As Seen in the Edmonton Journal

Nomadic RV lifestyle inspires artist's work

Gifted painter/illustrator moves into new medium with web comic

Gilbert Bouchard, Freelance (photo:Chris Schwarz)

THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT WE CARE ABOUT

Showing at: Common Sense Gallery, 10546 115th St. Until: Sunday, Sept. 28

Artist Franklin Einspruch is a nomad in every possible sense of the word.

The American painter and drawer is travelling across America in a 1995 Fleetwood Flair mobile home -- with no final destination in mind.

Einspruch, his wife and dogs are currently in Edmonton for the opening of The Importance of What We Care About, an exhibit of ink drawings, vivid watercolour figure, still-life work at the new Common Sense Gallery.

The 40-year-old is also an artistic nomad, ambling across the esthetic landscape, working in a variety of different media from large-scale, heavy acrylic and oil paintings to much smaller and more sublime ink-on-paper drawings.

"As an artist it's always important to work in different media because not every media is going to be viable for you at all times. I may not be moved to do any now, but I will eventually go back to making thick paintings," he says.

"Of course, when you're based in an RV, you don't have much room to spare for the work so the small-scale ink work makes the most sense."

After living in Miami for nearly three decades, Einspruch decided to live the life nomadic a year ago, initially driving across the U.S. to take a short teaching gig in California.

These drives across the heartland have provided inspiration for his work, some featured in the Common Sense Gallery show. Other travel-based works are on his high-art webcomic, The Moon Fell On Me, at www.themoonfellonme.com.

"I'm a believer in being true to the materials in front of me as an artist. I want to be present with both the subject and the material, something you can do very easily in the comic format," he says.

Boasting degrees in illustration and painting, Einspruch loves the artistic hybrid possibilities his webcomic work opens up for him, particularly in merging text and images in a seamless fashion.

"Many pastiche and hybrid art experiments don't work, but comics are a hybrid form that can actually reproduce. For me this is about taking my early love of comic art and merging it with my art background to make a really beautiful webcomic," he says.

"I also want to use my illustration background in my fine art practice in a way that is sincere and loving."