WAST Review by Molly Brennan

Canyons work is a collection of pieces inspired by nature not traditionally landscape painting but rather snapshot moments of reflection and detail. Many of her works feature a crisp leaf floating on the mirrored surface of the water. This creates an abstracted view of nature from the reflection of the forest branches. She uses acrylic paint on canvas for the majority of her works, sometimes using very thin layers of paint to create a watercolor effect. Using lots of bright colors and pastels adds texture and softness to different painting especially in her lily pad paintings. What makes her work unique is how she displays a new perspective of nature by showing small details instead of the big picture. The detail of raindrops on the surface of the water and a leaf floating by becomes the whole subject of the painting instead of an afterthought.

 

            - Molly Brennan, WWU Art History Student

Note: Molly Brennan is an Art History Student interning with Nancy Canyon during the Whatcom Aritst Studio Tour, 2017. 

Lilies

I've always been fascinated with large leaves, well really any leaves, for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I'd gather leaves in Audubon Park in the fall: oak, maple, chestnut.  I loved the shapes and the colors. Back at home, I heated paraffin on the stove in a soup can and when liquid, dipped each leaf in hot wax and laid it out on a paper towel to cool, thus preserving the beauty I found in nature. 

Now I'm preserving the beauty I find in nature in a different way. Scudder Pond is overgrowning with cattails and the lilies are tall and lush and more hidden. While paddleboarding on Padden Lake, I've passed clumps of lilies with hearty green seed pods floating where the flowers once bobbed yellow. I love the shape, the ridges, the heft of the pods and hope to take my drawing book out there and sketch one of these calm days. We'll see.

Anyway, here are a few paintings to enjoy.

See me in my studio at 1000 Harris, #6, Fairhave in Bellingham Washington, by appointment and the third Fridays of the month for artwalk.

More Lilies

Each year I marvel at the growth of vegetation erupting across Scudder Pond. The pond feeds ducks and beavers, geese, and river otters. There are often turtles sunning themselvs and bull frogs hurrumping at night. Lily pads are lovely, fresh in pinks and reddish browns and withered latter, lazy browns and tortured greens. All of it reflects on the water's surface, even the clouds above. Enjoy the following paintings.

The Daily Artist, to be published by Two Sylvias Press, Two Sylvias Press will be available some time this fall. A comprehensive artist's companion with daily exercises to practice and improve your skill as a visual artist. Here is an example of a page 46:

Analogous Colors

Analogous Colors are colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel. In the above painting you can see I painted the lilies in shades of yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green, and green. You can work with up to five colors and still keep the painting analogous.

Try This: Select three to five colors from a color wheel and use only these colors to render a painting. You can use white and/or a complement for high and low lights. Paint whatever you like, or copy the lily in the picture above. Try the same painting in a different set of analogous colors. What have you learned from this exercise?

Stay tuned, More to come....