Born in Canada, Stephen Applebly-Barr is a young artist who employs a classical style in a contemporary world, creating oil paintings and etchings that call to mind Renaissance art with a postmodern twist. Inspired by the dramatic work of Old Masters such as Rembrandt, Goya and Velazquez, Appleby-Barr infuses these elements with arcane references, sci-fi allusions and comic touches.

The Pale Path will explore Appleby-Barr's artistic practice, juxtaposing it with images by artists such as Bosch, Delacroix, Freud and Goya as reference points. An accompanying essay by writer and philosopher Professor Mark Kingwell will wind mesmerisingly through the book, surrounded by Appleby-Barr's figurative painting, surreal pastiche and anthropomorphic figures.

Appleby-Barr was a member of Team Macho, an artist collective previously featured in the 2007 publication Fancy Action Now: The Art of Team Macho. His work has featured in exhibitions at the Harbourfront Centre, Toronto; Gallery Hanahou, New York; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Magic Pony, Toronto; and Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto.

''It is as though Rembrandt or Vermeer had played Dungeons & Dragons '', or been obsessed by The Hobbit. - The Toronto Star.