Richard Tetrault

884 E Georgia St (C12)

What's your medium of choice and why?

I work in several media; gouache, acrylic on paper and canvas, collage, printmaking, usually woodcut. These have been constants for decades.

What’s the studio atmosphere like? Do you listen to music while you are working?

Jazz, classical, instrumental...silence is good too.

I like to be mobile in the studio, with press, worktables on wheels. And I work directly from the urban landscape as well. I am passionate about the 'edge' that comes from on-location work.
These drawings and studies then evolve back in the studio, often becoming prints, larger pieces etc. At best, it is all very fluid.

When's your favourite time to create?

Daytime for working is the best. (I used to work only at night, now I work only days...)

What’s your favourite thing about the Crawl?

The Crawl itself provides an abundance of networking, feedback and general public discourse. I enjoy connecting with many people and clients who I often will only see at this event.
Every year, they come to see what I have been up to.
I also love the unpredictability, the egalitarian nature of the event, and the overall mood of a group of many hundreds of artists, all in pursuit of creativity.
Studio 101, the program that brings youth from local schools into the studios of artists following the Crawl, is great and one of my favorite outreach events from the Crawl. Kids have a blast, and the artists experience working with youth.
The essence of the Crawl has remained a constant for 21 years: open studios, and a chance for people to get 'into' this community.

What's the weirdest thing in your studio?

My stuffed crow named 'Edgar'. It is an actual preserved crow, and has been a fixture for 20 years. Esther bought it for me due to my longstanding fascination/obsession with crows.