Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley: Installed!!!

Artist Statement

I love nature and I love to try to capture it on canvas. Everything I paint means something special to me, whether it’s a scene I’ve tried to capture before it disappears, a view that holds special memories, or a glimpse of a part of our valley that I want to share with others who might not otherwise have access to it. The places I paint are real and as I paint I am ‘there’ be it perched on a mountain ridge, sitting by a lakeshore or standing upon a tussock of grass in the wetlands.
I generally work from photos, however, for me, capturing the images in paint on canvas gives them an importance, value, and even permanence that I feel photography can not.
I begin a piece by drawing key shapes on the canvas then washing a thin layer of paint on to block in the major features. I then start working from the background making my way forward envisioning what is behind and hidden by each slope, tree, etc. before I paint it. For me this working in layers gives each scene its veracity and depth.
Sunlight and its effects fascinate me. I have always admired the stained glass of medieval Europe and I love the way the sun illuminates it and shares the coloured glow with the world below. It is a man-made tribute to God and the world He created. However, His work cannot be surpassed as sunlight gives life and purpose to the colours of the real world giving them an “unearthly” glow.
When my work is going well, I feel a sense of awe and wonder and a thankfulness that I have been allowed to capture and recreate our beautiful world. Having said that, I am not certain how it happens and feel that I’ve been witness to magic as the work paints itself having merely allowed me to mix the colours and hold the paintbrush.
As I work, in my mind I see the birds and insects, feel the warmth of the sun, the caress of a breeze, and hear the rustle of leaves, the buzz of insects, the chirp and call of birds. I am transported to whatever scene I am trying to capture.
I have come to realize that my art represents who I am: passionate, realistic, yet orderly and a stickler for detail, and very ‘down-to-earth’.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Installed!!!

Hurray! The Edgewater Eagles now have their new home.

I can't believe it's done. The mural and I have been together for what seems like a very long time.

I rode the three blocks to the school with the heart in the back of our truck. It was almost too large to fit so I needed to sit and stabilize it.

I arrived early at the school to find the maintenance men already there to install it.

It was so heart warming to hear the students say "I know where that is!" They recognized it as being a view of the pond on the north end of the school property.

Staff response was also very touching. A huge "Thank You" to them for their support and encouragement and a special "Thank You" to Sharlene for daring to dream with me and make this a reality. Let this be a legacy for all for your wonderful years of service and the incredible community that you nurtured in our little school.

I am so glad to be able to have done this for this delightful little school.
A huge "Thank You" to my husband for his patience with me and this project and all the support he supplied from cutting out the native animals, trimming the heart, creating a way to hang the heart on my easel for painting, and all the myriad of details involved in the final preparations for hanging all the items. You Rock, dear!!!

Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley

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Friday, June 21, 2013

Installed!!!

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