes, whether by oil paint, charcoal, or pastel, “have to work together as a cohesive whole, where their relationships with each other become equivalents to what I’m seeing and feeling and experiencing.”

Jack who is now in his seventies, has been painting and sketching for over 50 years, was born in Toronto where he studied art in the mid 1970s. When asked about how he found that he had a talent for painting and sketching he said that was just “interested in making images,” adding, “It just seemed more interesting to that than to do other things.” He moved to the Centerville area north west of Kingston in 1990, and there found much of his inspiration while exploring Frontenac Park and the Temagami area. He said that there were times that he would spend 15 years painting and sketching in one area before he moved on to another area. He spoke about walking two hours one way so he could paint a particular area that was populated with tamaracks.

This was his second time being featured at the Art Gallery of Bancroft, his first was in 2018. He has also been featured in multiple juried exhibitions across Ontario from Orilla to Cobourg. Jack describes his style of art as interpretive with strong aspects of representational art. “I go out and I work outside and I’m observing, [but] it’s not like a photograph type of observation. It’s looking at the landscape and also looking at my response to the landscape and how it responds to what I’m making.” His representations often vary greatly depending on the medium that he is working in as well.

In his most recent work entitled “Shoreline,” Jack wanted to explore the concepts of space as it related to a forest. “When we think of a forest,” explained Jack. “We think of it as a dense deep dark forest that’s impenetrable and yet when you’re inside the forest, between the ground level and the treetops, it’s almost all air. So, how do I portray both those things in a painting?” Jack explained that he used multiple colours and shapes placed randomly throughout the painting to keep your eyes moving like they would be while walking through a forest. “Your eyes want to see patterns and your eyes keep bouncing around in that one. So, in a way looking at it creates that openness because your eye is always moving.” And move the painting did as, much to Jack’s surprise, it was sold before the opening reception.

Jack’s exhibition is sponsored by Kelly’s Propane with support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. His exhibition will be on display until Jan. 31 and can be engaged with Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.