About

About the artist

ARTIST STATEMENT

Rather than depicting a specific geographic reality, my practice of creating abstract art based on the Canadian landscape involves vivid colours, flattened perspectives, and assertive contour lines, evoking spaces that feel both familiar and dreamlike. I’m drawn to vistas, boundaries, and ambiguous forms— scenes that trigger intuition, memories and reflections.

My compositions blend organic shapes with a strong visual rhythm. I approach painting with a modular sensibility; simplified, graphic palettes are framed by crisp outlines, creating an effect like stained glass or woodcut prints. The outlines separate but also unify, transforming trees, hills, and horizons into interconnected pieces of a whole puzzle. The result is a landscape that feels built rather than rendered—an architecture of feeling and form.

At its heart, my work presents nature not just as scenery, but as a psychological terrain—a mirror of internal states. Viewers are invited to inhabit spaces that are meditative, disruptive. transformative or otherworldly.

BACKGROUND

Richard Austin is a Canadian painter, indie-filmmaker, photographer, and art editor. Based in Chelsea, Québec, Richard’s creative path was forged in advertising studios and publication media.

Richard’s transition from commercial design to personal artistic expression began in the 1990s, driven by a desire to explore deeper emotional and symbolic terrain.

A committed advocate for regional arts and cultural engagement, Richard is director of visual arts at La Fab centre culturel, a performing and visual arts cooperative in Chelsea, Québec. He supports local and regional artists through curatorial programming, mentorship, and public exhibitions.

Richard is also an active member and contributor to the annual Artists in their Environment Studio Tour, opening his studio to the public and helping to build bridges between artists and audiences. He helps foster inclusive and cross-cultural artistic experiences in the Outaouais region.

Richard’s formal artistic training includes Montréal's Dawson College in Montréal, the Toronto School of Art, and the School of Photographic Arts in Ottawa. Over the years, his paintings and photographic works have been exhibited both locally and internationally. Richard is an exhibiting member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.

In parallel with his painting practice, Richard is the co-founder of Blackburn Road Films, an independent film production company dedicated to telling stories that resonate across personal and social spheres.

His documentary Heather Crowe’s Legacy is a compelling account of an Ottawa Mi'kmaq woman’s campaign to reform Canadian public health policy and ban workplace smoking.

GALLERY EXHIBITIONS

2026

Carleton Place Gallery - Carleton Place, ON

Maison O’Brien - Chelsea, QC

Federation Gallery - Vancouver, BC

Kanata Civic Art Gallery - Ottawa, ON

Kanata Theatre Gallery - Ottawa, ON