Animating the great Canadian Landscape
Creative research methods within the dynamic environment of Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.
While on sabbatical last March, David Donar was invited to do a presentation at Vancouver’s Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, one of the premiere visual art schools in North America.
David spent an entire season on location studying the various aspects of Lake Simcoe, located one hour north of Toronto, Ontario. He documented the environment through traditional and digital media using watercolors with tablet touch screen applications to capture light, color and seasonal transitions. “My goal was to develop a higher awareness of this fragile ecology in particular the endangered White Pine as well as celebrate this region before the European settlement prior to the 18th century. Within the tradition of the Group of Seven landscape artists like Tom Thompson and Lawren Harris, and inspired by Impressionist Claude Monet, I have a strong desire to capture this dynamic environment by direct immersion and observation.”
In addition to his work, David will discuss the challenges in finding the right balance between the arts and sciences, how to implement it into a digital arts education and how it can lead into new research opportunities for students, faculty and staff.
Bio
David Donar is an Associate Professor at Clemson University teaching, story and animation within the Digital Production Arts program. He is an alumni of California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and taught and help developed the Bachelor’s of Animation degree at Sheridan Institute in Toronto, Canada. David’s career spans many different venues, industry, and medium including Disney Interactive and TV, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Mondo Media.
His films have aired on MTV, PBS and the Independent Film Channel and screened in art festivals like Spoleto, Bumbershoot, Brooklyn Museum of Art and film festivals throughout the world.
Website: https://donarfilms.wordpress.com