Artist’s
Statement – “Consider the Lilies”
“I
perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers”
-Claude Monet (1840 – 1926)
Claude Monet was probably
referring to the flowers growing in his extensive gardens at Giverney –
flowers that he painted many times and are featured in many of his famous
paintings including the “Water Lily” series. If Monet had had the good
fortune to visit Waterton Lakes National Park it is likely that he would
have felt the same influence from the wildflowers here. Waterton, the most
biologically diverse area of Alberta, has over 900 species of plants, many
of them rare.
When spring comes it is time
for me to get out the hiking boots and hit the trails to see what flowers
are blooming and I always make sure I bring my camera with me. My hiking
partner, my husband Dave, is always on the lookout for new and possibly
rare plants. These plants are often very tiny and almost unnoticeable to
the average person. I, however, am content to see my old favorites but I
photograph them all, big and small.
However, when it comes to
painting the wildflowers, there are certain species that I am attracted to
again and again. I sometimes think of these as “charismatic megaflora”-
glacier lilies, lady slippers, western wood lilies, clematis, and others.
It is the colours, the shapes, and the sheer flamboyance of some of these
flowers that makes me want to paint these species over and over again.
Since the flowers do not change from year to year, it must be that I
continue to find new ways of expressing the beauty I see in them. Working
in three different media and techniques - pastels, linoblocks, monotypes
– is conducive to different approaches and interpretations to each
flower. The pastels are all about colour, the linoblocks about line and
form, while the monotypes can be about almost anything.
This exhibition is my
focused, and perhaps, narrow interpretation of the flowers in this park.
Waterton is a botanical paradise and I can't think of a better
excuse to get out and see it. From the crocuses and glacier lilies of
spring to the asters of fall, there is always something to see.
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