John McPartland (b. 1995), aka Absen, is a Canadian artist based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Saint John, NB, but also spent time in Alberta, Panama, South Korea, China and Spain. 

Absen's art can best be described as realism with abstract distortions. His roots are in graffiti where he first created the artistic alias, Absen. Later in life he discovered  renaissance era oil paintings in Spain and fell in love with the realism, lighting, and composition. He was first captivated by the depictions of drapery in these paintings. For him, drapery served as a bridge between styles. The lines, shapes, and vibrant colors of drapery shared similar qualities with graffiti. Both are grounded in a structured reality (one physical and the other letters), but can take an infinitesimal amount of forms.  A perfect playground for an artist. 

 He now predominantly works with oil paint inside and aerosol outside for large scale murals. Absen's style has evolved to blend the abstract elements, balanced composition, and aesthetically appealing vibrancy of graffiti with the realistic technicality, emotional depictions and scenic story telling of renaissance paintings. The element of drapery has become a signature of his which can be seen in most of his works.