Peter Purdy Q & A

      Indigenous Impressionist artist, Ottawa Art Battle host, and Curator at Atomic Rooster pub in Ottawa, Peter Purdy, discusses his native heritage, and his transition from the small town of Mattawa to the nation’s capital. Purdy has hosted the Ottawa Art Battle competition for almost five years now. Besides that, Purdy has big dreams to one day open his own studio gallery as well as push art media forward in Ottawa. Somehow with everything he has going on, Purdy still finds time to run the popular unbiased Facebook platform for artists Art-source Ottawa.

Q: What inspired you to start painting? I know you started doing graffiti in Mattawa but what was your initial introduction to art?

A: I wouldn’t really call it art at that point… it wasn’t until I came to Ottawa and had a rough go for a bit and then I discovered the Ottawa School of Art and I basically stayed up for 24 hours drawing because I had nothing to show them for a portfolio. I found some really amazing beautiful people on their staff that just completely took me underneath their wing and showed me all they could and gave me lots of opportunities and because of them I just never stopped… (they) saw something in me and gave me the opportunity to rise to it, that’s another reason why I love Ottawa because it gathers a lot of great people from around the country.

Q: Was discovering the Ottawa School of Art a random decision that you stumbled upon or did you always know that you were talented in art?

A: Well I was really a crappy student, for one, I had several learning disabilities like dyslexia. So, one of my teachers realized pretty quickly if she just let me draw and be part of the conversation I would ace class, so I guess it was then when I realised I was a visual learner. I didn’t think I’d make a career out of it, I always thought that I would draw and I wanted to paint, grew up watching Bob Ross and meeting so many great artists and stuff like that but never really having the opportunity to use the material… I had a cousin, he was a phenomenal artist, he's no longer with us but he taught me a lot and he was more into our culture visually than I have been.

Q: So, when you first started painting where did you see yourself going with that? What plan did you have for the future?

A: I always wanted to be a gallery showing artist, I always wanted to confront certain aspects of indigenous life in Canada. I used to do shock factor stuff like babies in gas masks and mounds of garbage but now I’m trying to approach ugly questions and beautiful images and sometimes painting beautiful things in ugly ways too… If I didn’t, I think I would feel guilty about not trying to make a change, I’m only one guy and my voice can only be so loud but I’m hoping that some of these paintings might be forever and one of these statements will be remembered as something that added to the artistry of the region… where better to take the message than in parliament where all of these choices are being made… I’ve got a job to do, I’ve got to say something for my people while we still exist … but I’m a very proud Canadian I love this country and what it stands for and I’m all for helping people from around the world

Q: I’m aware you’ve been pulling back into doing more political work and that you have always practiced artistic activism, how did this start and please provide an example of a political artwork that you’ve done.

A: In my own upbringings being a native kid in a French town, there was a whole bunch of racism but I was kind of stuck in my little spot, I didn’t know what was going on in the world. But once I started learning about what’s happening to other native kids too I started realizing all these things that people are talking about in the news, that’s my upbringing… I feel like they were a lot of things in my life that have always pointed me this way even I wasn’t looking for it… I’m thankful that Ottawa has taken in this kid that grew up in a trailer… the people here have just always embraced me and what I try to do and because of that I try to give it back when I’m not doing my own thing, I’m working hard for their art. I want Ottawa to create a new movement, I want us to all pool together and do something extraordinary, it has happened in different places so why not here and why not now is kind of my philosophy.