ABOUT
Photo credits : Étienne Boisvert
BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1980, artist Devon Griffiths, grew up in Montreal, Quebec. In 2004, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in Design Art from Concordia University. After her studies, she worked for several years as a freelance graphic designer. She has been living in Shawinigan, Quebec since 2016 and working out of her studio located in the Factrie 701 since 2021.
Devon Griffiths describes herself as an abstract artist and loves creating work which is rich in color and texture. Expressionist painters like Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler, for example, are among artists she greatly admires and influence her artistically. Some of the themes she explores during her creative process include ideas from Eastern philosophy such as the importance of the present moment and a strong reverence for nature. She also practices figurative art and participates in weekly life-drawing workshops. She is very interested in the subject of women, their representation in the arts, the perception of the female body and feminism.
ART GALLERIES
You may see Devon Griffiths’ work in her studio situated in Shawinigan (by appointment only). Her paintings are also exhibited in the gallery space at Factrie 701 in Shawinigan (QC) and the Ste-Fl’Art Art Gallery in Ste-Flore (QC).
ARTIST STATEMENT
Devon Griffiths’ creative approach is strongly influenced by the abstract expressionist movement; it is based on energy, intuition, and the present moment. For the artist, painting is a poetic almost spiritual process, where time seems to stand still.
She agrees with artist Georgia O’Keeffe who said:
— I found that I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way, things for which I had no words.
Devon Griffiths draws inspiration from her daily life, the good and the bad, to paint. Painting helps her make sense of it all; it helps her connect with people and the greater world around her.
Sometimes, it is a poem or lyrics to a song that will inspire her to paint. But most of the time, she feels she best expresses herself when she can allow herself to let go and surrenders to the present moment.
The spontaneous composition of a painting is often a challenge, but layer by layer, she trusts the creative process and allows her intuition to guide her. Each painting is a surprising exploration of color, texture, and emotion.
When she begins, she is never entirely sure how things will turn out, but she remains confident that she will find her way. Each painting is a kind of riddle that she must solve intuitively. She knows a painting is complete when there is a feeling of ease that emanates from the work, it’s then that she knows she can put down her brush and share her work with the world.