Karen Mackenzie
Northern News Services
Monday, July 30, 2007

IQALUIT - Many come north for the work and a proverbial two-year stint.

Danny Osborne came for its "simple landscapes" and an opportunity to paint Nunavut's rugged vistas.

An avid amateur historian, the artist's work often reflects his fascination with both the history and contours of Frobisher Bay.

In his contemporary pieces, the shoreline's silhouette zigzags across the frame, or twin otters buzz about ancient maps in search of the new world.

"I like playing around, trying to fit 100 miles of coastline in one canvas, just looking at the landscape in different ways," he said.

Osborne often travels out on the land to find inspiration, captured by "the idea of people coming here and seeing things with totally fresh eyes, something they didn't have any reference for," he said.

The English-born artist first began travelling to Qikiqtarjuaq (then Broughton Island) after graduating from college in 1977.

"There's a sense of space which you get here that suits me well," he said.

In 1989, he and his wife Geraldine moved to Grise Fiord, three small children in tow, with the intent of capturing the hamlet's striking surroundings on canvas.

"It was a wonderful year we had there," he said. "We didn't have any money, but people pretty much fed us and kept us alive...it's a very special place. We still have very close friends there."

The couple has returned annually to Grise Fiord since, but settled in Iqaluit in 2001.

Although he would prefer to be living in one of the territory's smaller communities, "I like it more and more all the time," he said.

The artist is probably best known in Ireland as the sculptor commissioned to create the Oscar Wilde Memorial outside the Houses of Parliament in Dublin.

Here, his main medium is in oils, although he also works in etchings, ink and pencil.