March 27, 2021
Artist in Residence – Pam Roberts
If you have stayed at A Bear and Bison, you have undoubtedly noticed the stunning wildlife portraits scattered on the walls, Pam Roberts is one of our favourite local artists. We have chosen to highlight her wildlife portraiture on the wall of our halls, however her work spans, abstraction, landscapes, human portraiture and ceramics.
The Art
“I enjoy painting ideas that I can relate to; I want to be able to connect with the painted subject. When I compose a painting, I have a conversation with the canvas and the images that I am constructing. Through this exchange, I hope to capture the essence of what I am representing. I feel that my story, and every personal conversation that each viewer has with the painting, is as important as the image. Perhaps it gives a life to the painting.”
The Pandemic – Pam Roberts
“Developing a relationship with my artwork requires space, however. When the pandemic hit home, my daughter shifted to online learning to finish her high school, my son came home from university to finish his term up online, the basement became a workout area, the living room became a dance studio, the kitchen was constantly full of hungry souls and my spouse set up his home office in my painting studio; one of the few spaces remaining. Feeling the need for some space to create my art, I booked a camping spot at a nearby campground and felt both blessed to be able to do so and blessed that the weather allowed me to set up an easel outside. For a short time, I was able to construct the space I needed to create.”
Painting Wildlife – Pam Roberts
“Lonny, the owner of the Bear and Bison Inn, asked me if I could paint a bison for the Inn. I was thankful for the opportunity. For me, painting wildlife grounds me within my art practice. Sometimes, when creating art, I like to explore more conceptual ideas and, at times, it feels like my mind is running off at odd angles and chasing tangent ideas; I enjoy this part of the creative process. In the end, however, I do appreciate the opportunity to return to painting wildlife to recentre myself. The “Bison” painting that I painted for Lonny was a great opportunity to recentre.”
See more of Pam Roberts
https://sites.google.com/site/pamrobertsvisualart/home?authuser=0
https://www.instagram.com/pamrobertsvisualart/
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