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Sheila Kernan
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mixed media, canvas over board
24 x 48 in. | | | $ 2130 CDN |
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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
2007 The Heritage Property Corporation Art Exhibition, Calgary, AB
2005 Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor (CSPWC), Julius Griffith Memorial Award, Calgary, AB
2005 ACAD Students Association Legacy Collection Scholarship, ACAD Students Association Award, Calgary, AB
2004 Jason Lang Scholarship, Alberta Scholarship Programs, Edmonton, AB
2003-06 Presidential Honor Roll, ACAD, Calgary, AB
Collections
Design Factor Homes
Calgary Health Region, South Calgary Health Centre
Saskatchewan Coalition for Organ Donor Awareness
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
2003-06 BFA, Painting, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, AB
2001-02 Fine Arts, University College of the Caribou, Kamloops, BC
1998 Emma Lake International Art Conference, Emma Lake, SK
1994-96 Gail Adams School of Fine Art, Saskatoon, SK
Exhibitions
2012 Dare to Dream, Canada House Gallery, Banff, AB
2008 Calgary Exhibition and Stampede Western Art Gallery, Stampede Grounds Round up Centre Hall C & D, Calgary, AB
2008 Stampede Rotary Dream Home, Stampede Grounds, Calgary AB (Solo)
2008 Sixth Annual Juried Members Show and Sale, Leighton Art Center, Calgary, AB
2007 The Heritage Property Corporation Art Exhibition, The Lougheed Building, Calgary, AB
2006 Just and Indication, Marion Nicoll Gallery Main Space, ACAD, Calgary, AB
2005 Simply Squared, Marion Nicoll Gallery +15 Window, Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts, Calgary, AB
2004-06 Spring/Winter Show and Sale, ACAD, Calgary, AB
2000 School Art 2000 Exhibition, Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
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All images copyrighted by the artists.
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