Artist Statement
I am a Canadian artist residing in Victoria, B.C., Canada, and I exhibit locally and internationally.
My work is about peace and I try to understand why we are here. Cycles of life, generations, seeds and community are important in my work. War fascinates and saddens me because, as history has observed, it is easy to make a ghost.
We might believe the distance between good and bad is huge, but often we discover that they are not that far apart. Our studies of atomic structure and equations can be used for bombs or medicine so I might feature those equations in my paintings. I find it interesting to note how someone might quote Gandhi one day and support military intervention the next. Also interesting that this flaw of logic is likely in us all at some time.
My art helps me find answers or at least cope with these realities.
Deryk on tractor in Kamploops, B.C., Canada, Photo by Elizabeth
Dear Deryk ………”The idea of the line drawing on the ground, in particular, is a model that could really change history, I think”…… Dr. Noam Chomsky (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
In reference to my Peace Sanctuary earthen works.
photo by Wayne Sawchuk
Title: “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes” ( Gandhi)
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 30″X72″
Price: $8,000.00 (SOLD)
Painting features the image of Gandhi with physics equations necessary for the construction of a nuclear device as well as equations for medicines. ( It’s all about choices ).
Points of Origin Sculpture by Deryk Houston and Samuel Houston
Medium: Stainless Steel
Height: Sixteen feet
My son Samuel and I are happy to announce that this piece has been chosen by the city of Nanaimo and the Nanaimo Art Gallery. It will be installed in early May at the Maffeo Sutton Park in Nanaimo.
Our sculpture represents new growth. The emergence and opening of plant shoots. New Life.
White sheets near Cache Creek, British Columbia
Elizabeth and I travelled north through the Fraser Canyon where I wanted to set up a number of white sheets on a clothes line. I am interested in the beautiful forms created by the wind and the the resulting relationship to the forms of the land. It was hot and difficult to find a suitable place to tie the lines to but it didn’t take long before I was rewarded with the images that I had in my mind. I will be doing a series of these photos… over time…. focusing on the Fraser Canyon area because of it’s history and rugged natural beauty. I hope to set up in various seasons and locations.
LEAVING MY MARK – BY TRACTOR. (August 18th 2010)
I spread three gallons of extra thick gel acrylic medium with carbon black acrylic paint over a 5foot by 11foot sheet of canvas….. and enlisted the help of my second cousin Katie’s. The idea was to try and preserve the tracks of the tractor when we drove back and forth over the thick paint. It was lot’s of fun and while I didn’t get exactly what I had in mind out of it, I am really pleased with the experiment and how it went.
I will likely cut the canvas into four foot square pieces and mount them on deep stretcher bars. I will also select a two foot by five foot piece as well.
Katie was a great help and I also want to thank “Onward Farm” for allowing me the space and equipment to do the work. Also…. a big thank you to Elizabeth for capturing the photos and making this video.
Recent Events & Info
Deryk Houston Featured in Seniors Living Magazine article “Making Peace” by Vernice Shostal.
http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/making-peace
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“My power is used to grow seeds”
Size: 36″X36″
Price: $4,000.00 (Sold)
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Last fall in 2009, at Collective Works Gallery in Victoria, I exhibited several five foot by six foot photographs of my installation project which I had placed in Beacon Hill park. Each photograph featured a low alter like stand below set with a candle to represent the young men and women who have died in Afghanistan.
The work was also exhibited at the Gracefield Art Center in Scotland in the summer of 2009.
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“Black Tusk”
Price: $8,000.00 (Sold)
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas 30″X120″ approx.
I have always enjoyed hiking in the Black Tusk, Garibaldi Meadows near Whistler Mountain. The area is pristine and pure and yet so close. It is a long hike up through the trees but worth the effort once you strike out into the upper meadow. One day up to the campsite. One day up to the Black tusk itself ….for an old man anyway:)
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Karolyn Grimes played the little girl, “Zuzu”, in the Frank Capra classic 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

“No man is a failure who has friends”
Contact Deryk Houston dhouston@coastnet.com
250 598 9908
Follow on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/derykhouston
Dr. Noam Chomsky (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) said in reference to Deryk Houston’s previous Peace Sanctuary earthen work project. “The idea of the line drawing on the ground, in particular, is a model that could really change history, I think”.
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Title”Red Shift might have other explanations”
Size:30″X30″
$4,000.00 retail (mounted on deep stretcher bars with no frame needed)
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Houston’s sculpture is created for large public spaces as well as for indoor display. Working with his son, Samuel Houston, artistic and welding skills combine to create beautiful pieces.
The image below is of our sculpture, Gates of Opportunity” which was recently donated to The Peace Sanctuary Sculpture Park Society by the city of Nanaimo, and the Nanaimo Art Gallery,BC.
The sculpture was moved onto the site of the Woodwynn Peace Garden.
Title: “Gates of Opportunity”
Height: 12 ft. X 20 inches depth. (Set three feet apart)
Material: Rusted steel with chrome plated points
Value: $20,000.00
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Sculpture below: “Sanctuary of Peace” Woodwynn Peace Garden, BC
“Sanctuary of Peace” 23feet tall by thirty six inches at the base.
This new sculpture has been installed in the centre of the Woodwynn Peace Garden, in central Sannich, BC., Canada.
The stainless steel sculpture is a collaborative effort by both of us, but on this one I have to give Samuel most of the credit for the design.
Value: $20,000.00
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An installation of bedsheets in the interior of British Columbia, Canada
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