Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 25/05) - Jazz and blues drummer Jeffrey Beier left Yellowknife about three years ago after playing for years with bands like Mingus Law and 25 Kingsize. He's back - but he's long since traded his drumsticks for paint brushes.

Beier introduced his latest exhibition of oil paintings at the Birchwood Gallery this month. The show, titled Northern Town, features about 40 of his recent works, ranging in size from 18 by 20 to 60 by 30 inches.

Beier's paintings are distinguished by a deeply textured sense of light and shade.

"I like the tangibility of thick paint," he said.

He starts with acrylic, then builds his images with as many as 50 layers of oil paint. The completed work can reach an inch or more off the canvass.

Each strata takes two days to dry, stretching the creative process over months. The colours change with each layer of oil.

"I tend to go on paint binges," he said. "I start 15 pieces in one evening and paint for 24 hours straight."

Although Beier hasn't played drums since taking up painting three years ago, music still guides his creative expression.

"Every painting, for me, begins with the music," he said. "Whatever music I'm listening to will lead the direction of the painting I'm working on. It's what links me into it."

For this exhibition, Beier derived his creative inspiration from Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner album, Australian singer Inga Lilgestrom's album, Elk, and former Yellowknife guitarist Indio Saravanja's new self-titled CD.

Beier's works hang in galleries in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal as well as in Australia, the U.S. and throughout Europe.