ARTIST
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ABOUT
CALGARY ART WALK
MAYOR’S SPOTLIGHT
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ralph Temple is an artist of long standing in a wide range of media and wider yet in experience in the art world. After achieving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture, Ralph began a career in museum work, at the Edmonton Art Gallery and the Banff School of Fine Arts. At the same time, he had sculpture as well as an exhibition of pastel landscape works shown at the Edmonton Art Gallery, and later an independent showing of watercolours in the same vein.
While in Banff, Ralph deepened his interest in watercolour, and was invited to join the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour after his juried pieces at the Harbourfront Gallery in Toronto sold out. In 1985, he was featured in a documentary video for CTV on Canadian painters.
Ralph stayed in the Bow Valley and participated in Canmore’s art community, including such achievements as developing the local Visual Arts portion of the 1988 Winter Olympic Arts Festival, teaching and painting large outdoor murals in Banff and Canmore. His experience in museum work also led to owning a picture framing business in Banff while continuing to paint and teach. In 2013, Ralph and his daughter Breanna were recognized with a Mayor’s Spotlight on the Arts Award for contribution to Canmore’s cultural legacy.
In recent years, Ralph has expanded his artistic vision to working in acrylic on canvas with gallery representation in Calgary, and lately exploring mixed media works using glass and acrylic.
PHILOSOPHY
"My artwork reflects the way I experience my surroundings: I need to see context, placing myself and the viewer's perspective in scale with the subject matter. The paintings provide an entry into, and a route through, the spaces they represent.
The most important feature of my work, however, is the impression of atmosphere and qualities of light.
While all landscapes change with the changing light of day, the mountains offer constantly changing and limitless nuance in atmosphere.
I love to capture moments in this display, to save and savour the feeling of that instant."
- RALPH TEMPLE
ASSOCIATIONS
Canmore Artists and Artisans Guild
Member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour
Kensington Art Supplies & Instruction
