Blog

SNOW MAGIC

Winter is a season that affects us all.  Cold weather can force you into a state of hibernation or, on the other hand, you can enhance the moods winter has to offer.  Weather conditions dictate how long you can comfortably remain outside before having to go back inside to warm up.

Nature provides marvelous backdrops for the venturous spirit to view and even photograph, recording memories for others to enjoy as well.  Shorter daylight hours result in less time for people to enjoy their favourite outdoor wintertime activities.

If you keep your eyes open, many opportunities can arise for recording the beauty of nature found in our cold climate.  Photography provides opportunities to make stunning images of snow falling, sun dogs, backlit hoar frost, sunsets and many other subject matters.

My photographs incorporate a new style of presentation.  Metallic prints with ultraviolet liquid coating for protection replace the need for heavy glass and mat boards.  Prints are dry-mounted on feather board and a wooden or metal strip frame surrounds the image.    Photos can be viewed from any angle without the glare of reflections often found when viewing through glass.  The images presented here provide a unique approach to viewing winter.  It doesn’t have to be all bad – it can be snow magic!

Biography

Ken’s photography career started as a hobby in 1978.  He worked in the architectural technology profession for 20 years, while at the same time pursuing photography as a second career.   After 30 years of film photography, he produced his first book of photographs entitled, “Light Effects”.  In 2000, two of his photographs were chosen for the Saskatchewan Craft Council’s Dimensions Program.  In 2016, Ken’s digital photograph, “Resplendence” was shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society’s International Print Competition.  The photograph, “Resplendence” was also purchased in 2016 by the Mann Art Gallery, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, for their permanent collection.  In 2018 he produced both digital and film DVD’s.

Ken is primarily a self-taught photographer.  In 1983 and 1985, he took one week of courses in photography at the Emma Lake Art Camp with Professor Hans Dommasch.  Ken learned a lot about photography through osmosis by being immersed in a natural photographic environment of lakes and forests.  He regularly reads and studies many books and articles on photography as an art form.  He first learned and worked with various types of film cameras, darkroom equipment and related processes, and since 2007 has progressed to digital photography.  He has also attended professional art-related workshops.

Some favorite photographic themes are landscapes, flowers, architecture and capturing the light and shadows in everyday surroundings.  Recently, utilizing digital techniques, Ken has developed an interest in combining parts of photographs into collage representations of reality and fantasy which adds another dimension to the resulting compositions. His work is available in shops and galleries in Saskatchewan or by contacting him directly via his website:

Ken Tickner Photography

Ken resides in Saskatoon, with his wife, Cathy.

Last century Cam graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a
Bachelor of Arts (with Distinction), majoring in Visual Arts. He
subsequently studied Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph
and Kyoto University, Japan. Cam recently retired after practicing
Landscape Architecture for over 35 years.

Cam had the good fortune to attend Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus for
many year prior to its closure and demolition by the University of
Saskatchewan. There he was able to paint in the forest, surrounded by
nature. He says, “I was drawn to trees as they represent the diversity of
nature.”

In recent years Cam has been painting in various places throughout the
world. These “postcards” or vignettes attempt to convey the essence or
spirit of the place.

Artist contact: 306-250-8224

Ann Donald – Biography

Ann Donald has lived and taught art in Saskatoon for over 20 years. Ann has been in
numerous exhibitions throughout Canada and Holland.  She has been teaching art in
galleries, museums, high schools, elementary schools and universities for over 30 years.
Ann holds degrees related to creating and teaching art from Mount Alison University,
Concordia University, University of Western, York University and an Art Academy in
Enschede, Holland. She can be reached at 306-281-4477 or anndonaldart@gmail.com.
Her images are on Instagram at ann_donald and www.anndonald.ca.

“Contemplation”

This exhibition focuses on my love of the land that surrounds me.  As I travel
Saskatchewan and Canada, I photograph, draw and paint the beauty of nature that I see. I
work out small sketches and build interpretations of my favorite places and compositions.
I create larger paintings of the images that are particularly meaningful to me. Using
drawing and the elements and principles of design I create interpretations of what I see
and what I feel. I really try to capture the essence of the beauty and joy I feel while
experiencing the land. Light, color, shape, space and line are the major elements I use to
compose my paintings. This exhibition shows experimentation with the use of India ink,
acrylics and oils on either canvas or wood panel.

Artist’s Statement

Bison, cattle, horses; stop me in my tracks. I may be surrounded by the most beautiful landscape but if there is such an animal in view that is where my eyes are drawn. Although I explore many other subject matter, I often return to this theme. For this exhibition I have painted bison and cattle in herds, in the distance and at closer range. There is one large painting of my horse Siren, grazing peacefully in an autumn field. The large abstract painting of white cows is reminiscent of the smaller framed works in this exhibition. It is interesting to me that these five little pieces are all in shades of red; an unconscious choice on my part. Loose and gestural, they are an expression of the beauty and power of these animals.

Artist Bio

Bridget Aitken paints out of The Studio on 20th as well as her home studio near Pike Lake. She is represented by Nouveau Gallery in Regina as well as Black Spruce Gallery in Waskesieu, Prince Albert National Park. 

http://www.bridgetaitken.ca

Instagram: @aitken.bridget

Artist Statement
Re-visit, re-new, re-work are all words used to describe this series. Using subject matter the
artist has incorporated into other works, and canvases once used for different paintings, has
allowed her to re-visit the faces she once spent time with learning their features and building
their stories. Like seeing an old friend or reading an old journal, coming back to the faces from
this new point in time remained cathartic. Being able to layer these experiences that are only
attained through the passage of time has enhanced not only the visual journey of each piece
but also the conceptual nature of the work. This series is a manifestation of the body through
time; the body of work, the bodies in the work, the artist body making the work and the
stretched canvas as a body for the work.

Artist Bio
Emily Zdunich is a Saskatoon based interdisciplinary artist who has developed a figurative
practice in painting, installation sculpture, and printmaking. Emily is a recent graduate of the
Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours, and Art History department at the University of Saskatchewan.
Emily investigates the concept of the body though gendered experience, birth, mortality and
time. Her focus is on the human condition and exploring connections between the physical
body and the emotional body. As well as searching for links between human relationship
patterns and patterns found in the natural world, both on a micro and macro scale.

Artist Statement
In my first solo exhibition, I wanted to share with you a series of paintings I painted with acrylics in my studio at home from 2018 to 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic has been affecting professional artists all over the world. Our response has been to adapt to the situation and finding new outlets and mediums to express our creativity. I decided to paint landscapes in acrylic depicting mostly the different seasons in the Prairies and the Canadian Rockies using only photos as a reference. I also went back to carving small pieces in alabaster, whatever I could handle in my home studio.I love sculpting and I also created five large sculptures in snow by myself in Saskatoon and North Battleford. I hope you will enjoy my paintings as much as I enjoyed painting them.

Patricia Leguen
www.artistsincanada.com/leguen

Biography
Patricia Leguen was born in Saint-Nazaire, France and has been residing in Saskatoon since 1983. She has been representing Canada at national and international snow, ice, sand and fire sculpting competitions and festivals since 1991 and has competed at over 120 events in the last 30 years, winning awards and trophies all over the world including several times in Canada, China, Russia, Alaska, France, Belgium, etc. Her last international ice carving competition was in mid-February 2020 at the World Ice Art Championships before the pandemic started spreading all over the world. She teamed up with three Russians and their team placed 5 th in the Multi-Block Classic with Spirit of the Forest carved in 6 days, 12 to 15 hours a day. Since all international sculpting events have been cancelled since March 2020, she decided to spend her free time painting landscapes throughout the seasons with acrylics, carving alabaster in her studio and creating large-scale snow sculptures on her own in Saskatoon and around the province. She is the only accredited conference interpreter in Saskatchewan but all in-person conferences were cancelled and she can only work freelance in interpreting hubs in Ottawa for the Federal Government or from home. When she does not carve, paint or travel for work, she stays active
rowing, cycling, hiking, riding her Harley, and cooking.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I am a mixed media, abstract artist. Covid Musings, painted in my living room over the past several months has kept me calm and focused. I begin my process with random black ink lines and marks. As an intuitive painter, I am intrigued by the luminous hues and unpredictability of alcohol inks, and I then relax into the challenge of then introducing other media such as pens, oil sticks, and acrylic paint. I seem to glide into a meditative state as I react to form and colour. And in the end? The magic of a title. “There are no mistakes only magical misadventures of mixed media art”

2007 University of Saskatchewan, BFA (Great Distinction)
Work in the collections of Royal Bank of Canada, EnCana, University of Saskatchewan, the United
Kingdom, the Bahamas, the United States, and Canada.

jancorcoran.com
jancorcoran.art (Facebook, Instagram)
Studio on 20th