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Feature Artist through The Queen Street Artists' group:
Classical Elements: Earth, Fire, Wind, & Water
QSAG sponsored event July 19-24, 2021
The Hub 4333 Queen St. Niagara Falls, ON, Canada L2E 2K9
Acrylic on canvas. My favourite place to be must be the beach. Be it salty or not, still or stormy, it is a place of peace for me. This 3-canvas piece was very fun to paint. I applied faux finishing techniques for different effects: Several layers of smooshing for the water; stippling and splattering for the frothy waves; sand - well, for the sandy texture of the shore. I wanted to show an intimate view of the beach. Near it, walking alongside the shore. The colours suggest an ocean shore.
Acrylic on Baltic birch. Float-mount. This painting demanded much time and effort in order to be able to show the branch as a growing, living thing, producing the most delicious grape known to me. I wanted the chalky look on the concord and the aging leaves, starting to curl under the stress of age and to give way to the fruit’s full effort.
Regarding the Freedom Triptych: "I've always been intrigued by a 3-panel triptych as a means of presenting artwork. Your triptych of the shoreline of Lake Ontario caught me off-guard. For the first time, I saw a dynamic purpose to a triptych. It was like the waves had a place in time and space. I felt a rhythm as the waves progressed along the panels..there was a 3D dimensionality on the canvas surface, as well as the flow along the wall. It certainly seemed like the water was almost alive."
Catherine Bovaird, Niagara Falls
This collection of art and poetry was gathered to display the artist’s broad love and respect for the power, beauty, and bounty of nature as it serves us and as we serve it well. From raging fires and powerful waterfalls that cleanse the earth and prepare it for new growth to the immense sky that blows us where it wills or offers space to fall free. From the comforting unique beauty of every tree and the bounty it offers when we feed it right. From the tenderness of the shoreline’s welcoming nature to the mystery of the patterns permeating through nature- as here in a sea shell that echoes the hand of a Creator.
This collection also serves as an illustration to the personal challenges we face as individual humans. Nature reflects our ability to hurt but heal; be stunted or grow. Upon reflection on these pieces, the artist hopes to leave the viewer with a sense of awe and eternity, with a humbling hope rather than hopeless dread. Lorenda also has written commentaries about each piece. Feel free to connect with her if you’d like to respond to these ideas.
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