Lorne Wagman

1957–

Lorne Wagman (1957– ) is a Canadian painter born in North York, Ontario. Currently living and working on a 400-acre farm near Owen Sound, Ontario, Wagman has a unique take on Canadian landscape painting. Rather than painting fantastical mountain scenes or rolling hills, Wagman is focused on the modest details of the landscape, including the rocks, trees, and weeds that can be found in his own backyard. By painting these small-scale details, he seeks to give them a sense of monumentality.

Wagman began painting as a teenager and has been exhibiting his work since the 1970s. His interest in experiencing natural environments drew him to landscapes. As such, he is focused on fostering an intimate engagement with the scenes that he paints. Wagman rarely paints subjects off his property. Instead, he prefers to get to know a site, returning to it over before creating a painting.

His process follows the traditional format of creating a watercolour sketch before creating a more elaborate final version. Wagman prefers watercolours over photography in this early stage to allow space for perception and misperception. Furthermore, he is focused on capturing the average presentation of a scene rather than isolating a singular moment in time. As such, he removes timestamps within the landscape, such as a falling leaf, and downplays the shadows. Overall, his paintings aim to establish a middle ground between realism and abstraction with an expressionist flare.

After painting for over five decades, Wagman’s work has been exhibited extensively in Toronto and is held in a number of public and private collections.