Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley: Another view of my favourite subject

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’.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Another view of my favourite subject

I love the colours in this painting that I recently completed. It was a dark and dreary winter day when I felt the need to paint something cheerful. For me, the choice was obvious. What better subject than the wetlands that I love and a view where the sunshine set it aglow. [Yes, it really looked like this in real life!]

Slightly smaller than most of my paintings of the past year at 16 x 20, it lights up my dining room where it is currently perched awaiting the arrival of the frame that I have chosen.

It will hang at Pynelogs in Invermere April 28th to May 10th for their exhibition that runs during the valley's Wings Over The Rockies Festival.

Columbia Wetlands III

16 x 20

I am also extremely excited to one of the featured artists at Pynelogs this summer. My work will be exhibited August 18th to 30th alongside other great valley artists such as Marg Metcalfe and Val McPhee. The Opening is to be celebrated Wednesday August 19th from 7 - 9 pm. Please come!

Meanwhile, I am painting every chance I get. I am currently working on my fourth wetlands painting, a large 24 x 36, and I have a stack of canvases awaiting my paintbrush.

Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley

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Monday, March 30, 2009

Another view of my favourite subject

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