Bev Gordon & Angela Gmeinweser at the Okanagan College Kelowna Campus Library

On , In Artscape

1000 K. L. O. Rd, Kelowna

On display to August 30th, 2016

angela-gmeinweser// Angela Gmeinweser – Artist Statement //

  My introduction to the arts came when I was quite young through my mother.  She was a painter and luckily very liberal with sharing her art supplies, and tolerant of the ensuing messes I created.  That combined with being influenced by my father’s passion for the outdoors formed the beginning of my artistic inspiration. 

I hesitate to tie my artwork to a specific theme because I love to take risks with trying new styles and mediums.  One aspect of my work that is unwavering, however, is I use creativity to reach out to moments that I want to get closer to.  The instances in life that are neither good nor bad, those that exist as unexplained paradoxes are the topics that interest me the most.  I like referencing unusual moments in my artwork because even though I might not be able to explain the feeling they create or their place in the world, I can still acknowledge their existence.

I began working with paints when I was in my teens and followed that passion to the University of Ottawa.  I studied there for a year while enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts program, and made one discovery that changed the course of my artistic career.  I was introduced to different wood and metal working techniques and fell in love with sculpture.  Since then, having a balance between creating two and three dimensional work is one of my priorities, and has made me enjoy studio time more than I ever thought possible.

In the following two years I spent a semester at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, and eventually made my way back to the Okanagan.  I currently have a studio in my home in Kelowna, BC, and am excited to join the art community in the valley.  There is something uniquely inspiring about the mountains and the forests here, and it’s something I’m happy to spend countless hours discovering.

// Bev Gordon – Artist Statement //

While living in St Lucia in the Caribbean for the last six months, I decided that everything I painted would reflect the tropical environment in which I was living. So the sample paintings I submitted were of Coco, the grounds keeper of the apartment we were living in, some people who were on a catamaran trip I went on and an abstract of an individual planting trees.

While there, I put many hours aside each week dedicated to painting exercises from any of the three books that I had hauled with me. I focused mostly on colour theory where the exercises encouraged limiting chroma and only applying it in special places of interest. I also put a lot of attention on handling values conscientiously and to my advantage. I often used a limited palette, but since I have left the island I am eager to incorporate more colour, as I feel I have gained enough colour theory knowledge that I could successfully add a hue that would enhance the painting, opposed to wreck it.

Another series of exercises that I did many of was drawing and painting abstract motifs. These are line, mass, texture drawings that get filled in with paint. The whole point of the exercise is to train the eye to know what is needed exactly to make the motif interesting and balanced. Limited palettes with specific values were paramount in these exercises. I have found now that I am not relying so much on accidental successes, but I am confidently applying what I have learned.