About

Phillip Saunders is a Jamaican-born multidisciplinary artist and arts educator based in Toronto, Ontario. His practice spans oil painting, charcoal drawing, mural-making, and digital illustration, and is rooted in an exploration of cultural identity, visual storytelling, and the relationship between tradition and contemporary expression.

Saunders’ work exists across two distinct yet interconnected approaches. His studio-based oil paintings draw from classical realism and the techniques of the Old Masters, centering the Black body within contemplative and historically informed landscapes. In contrast, his mural practice embraces a bold, contemporary visual language defined by vibrant colour, portraiture, and large-scale public engagement. Through this duality, Saunders bridges past and present, using each medium to inform and expand the other.

As an arts educator and community-oriented muralist, Saunders is deeply committed to making art accessible and reflective of the communities it inhabits. His public works prioritize connection, representation, and shared cultural experience, transforming public spaces into sites of dialogue and collective reflection.

As pertaining to Phillip’s mural art, he explores the emotional, spiritual, and cultural dimensions of the Black experience primarily through his portraits. His mural work is defined by a vibrant interplay of colour, abstraction, and portraiture, using colour theory as a language to evoke joy, reflection, and emotional resonance within public space.

Drawing inspiration from the visual traditions of stained glass found in cathedrals and sacred architecture, Saunders’ murals are characterized by bold line work and luminous colour fields that transform environments into sites of contemplation and connection.This stained-glass aesthetic has become a signature element throughout his public work.

Alongside his public art practice, Saunders maintains a studio-based oil painting practice rooted in classical realism. Over the past several years, his studio work has explored themes of spirituality, sacredness, and cultural memory, drawing from aspects of west African Bantu spirituality. His recent series, Hebrew Nuance, reflects this inquiry by examining how ancestral spirituality, identity, and ritual can be reimagined within contemporary figurative expression.Through this dual practice, Saunders bridges past and present, creating work that invites viewers to consider art as both a personal expression and a shared, collective experience.

Though his work moves fluidly between canvas and street art murals, Saunders’ practice remains unified through recurring spiritual overtones.