![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/meadow_c.jpg\")
<\/a>Hutzulak rarely frames any of his art; it\u2019s just paint on paper, so for those looking for something a bit crunchier than what you might find at other local galleries, this would be a show worth checking out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the first times I\u2019ve had a gallery show,\u201d says Hutzulak. \u201cYou can\u2019t be afraid to show your art in cafes or record stores, places like that. And trying out different mediums is fun. I was a drawing major [at Alberta College of Art], and then I started trying out paint pens and went from there to just painting on paper. I would take a meandering walk to and from work through Stanley Park and shoot video, and then, looking through it later, I realized it was a goldmine.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hutzulak says he finds inspiration for his art in the minutiae of the natural world.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be in a meadow or in the woods just filming\u2026 just making these little nature videos,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can get some very cool effects through the camera, like with a massive zoom, you can get tiny little things in focus and everything else is beautifully blurred. The effects that I was creating by filming nature in Stanley Park sort of spilled over into the subject matter in terms of painting, which was something totally new for me. It led to me wanting to explore that great Canadian tradition of landscape painting.\u201d<\/p>\n Hutzulak likes to blend his creative practices together. On the opening night of this current show, he was there with his acoustic guitar, playing his own songs, many of which have lent their lyrics to the naming convention of his paintings.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to pillage my song lyrics to stand in for painting titles, the same way I pillage bits of my Ukrainian heritage, adding in the bright colours and fine details you\u2019d find on an easter egg,\u201d he says. \u201cI love the bright, intense colours, and the crazy little details that I do over them with a pen and ink. It\u2019s fun and it\u2019s bright and it\u2019s intense.\u201d<\/p>\n Hutzulak\u2014known in the musical realm for his work as Dixie\u2019s Death Pool\u2014likes to have a lot of fun with his art.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the kind of thing you do if you want to make a ton of money, but there\u2019s nothing wrong with being a dedicated hobbyist,\u201d he says. \u201cI just do what makes me happy to the best of my ability. I\u2019ve grown as an artist quite a bit in the last few years. It\u2019s a therapeutic journey, and if it resonates with somebody out there, then that is the best outcome for me.\u201d<\/p>\n