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Nature as shaped and redefined by human hands is the focus of Ross Penhall’s captivating yet enigmatic paintings. His work depicts enchanting, manicured, urban landscapes – groomed lawns, shaped shrubbery, pruned trees – all arranged in eye-pleasing symmetry that speaks of a serene, orderly world.

Drawing upon the influences of such notable painters as Thomas Hart Benton, Georgia O’Keefe, Grant Wood and Emily Carr, Penhall has taken his own turn enhancing the enhancements. He flattens, stylizes and simplifies forms, embellishes colors and exaggerates contrasts. The result is a make-believe, somewhat unreal landscape that although compelling, serves as a gentle reminder that nature is never static, and man’s imprint is transitory unless vigilantly maintained. Penhall often employs a path or tunnel that leads to an opening, a way through the scene into whatever unknown magic lies just beyond the horizon. His impeccable feeling for composition leads the viewer as effortlessly through his paintings as a child through an enchanted forest.

Selected Exhibitions: 2008 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco CA. 2007 Caldwell Snyder Gallery, St. Helena CA. 2006 - Campton Gallery, New York NY; Trajan Gallery, Carmel CA. 2005 - Caldwell Snyder, San Francisco CA; 2004 - Orcas in the City fundraiser, Vancouver; Caldwell Snyder, New York NY. 2003 - Caldwell Snyder 20th Anniversary; Trajan Gallery, Carmel CA. 2002 - Trajan Gallery, Carmel CA. 2001 - Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver. 2000 - Buschlen Mowatt Annex, “2 X 2” group exhibition, Vancouver; Graduated Perspectives – Capilano College Alumni Show, North Vancouver; Visions of the North Shore Print show, West Vancouver; 2000 - Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Art London, UK; A series of etchings produced collaboratively with New Leaf Editions, Vancouver. 1999 - Buschlen Mowatt Gallery “Artists in Bloom show” Vancouver. 1998 - A series of etchings produced collaboratively with New Leaf Editions, Vancouver; Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Vancouver. 1997 – “Heartfelt” images concerning love by 13 BC artists. 1996 - Stone lithographs produced collaboratively with Prior Editions Ltd., Vancouver. 1995 - Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, emerging artist group exhibition, Vancouver, BC.

Art Fairs: 2005 - San Francisco International Art Exposition, San Francisco CA. 2003 - Art Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2000 - Toronto 2000 International Art Fair Canada. 1998 - Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, New York Art Fair.

Selected Publications & Media: 2006 - The Standard- Discovery Channel. 2005 - FANS Award, North Vancouver; BC Art Teachers Association- Keynote Speaker. 2004 - “Ross Penhall- Setting the art scene on fire”, Vancouver Lifestyles; “Trajan Gallery, Artistic Serendipity”, Carmel Magazine, Holiday Issue. 2003 - “Ross Penhall’s landscape paintings are all about mood”, Monterey County Herald, July 10,2003. 2002 - West Vancouver Visual Arts Education Award Fundraisers; “Be There Now”, Coast Weekly, Monterey County, May issue. 2001 - “Lower Lonsdale attracts new gallery”, North Shore News, Vancouver, November 2, 2001. 1998 - University of Western Ontario IVEY Business Quarterly- Spring Cover. 1996 - Great Works: An overview of contemporary BC Artists, Art Advisory Ltd; CBC Broadcast I, November; BCTV News Hour, November.

Education: Capilano College, North Vancouver, BC; Emily Carr Institute of Arts & Design, Vancouver, BC; Malaspina Printmakers Society, Vancouver, BC.