Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley: A New Venture!

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’.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

A New Venture!

I have started a new venture that is pushing me outside my comfort zone while allowing me to combine my passions of painting and working with children.

A number of discussions with Sharlene, the Principal at Edgewater Elementary, have led to the idea of creating a small mural sized painting of the wetlands near the school with the students and combining it with two beautiful wooden eagles created by a local artisan.

The plan is to repurpose a large heart-shaped piece of masonite and with the assistance of the students prepare it and paint an image of the wetlands and pond at the north end of the school property. The finished project will then be displayed opposite the main doors to the school and greet everyone as they enter.

Tomorrow I hope to use the assistance of the Kindergarten and Grade 1 & 2 students to sand the edges of the heart and prime it with white paint.

This is going to be a very real challenge for me in that I have never worked on something this large. Involving the students and letting go of control of some aspects will also stretch me!

Susan Fahrni emerges from the Columbia Valley

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Sunday, March 3, 2013

A New Venture!

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