Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley: The Watercolour Years

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, September 12, 2008

The Watercolour Years

Years after my aborted oil painting experience, I was given some water colour paints and supplies. Finally! I thought that this would be the perfect medium for me. After all, what's quicker drying than water colour. I even took an evening course from well known local water colour artist Treva Burton.

After some dabbling and a lot of paper later, I produced these small paintings from photos I had taken.

Despite my persistence, it became obvious that water colours and I did not get along. They wanted more planning from me than I could give and, of course, did not lend themselves to 'tweaking' without being reduced to muddy colours. I found myself too afraid to really use colour and the timid results are the proof. We agreed to part ways and the paints were once again put away.

Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley

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Friday, September 12, 2008

The Watercolour Years

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