As I kick off Park Canvass, you may want to know who am I? What am I going for?
The project name
“Canvass” is a word to describe surveying, probing for information, as opposed to “Canvas,” a fibrous woven material often used for paintings. I combine the meaning of both words in my project title. Although I don’t want to limit future episodes of this project to parks, the word “Park” can apply to most open spaces outdoors.
Who am I?
I’m Nelson, a fledgling mechatronics designer with too many ambitions. One of the many reasons I started this project in a more formal, professional format was to force myself to focus. And focusing on a public project that encompasses art, photography, hiking, science, social media, and graphics seemed like a good compromise between the necessary pressure of production and my scattered interests.
I work at a Vancouver tech startup and I bike to work when the weather’s nice. Whatever interesting things I’m not doing at work I’m doing in my free time, such as cooking, painting, photography, and playing music.
What’s the plan? The plan is always evolving. Basically, I will research as many species of plant or animal or fungus as I have observed at my Park Canvass location (currently Burnaby Lake). I will try to determine the species, whether it’s native or introduced, and find some interesting facts that I hope you will appreciate. I or a collaborator will draw or paint that specimen for some added creativity. Then I’ll post each entry on Instagram, Flickr, and here with varying levels of detail. The schedule is up for debate, although I had initially dreamed of daily posts.
Park Canvass 