Paul Saari’s Mysterious Dreamworlds Set in Melancholy Landscapes

Canadian oil painter Paul Saari imagines mesmerizing worlds, which he renders in pastel tones. In some works, the softness of his painting style and the candy-like colors add to the mystical, dreamlike quality of the feathery forests and twinkling skies. In others, the soft colors and brushstrokes are jarred by ominous swirling weather patterns and dark, melancholy shadows.

Born and raised in rural Northern Ontario, Paul Saari holds an Honours degree in Fine Art from Lakehead University. Paul has received numerous awards, and he has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout Ontario. In addition, his work is in public and corporate collections, including those of the Arcturus Gallery in Toronto and the Northwestern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre. His current series of paintings explore our complex relationship with the natural world. Paul presently lives and works in Queenston, Ontari.

“It is often the case that we forget we are as much a part of nature as the earth under our feet; on which we by no means tread lightly.  In this latest series of work, I have been interested in our relationship with the natural world.  The human footprint – our ingenuity, our psyche, and our actions – is represented here by houses reduced to an archetypical form and re-contextualized as patterns in nature. “

Saari shares his work on Instagram.