Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Nomads and Homebodies - July 29th - September 14th


  
Some folks love to roam the world and some are content cosied up by the hearth at home. This month we are featuring the work of Sue Bayley, Nomad Artist, and Lesley Fountain, self identifying Homebody. The one commonality of these two artists is their love of colour. Both artists enthusiastically embrace it as they express their outer and inner worlds.


Sue Bayley -  Nomad Artist


"Much of my art is inspired by my nomadic life traveling the world working in environmental conservation.  Landscapes attract me but I find I am always circling back to paint wildlife: animals are my muse - powerful shapes, ancient wisdom.  I give them voice - “See Me, Feel Me, Hear Me” and in many cases “Protect Me”. Ten percent or more of all my art sales are donated to conservation projects. Recently, my painting, “Jelly Feast” was used by the Ocean Foundation to raise money for a community turtle sanctuary in the San Blas Islands of Panama.


I use colour for its emotional impact, I do not try to make my subjects exactly life like, my camera does that. But to demonstrate the essence of the animal or place with an expressionistic style.  Exploring colour is part of my nature and a major component of my creative process. Often a large part of my painting is done with my hands deep into pots of creamy acrylic paint. I love the childlike feel of the paint running from my hands as I dance the colours across the canvas. My whole body is involved in the creation of my art, as I dance around the studio; hands, trowels, spatulas, house brushes and a variety of tools splashing a riot of colour onto the canvas. The energy that I create as I dance with the paint transfers to the canvas to give spirit and life to the work. Often I am laughing at the expressions and antics of the creatures in their natural environment, and I want my paintings to convey that joy and humour. They should bring smiles to you, the viewer’s face.  In a moment I want to grab your attention, say - ‘Watch, explore and wonder at the magical natural world.’


I have always had a gypsy soul; wandering the world and following a creative life. First as a ballet dancer, then in music and film production but always an artist. My backpack has few clothes but there is always a mobile art studio in there! Raising my three sons in Whistler and later Vancouver gave me a home base where I worked in film production as a location and production manager. I never stopped painting and I had many exhibitions and my paintings are in many residences in both cities. When my youngest left home, I did too! I have been travelling the world working on marine conservation projects in the tropics. I always return to BC for the summer and work with whale watching companies in the Gulf Islands or on Vancouver Island.  My paintings are in galleries in France, Hawaii, San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, various Caribbean Islands and now Cowichan Bay. My art can be seen at the Salish Sea Gallery, Fentiman Avenue, and Tangerine Dream Gallery and Studio.


The birds are all part of my "Avians with Attitude" series.  The ‘Punk Pelicans’ are from the beaches in the Baja where I spent several winters. The eagles are inspired by the birds at ‘The Raptor Centre’ on Herd Road. The crows are from all over the valley.  The puffins are from my travels in California on my journeys to the Baja. Turtles are one of my favourite subjects and part of a larger series of paintings of marine wildlife including whales, tropical fish and dolphins. As I have taken hundreds of underwater photos when working on marine conservation projects, I have lots of inspiration for new paintings.

Facebook Art Page - Nomad Artist - Sue Bayley's Paintings
Website - www.SueBayleyArt.com



 Lesley Fountain - Homebody 

Born and raised in Vancouver, BC, art has always played an important role in her life, and early experiments with finger paints and papier mache led to painting on silk, cotton, canvas, wood, ceramics, paper, and clothing. She began exhibiting and selling her work while living in Britain in the 1980s. After returning to Canada in the 1990s she continued painting and began creating large papier mache sculptures and mixed media artwork. She taught children and adults through continuing education classes in community centres, as well as workshops in her home studio.



In the late '90s Lesley moved to California and discovered the limitless creative power of art software. She created artwork using Corel Painter software and a pressure sensitive drawing tablet. After seven years in the US Lesley returned home to Canada, and now lives in Mill Bay on Vancouver Island. In 2012 she wrote and published the book The Passionate Life - Creativity, Connection and Community, which profiles twenty-two Cowichan Valley women passionately pursuing the lives of their dreams, and in 2013 she published the follow up book, The Passionate Life II, which tells the stories of fifteen more women. 


 Vibrant colours and a spontaneous, contemporary style characterize Lesley's work. She enjoys working with the combination of hidden and exposed, images and text, and densely layered colours and textures. Her paintings are painted in the intuitive painting style and are comprised of many layers of paint and texture. Her recent graffiti series (she has named it Kind Graffiti) features quotes, words and song lyrics over layers of stenciling, stamping, scratching and spray paint. Her mixed media banners - created on hardware store roofing paper - feature acrylic paints, shimmering metallics, oil pastels, collage elements, and embellishments of braid, charms, milagros, tassels, sequins and found objects.


Lesley is co-owner of Tangerine Dream Gallery and Studio in Cowichan Bay, BC, and teaches workshops in intuitive painting and mixed media at her studio, Shine Art Studio, in Mill Bay. 












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