Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley: 2013 Calendar

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’.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

2013 Calendar

Last fall I was invited to participate in a really neat project. Suzanne Heron of Victoria has put together a calendar for next year using the artwork of artists from the East and West Kootenays.

Each month features a different artist with one main image of their artwork and three small images of other pieces with notes on each of the pieces and the artist. Each month also features a recipe from restaurant in the area of the artist.

Suzanne has done a beautiful job and had the calendars printed on gorgeous thick paper giving them a hand-crafted look and feel. This is no business freebie advertising calendar but a classy item perfect for gift giving at only $20!

July

I've been lucky enough to be chosen for the month of July, making me the centerfold artist. The image of Memories of Cleland in the main one with smaller images of Old Cabin, Bugaboo Gold, and Fireweed Cameo also featured.

I have been selling them at the Invermere Farmer's Market and at the Tour of the Arts. I've supplied them to a few local businesses including All Things Beautiful and Lambert Kipp Pharmacy in Invermere as well as Radium Bighorn Gifts & Souvenirs in Radium Hot Springs. If you would like one for yourself or as a gift you can also purchase them directly from me. Contact me by email: susan.fahrni@gmail.com

Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley

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Artist Statement

Art Galleries in the Columbia Valley

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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

2013 Calendar

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