When he was 16 Rory Doyle was painting on walls with a spray can. Twenty-five years later a lot has changed -- now he gets permission and uses a brush.
The long-time Tsawwassen resident and his writing partner did so well with their art they started getting established gigs painting youth spaces and pizza parlours. From there Doyle entered the graphic design scene and became a 3D artist for Next Level Games. After a decade of working digitally, Doyle got back to getting his hands wet with paint again.
For the last six years, Doyle has been painting murals for clients like the YVR International Airport, the University of British Columbia and the Bank of Montreal. Now his work is going back on the streets thanks to the Vancouver Mural Festival starting this August 4.
Doyle’s piece will be painted on an outside wall of the Craft Beer Market location near English Bay facing Pantages Lane. Doyle’s mural will incorporate various aspects of Vancouver life spit into four seasons. The mural will also pay homage to the lane’s namesake, Peter Pantages who inaugurated Vancouver’s first polar bear swim over 100 years ago.
Doyle will start working on the mural on Tuesday 27 and estimates a production time of around 10 days, just in time for the Vancouver Mural Festival to kick off on August 4.
To get an idea of what Doyle’s mural will look like, he describes his signature style as a mix of figures and objects with vibrant palettes. His use of colour strives for a beautifully layered composition of shapes to help create artistic narratives.
While the shapes in his art may appear basic, Doyle doesn’t call his style simple as he explains sometimes simple is the hardest to execute.
As for why Doyle got out of the video game industry and back into making art in the real world, it's something about the tactile feeling of paint, brick and mortar.
"It's something that is challenging to the point where when I first stare at a wall, especially a big one you kind of go 'what have I gotten myself into here?'" Doyle said. "Working with your hands is a huge one, I love creating something from scratch, something that's going to make people happy and brighten up the neighbourhood."
To see more of Doyle’s work you can check out his Instagram page or website.
