Exploring infinite possibilities

East Kildonan

Charleswood

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This article was published 29/03/2023 (1028 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When it comes to storytelling, the possibilities are endless.

Jim Thomson spent 20 years teaching students at Kildonan-East Collegiate how to tell stories using the latest in digital media arts technology. Before that, he spent years working as both an illustrator and as a supplier for visual artists after earning a fine arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Now retired from teaching, Thomson is combining the storytelling skills of a video game developer with the classic medium of watercolour painting in the 30 new pieces that comprise his new exhibition, Infinite Horizons.

The show will run at cre8ery gallery (125 Adelaide St.), opening on March 30 and running until April 11 during regular gallery hours, Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m to 5 p.m.

“When I retired, I kind of wanted to take a break from technology and just picked up my paintbrushes,” Thomson, a Charleswood resident, said. “I’m working in watercolours, and one of the reasons is that I could take my 20-year-old tubes of watercolour and just add water and start again.”

Painting mostly landscapes, Thomson said he works to incorporate elements of game design and virtual reality when approaching the canvas.

“What I’m trying to do is take a world, say the Whiteshell, and turn it into a line,” he explained. “The images aren’t static. You’re meant to have the sensation of moving through them. Every image is based on a curve that pulls you through them.”

Gamers and readers of fantasy will recognize a number of elements present throughout Infinite Horizons, including the presence of a player-character, in this case a raven, as well as three recurring “non-player characters” inspired by Thomson’s dogs.

“Not every image includes them, but they’re sort of part of the whimsical story of the show,” Thomson explained.

“The images, because of what I’m playing with, there’s a horizon on both sides of the images. It’s like the world is stretched and folded. That’s another aspect that comes from games. When you’re developing video games there’s the idea of a procedural world, where through programming you build the world as you move through it. That’s what’s kind of happening in this world. The raven is building the world as he flies through.”

Thomson is also hoping the show will go to support the work of the Manitoba All Shepherd Rescue, where he adopted two of his three dogs. With every sale of a piece from the show, Thomson will donate $20 to the rescue.

“I’m retired, I have a pension, it’s not like I’m a struggling young artist. I’m doing this for personal expression and wanting to share anything I can with MASR,” Thomson said.

For more information, visit cre8ery.com