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Sheila Kernan
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Sheila Kernan
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Growing up with four brothers and one sister in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, I was taught at a young age to hold onto your dreams - well actually, I was first taught to hold onto my plate and finish eating quickly otherwise my brothers would eat all of my
food. My family fostered the arts, my grandmother was a painter and seamstress, my father an artistic woodworker, my uncle a photographer, and the list goes on.
It was no wonder I would seek out a life of an artist. At the tender age of three I
began expressing a love of my surroundings through painting and drawing. I would often find myself engaged in creative projects paying no attention to the time or the recess bell as my Kindergarten teacher informed my mother: “She did not even move; she
just kept wrapping the end of her pencil with yet anther piece of tissue paper to add to her craft project.” Time flies when you’re having fun! My love of art led me to take art classes from a local wildlife artist, Gail Adams. Gail taught me how to
draw.
I became especially interested in monkeys but that is beside the point. I entered high school art not sure that I wanted to devote my life to art until my high school teacher, Mr. Sikorsky, marched me down to the principal's office and
stood by my side until I had enrolled in every art class that Marion Graham offered.
After high school I was craving a journey and found myself living in the mountains in Banff where I worked in an art gallery. One day it dawned on me that my
work could be on these walls. So I enrolled in art school, completing my B.F.A at the Alberta College of Art and Design. Experiencing the world has become an integral part of my art making process traveling all over Canada, Japan, San Francisco, Vegas. I
find beauty in large urban centers as well as on remote mountain tops. I am mesmerized by the energy and excitement of translating my experiences onto canvas. I am attracted to unplanned moments where you stumble upon a pathway that takes you to the top
of a tower overlooking downtown San Francisco during sunset. I love hiking up a creek and finding myself completely lost in nature. When I paint I am attempting to share my journeys in a unique and vibrant way utilizing art to express who I am and what I
love.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
When I was in grade three I found a book on my mom’s bookshelf called Utopia by Sir Thomas Moore. Before I was even able to comprehend the topic I was obsessed with the idea; I became captivated by movies such as
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland which emphasize a fantasy world.
As a painter I often find myself revisiting these topics. To me utopia means perfection; it signifies an ideal place filled with serenity. On the other
hand, a fantasy world represents a journey of the imagination. The bizarre, eccentric, maybe even wacky happenings that occur in fantasy worlds like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland are truly intriguing.
Direct
translation is not what I am after when I paint. Rather I am interested in how personal interpretations of the world can transform into paint. Paint squishes oozes and blends to create little happenings which leave traces of my touch with the brush. I
can control the paint making hard edges, soft edges, creating dots, dashes, lines, and squiggles that form together to reflect a place.
Choosing to intensify color and be selective in what information I give the viewer, I want people to be
excited by what they see and to let their imagination fill in the gaps. I try to give the viewer something different to look at depending on their vantage point. Up close they may focus on the marks on the canvas, whereas from further back they may
notice how the image forms.
Moments in nature and urban centers are of particular interest to me. Whether it is a huge monolithic event such as man made buildings in Vegas, or a hidden treasure like a small trickling creek I am attracted to the
sensation one feels when they can’t imagine how something came to be.
Through painting I am able to create my own fantasies. I am able to take my direct experiences with the world and create my own version of utopia.
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Sheila Kernan
Affiliations
2008 Active Member to the Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC
2007 Full Membership to the Alberta Society of Artists, Calgary, AB
Awards
2012/2013 Banff Public Art installation, Bear Street Mall Wall, Banff, AB
2010 Calgary Stampede Best New Artist 2010 Western Showcase, Calgary, AB
2008 Awarded Active Membership to the Federation of Canadian Artists
2008 Awarded Full Membership to the Alberta Society of Artists, Calgary, AB
Collections
ATB Financial
Calgary Health Region
H&R Block
Maxim Group
Pulcinella’s Restaurant
AFA Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Design Factor Homes
Brookfield
Taurus Reality Group
Numerous Private Collections
Commissions
2013 Town of Banff Public Art Installation
Credits
2008 Featured artist of the Stampede Rotary Dream Home 2008, Stampede Grounds, Calgary, AB
2004 Juror, Jury Selection Committee, Marion Nicoll Gallery, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, AB
2002 Sales Associate, Canada House Gallery (Member of Professional Art Dealers Association of Canada), Banff, AB
2000 Visiting Artist, Artists at Work Program, Mendel Art Gallery for School Art 2000, Exhibition, Saskatoon, SK
Education
BFA 2003-2006 Painting, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, AB
2001-2002 Fine Arts, University College of the Caribou, Kamloops, BC
1998 Emma Lake International Art Conference, Emma Lake, SK
Exhibitions
2013 Memories & Impressions, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2012 Between The Lines, Gibson Fine Art, Calgary, AB
2012 Boundless, Assiniboia Gallery, Regina, SK
2012 Dare To Dream, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2011 Free To Imagine, Gibson Fine Art, Calgary, AB
2011 What May Come, Assiniboia Gallery, Regina, SK
2011 Urban Experience: The City as a Sensory Machine, Elevation Gallery, Canmore, AB
2010 On the Edge of It, Gibson Fine Art, Calgary, AB
2010 2010 Calgary Stampede Western Showcase Artist, Stampede grounds BMO Centre Halls D & E, Calgary, AB
2010 Playful Interpretations: People and Places, Elevation Gallery, Canmore, AB
2009 Nowhere Near Ordinary: An Indulgence for Your Senses, Gibson Fine Art, Calgary, AB
2009 A Bird A Stone A Letter, Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery, Vancouver, BC
2009 2009 Calgary Stampede Western Showcase Artist, Stampede grounds BMO Centre Halls D & E, Calgary, AB
2009 Contrast and Harmony: Adventures in Colour and Motion in the Natural and Urban Setting, Elevation Gallery, Canmore, AB
Publications
Macpherson, Alex J “Sheila Kernan’s Work Bold, Vivid, Boundless” Verb 1 June 2012
Gunn, Andrew Canadianinterviews.com/arts/ Sheila Kernan “Light In The City” 20 July 2011
Seiberling, Irene “Colour her successful” Leader-Post 11 June 2011
White, Richard “9 Artists To Consider Right Now” Galleries West Fall issue 2011
McLaws, Nicole “Capturing Spring… on Canvas” Décor Magazine Calgary Sun 12 March 2009
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All images copyrighted by the artists.
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