Cultural Background: Mississauga Ojibway of Rice Lake area in Ontario

Rick Beaver was born in 1948 on the Alderville Indian Reserve on Rice Lake, Southern Ontario. His degree in wildlife biology has had a strong influence on his painting, which he began full-time in 1981. His art evokes an emotional response which harks back to the origin of earth’s people.

Allying nature and art, Rick’s works show definite textured contrasts. Backgrounds are softly amorphous and lilting compared to the sculptural linearity of the creature he has chosen to depict. This melding of forms that are faithful to biology with abstract backdrops is at the heart of the paintings of Rick Beaver.