Jean Sheppard - Prairies to Peaks

Landscapes of Southwestern Alberta

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Camara Miller of Banff Park Radio, June 10 - Jean Sheppard Interview

The interview is about 1/3 down the scale.

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Introducing two new linoblocks

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Artist Statement

Landscape painters are sometimes asked why they don’t take a photograph instead of taking the time to paint a particular scene. This question assumes that the painter is trying to replicate the scene. But my purpose is not to replicate but to capture a feeling or a mood for a place.

It is usually colour that first draws me to a particular scene. In the spring there is a short period of time when the fields, trees, and new growth glow with a green that seems almost unreal, unnatural. This intense color quickly softens and over the summer a gentler palette appears, and then explodes with the intense golden yellows, oranges and reds of the fall foliage. Time and time again I have been drawn to these fall scenes.  Pastel, with the intense, vibrant pigments, is the perfect medium to portray them.

I have lived in the foothills of SW Alberta for over 30 years and my home is only a short drive from high mountains in one direction and prairie vistas in the other.  I paint it all but I am particularly fond of the rolling, curvaceous, sculpted foothills. It’s an added bonus when the local ranchers have outlined the shape of the land with their swaths of hay and the harvest of crops.

Jean Sheppard’s attention to place is apparent in her work, from the subtle shifts in light and color at certain times of the day to the depiction of quiet, contemplative places.  Her works will place you in the moment and mood of well-loved trails and/or sweeping vistas.

Jean Sheppard states that pastel, with its intense, vibrant pigments, is the perfect medium to communicate her message of attachment and concern for our land and its beauty.  She indicates that her purpose is not to “replicate the scene… but to capture a feeling or a mood for a place”. 

“It is usually colour that first draws me to a particular scene. In the spring there is a short period of time when the fields, trees, and new growth glow with a green that seems almost unreal, unnatural. This intense color quickly softens and over the summer a gentler palette appears, and then explodes with the intense golden yellows, oranges and reds of the fall foliage. Time and time again I have been drawn to these fall scenes.”

The artist’s home is a short drive from high mountains in one direction and prairie vistas in the other.  She paints it all, although she reveals she is particularly fond of the rolling, curvaceous, sculpted foothills. For her, it is an added bonus when the local ranchers have outlined the shape of the land with their swaths of hay and the harvest of crops.  The gallery will also feature monotypes and linoblock prints by the artist. 

According to Jean, “the land has been a powerful force on Canadians and has affected our lives, our communities and our history. It produces an emotional response in many. These paintings are my response to the incredibly beautiful landscape that surrounds me”.

Jean Sheppard has background in biology (B.Sc. in Biology, Carleton University (1963); M.Sc. in Biology, University of Saskatchewan (1968), where she worked for five years).  In 1977 she and her family moved to the foothills near Pincher Creek. Jean set up a studio beside their home and worked as a professional potter.  It was here that she began painting with soft pastels and then in 1998, upon retiring from making pottery, concentrated on that medium as well as printmaking.  Jean Sheppard and her husband Dave are  known advocates for the environment.

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This page was last edited August 30, 2010
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