This was the painting I began at my opening at The Daffodil Gallery.  As I was finishing it, the song 'Close to You' came on the radio and thus the title as I envisioned the canoe coming forward to move closer to a loved one and the birds flying up with a clear destination - a connection.  During the process I wasn't certain if the painting would be vertical or horizontal but I've decided to leave the verticals to the two longer canvases I'm currently working on.  The colour palette was a bit of a stretch for me, but I do like the coral and lime together.  The last thing left to do is to decide whether or not I want to add copper leaf, and if so, where and how?

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."    ~ Thomas Merton        
    
Portraiture
July + August 2015

While the aim of portraiture has always been to show the inner essence of the sitter, its methods have changed over the years. This exhibition attempts to show the different styles of portraiture and the different ways artists have attempted to most truthfully capture their subjects. From James Nicoll’s traditional representation of his wife Marion to Stanford Perrott’s fractured and abstracted views of the human body, this exhibition explores the changing art of portraiture.

Artists included in this exhibition are Debra Bachman Smith, Maxwell Bates, Lisa Brawn, Allyson Glenn, Roy Kiyooka, Steven Mack, Helen Mackie, RFM McInnis, Margaret Mooney, James Nicoll, Marion Nicoll, Erik Olson, Stanford Perrott, Aaron Sidorenko, John Snow and William Stevenson.

Portraiture is a touring exhibition developed by the Alberta Society of Artists for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. This exhibition is currently circulating throughout the southwest/central parts of Alberta. The AFA Travelling Exhibition Program is financially supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
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Exhbiting in conjunction with these artists is regional potter Rylee Petkau who is always looking for ways to stretch and grow her creative side, she has been known to try her hand at any art form.  In order to develop her craft, she has travelled across Canada, to Germany, Italy, West and South Africa. Rylee’s interests and talents span from paintings with acrylic on anything that can be painted on to tattoo design and henna. Currently she spends most of her creative energy working in her small studio creating pottery and teaching the art of clay for numerous different organizations and camps in Calgary, Airdrie and area.