Where The Blue Jays Fly Framed Original Contemporary Digital Fine Art

Sep 18

3 min read

Welcome to my September collection of Original Contemporary Digital Fine Art!

Sloane Raver

I've always found it rather amusing that some of the things I love most in life seem, at first glance, to have very little in common. I'm equally at home spending an afternoon on horseback in the English countryside as I am spending an evening on the dance floor of a London nightclub. I have an enormous fondness for muddy old Land Rovers, winding country lanes and cosy pubs, but I'm also rather partial to fast cars, loud music, bright lights and the occasional adventure that carries on well into the following morning.

Somewhere along the way, this rather peculiar combination of interests earned me the nickname Sloane Raver, which has since become something of an affectionate shorthand for a life that has never fitted particularly neatly into one category and now, of course, there's Toronto.

Over the past few years, Canada has become an increasingly important part of my world, and Toronto has captured my imagination in a way that few places ever have. There's something wonderfully exhilarating about a city that feels so full of possibility, where familiar pleasures take on new forms and there's always another adventure waiting around the corner.

What I find particularly wonderful is how naturally it all fits together. The English countryside, London's nightlife and the streets of Toronto might seem like rather different worlds, but I've never felt the need to choose between them, they're all places where I feel entirely myself.

Sloane Raver is inspired by these different corners of my world and the wonderfully eclectic collection of experiences, memories and adventures that connect them.

Throughout the artworks, I've woven little references to the places, pastimes and peculiarities that have become part of my life. Some are immediately recognisable, while others are tucked away in unexpected places, waiting to reveal themselves to anyone curious enough to look a little closer.

There are familiar landscapes seen from unfamiliar perspectives, little surprises hiding in plain sight, and the occasional reminder that things aren't always quite what they first appear to be. After all, I've never seen much reason why an affection for muddy riding boots should prevent an equally enthusiastic appreciation of a nightclub dance floor or why a Land Rover and a McLaren shouldn't find themselves sharing the same art collection.

A little Sloane, a little raver, and an increasingly enthusiastic amount of Canada.

Where The Blue Jays Fly

I've always found it rather amusing how certain places have a habit of working their way into your affections, sometimes so thoroughly that you begin to wonder how they ever managed to feel unfamiliar in the first place, Toronto has certainly done that to me. Somewhere between the extraordinary adventures, the wonderfully ordinary moments and the growing collection of memories that seem to accumulate with every adventure, the city has become somewhere I feel an enormous sense of affection and familiarity.

Where The Blue Jays Fly is my rather whimsical celebration of that relationship. A little love letter to a city that has become such a familiar part of my world, even when I'm thousands of miles away. I've always enjoyed the peculiar ways our imagination plays with the places we love. Familiar landmarks become entangled with memories, streets take on personalities of their own and somewhere along the way, the geography of a place becomes rather less important than the feelings we associate with it.

Naturally, I couldn't resist taking a few liberties with Toronto's skyline. I've never been particularly good at leaving reality entirely to its own devices, and this seemed as good an opportunity as any to see what might happen if I gave the city a rather different perspective and perhaps that's what I love most about Toronto. No matter how many times I return, there's always something new to discover, something familiar to welcome me back and another reason to fall a little further under its spell. Although, admittedly, I've now reached the point where I can turn the entire city upside down and still recognise it.