LES DRYSDALE
"Coffee is essential. Coffee allows me the time to mentally prepare for the day. If am stuck creatively I'll start making small models in wax, rough 3d sketches that dictate their own direction and possibilities. I'm a firm believer in the laws of physics when an object in motion wants to stay in motion. I just keep on moving."
Biography
Les Drysdale was born in Hamilton in 1961. He graduated with an Honors Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Guelph in 1985 specializing in sculpture. Les has worked as a full time artist and sculptor ever since. Some of his public commissioned His sculptures can be seen outside the Toronto Police Headquarters, Toronto, the entrance of Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, Burlington, McMaster Teaching Hospital, Hamilton, St. Pauls Parish , Burlington, St. Peters School , Barrie, inside The Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Queens Park, The fountain sculpture of Augustus Jones Chief surveyor of the Niagara Peninsula in the Town Square of Stoney Creek, The Toltec Warriors for the TTC ROM stop in Toronto Ontario. His sculptures have been shown in galleries across the country and can be found in private collections in Europe, the US and Canada. He is currently represented in Toronto by Gallery Gevik in Toronto. He also teaches courses in Drawing and Sculpture at the Burlington Art Centre and Dundas Valley School of Art. He was commissioned after an international competition held by the Serbian Orthodox Church of Niagara Falls and The Niagara Parks Commission to create the Monument to Nikola Tesla, the inventor of AC electricity and designer of the first hydro electric plant. The sculpture is located in Victoria Park overlooking Niagara Falls. His most recent public commission, unveiled 2009, includes a sculpture for the new City of Kitchener-Waterloo Police Headquarters. He is currently working on a commission for the Town of Fort Erie , a monument dedicated to the Underground Railroad and those that escaped slavery in the mid19th century. This will be completed in 2011 and placed on the site of the historic crossing.
Artist Statement
The common bond in all my sculpture is the technical ability to transcend the chosen medium to create works that are alive, evoking a personal emotional response to all those that view the works.