Oil

My artistic path began when I decided to take an oil painting class and found that, yes, this is what I want to do.  I find oils to be an exciting and intriguing medium which allows me to move the paint on the canvas to create movement and mood.

In 2002, I started taking oil painting classes at Pro's Art Gallery and Studio in Edmonton.  During my time there, I participated in many workshops and painting classes.  I continue to build on my art studies by learning from other artists and workshops.  They have all inspired me to create art from the art, to capture the essence of what I feel and see.  It is my hope that my art will lift the spirit of the viewer.

I am primarily a landscape artist and have recently renewed my interests in both still life and portraiture.

I am an active member of the Barrhead Art Club, St. Albert Painter's Guild, NOA Onoway and NOA Edmonton.  I work co-operatively with other artists to promote the art in my community.

Carroll was born in Edmonton and raised in Hinton, AB- a small town nestled in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.

She graduated from a 4 year Diploma Program at Alberta College of Art in 1989 with distinction winning the Heritage Travel Scholarship Award 1988 & 1989.

She is inspired by Georgia O’Keefe’s fluidity and minimalism and the surrealist dreamscapes of Salvador Dali.

She has works in private & public collections throughout Alberta.

She enjoys nature and often uses animal skulls, driftwood and cave photographs as starting points, focusing on one particular area, zooming in and letting the image transform into its own entity on the canvas, sometimes creating a foreign, dreamlike landscape and other times a deep cavern to explore.

She invites the viewer to explore these wide “enclosed” spaces and see what images come to life in their eyes.

Barbara Shore was born in Sarnia, Ontario.  She has lived in many different communities in Alberta for the past 37 years. In 1970 she took several courses at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Extension. Through the following years she juggled her interest in art with work and raising a family. In 2004 Barbara Shore completed her Fine Arts Certificate at the University of Alberta Extension Faculty.  Since then, she has been producing art in a variety of medium in Western Canada. 

Barbara’s focus continues to be in figurative and landscape painting. She continues to explore different medium and techniques working primarily in oil and acrylic on board and canvas but has also worked in mixed media.

In 2008, Barbara participated in the Artist on the Rails program. In the past few years she has had solo shows in Jasper, Alberta. Her work is currently held in the collection of the Sawridge Hotel, Jasper Alberta as well as many private collections. 

Barbara is a member of several artist associations which include V.A.S.A., the Alberta Society of Artists, the Federation of Canadian Artists, and the Oil Painters of America. She is also an associate member of the Society of Canadian Artists. 

Barbara recently participated as a Board Member with Visual Art Studios Alberta, V.A.S.A, in St Albert, Alberta.

Like most artists, I have been painting and making art all my life.  From my precious stash of used, white paper and crayons at 4, to multiple media and products at present; the love of marking up pristine surfaces has never left me.  Growing up in northern BC was a blessing, beautiful landscapes and images, and not a lot of planned activities in the sparsely populated areas around Smithers.  My formative years were spent amusing myself, drawing on trees, drawing trees, ripping birch bark off trees and drawing on that, playing with the pure clay that came up by the shovel-full, and numerous other artistic ways to keep me stimulated.

I have been fortunate to study with artists and be with artists groups in BC, Ontario and Alberta.  I am finding at this point in my life, art is now dominating me and I need to be fully immersed.  I think my real journey is about to take place.

     I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, the only girl among six boys.  In a household full of boy noise, I remember spending many hours in quiet creative pursuit: drawing and coloring, then painting in my teens.  Although my parents did not consider art to be a viable career option, my first artistic mentor was my Dad who, although busy raising and providing for a large family, found time to join me in “quick draw” challenges on quiet weekend afternoons.  I was also inspired by watching television artist Bob Ross create half hour paintings with effortless technique.  These techniques were later to both hinder and influence my artistic journey.
     After high school I enrolled in the fine art program at Grant MacEwan Community College.  I didn’t have a specific direction in mind, just that I wanted to be an artist.  I don’t remember receiving much instruction in how to paint.  Classes were geared more towards the process of developing ideas.  I had a great time, but still hadn’t developed an understanding of how to paint.
     After Grant MacEwan my husband and I moved to south-eastern British Columbia where we pursued an interest in photography.  We set up a darkroom in the apartment and experimented with various black and white techniques.
     When my Dad died in 1999, I was devastated by the loss of my mentor. I had looked forward to spending his retirement years painting together.  This loss influenced me to decide to seriously pursue an art career.  I joined the St. Albert Painters Guild in 2001 and started showing and selling my work at the Guild’s Spring and Fall shows.  In 2007 I joined the Studio Gallery Artist Co-Op and I began working full-time at the studio.
    In November 2008 I had my first solo show, “Out in the Ordinary”, featuring paintings inspired by the Hubble space telescope images.  This show was well received, garnering many positive reviews and the sale of more than half the paintings exhibited.  This series continues to be popular with 18 of 22 paintings sold.
     Sixteen months later, in March 2010, I presented my next series in a solo show “Brush the Sky”.  Inspired by the prairie sky, this series featured 19 paintings of clouds.  Leaving out all terrestrial references, these paintings encouraged the viewer to determine their own orientation and imagery, recalling the times of our childhood when we imagined shapes and characters in the clouds.
     I have been fortunate to have patrons support me by purchasing pieces at each step along my journey.  Through them my work is on display in both local and international collections.  
     I currently work and teach out of my studio in St. Albert.  Since the 2010 solo show I have been working on smaller, individual pieces and commissions.  I am focusing on more representational images – landscapes, still life, wildlife and animals – to strengthen and expand my painting skills. 
     I continue to be active in the St. Albert art community donating my artwork and time for various causes.  I am a member and past director of the Visual Arts Studio Association of St. Albert (VASA) taking workshops and participating in group shows.
     I have an open door policy at my studio, offering mentorship and guidance to visitors as they watch art in process and engage in dialogue.
           

Narrative Statement regarding my abstract painting practice

I live in an age where compelling information is ingrained in life and has become part of my observation where circumstances demand a response.  These opportunities, whether physical or mental, influence and modify my view on reality. 

I assimilate the idea of abstraction from an intellectual place.  The simplification and the complexity is not about the subject  it’s about the whole range of history of emotions that come from such places that are raw, intense and open, and still emergent the subject matter registered in my core and resonated so much it had to be expressed on canvas. 

“Art is a matter strictly of experience, not of principles, and what counts first and last in art is quality; all other things are secondary”.  Art and Culture Clement Greenberg

I am a multi-media visual artist, born in northern rural England, who now resides in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada.  

Pat Wagensveld   BFA

CV is available upon request