My name is Shaun Gamache. I have grown up in Calgary and lived here all my life. I went to the ACAD in the late nineties. I ended up being one course short of finishing my BFA because of a psychotic break. I was unable to remember what I read so I couldn’t finish my last English 300. I have a collection of about 500 pieces. I am an automatiste. I paint abstract paintings and see the images in them when I am done. I did the inkblot test and could see 18 or more images in each inkblot. I was called ingenious. So I am good at seeing the images in my paintings after they are done. The paintings comment on my spiritual journey that I go through day to day. I am always on ceremony. My life is a ceremony.
Art is my oxygen, I need it to breathe. If I don’t create on a daily basis I go through withdrawals. My faces are a reflection of myself as a self-portrait. Although they are painted without a reference they become self-portraits. I Am the universe, so everything that I paint is me. A spiritual concept I have learned in Aikido and on my spiritual path.
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Which ’hood are you in?
I live in Huntington Hills. I have been here for the last 6 years.
What do you do?
I am an automatic. I create without thinking. I just let myself go and let my hands move. My larger paintings are more like action paintings. The smaller ones just flow. I have an abstract series of works and a series of faces.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on 1000 self-portraits. I am God looking at himself. I am painting without a reference and to me, each face is different, a different reflection of myself.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work on my website.
