Tag Archives: Artists’ Workshop Saskatoon

…it has always been the process not the result, and how I feel at the end of the day. I do love painting outside (En Plein Air)…

Each piece I make is like a documented moment in time that for whatever reason, stopped me in my tracks.

Why birds? This could be a question that I might be asked about my work because more often than not there is a bird in my painting.

However non-representational art affects you…your response is uniquely yours. There’s no right or wrong.

Often my paintings come from a tiny blossom that is going unnoticed because it is tucked in and hidden deep inside the foliage of a plant.  I love to draw it out and put it on centre stage.

I love plopping down on a park bench, on a streetcorner, in a café, and pulling out my sketchbook to capture the sights and scenes in a way that goes far beyond photography. When I look back at my sketches done on location, I remember the way things looked, sounded and smelled.

My viewpoint is like the lens of the camera. The drawing I start with looks quite defined and in focus however as I add layers the image becomes quite blurry. It isn’t until I add the darks that I start to feel like it is becoming clearer. Then, when I iron the wax off everything comes into focus!

Artists’ Workshop is a diverse group of 9 artists who use different mediums to create art. We come from varied artistic educational backgrounds, and each of us have experienced and grown our art practises in different ways. Our group meets each Monday from September through April at Grace-Westminster Church to create art.

When I paint I feel joyful as most of my memories of the prairie remind me of these things.  I hope my paintings give the viewer a feeling of freedom, an appreciation of the land, and the beauty of the wide open spaces and big dramatic skies.