Shirley Wyngaard, BFA

It is a basic need in my life to paint. I study, seek understanding and visually interpret or express what I experience through painting. My purpose as an artist is not to duplicate the image but to respond to it emotionally, and share the experience with the viewer.

In my landscape paintings, the colour, light, space and forms evoke many moods…meditative calm, drama, sadness or joy; all celebrating life and the wonder of creation. Painting “Plein Air” (on location) has intensified this experience with the immediacy and spontaneity it requires. Light changes in a moment, rain, snow and wind come and go, contributing to the experience. Encounters with wildlife ( I discovered that mountain sheep like vermillion red paint) and interruptions from interested people are all a part of Plein Air painting.

My “Pear” series was inspired from seeing pears as “characters” relating to one another as people do…gossiping, dancing, arguing, smooching, or holding meetings. I explore

“human” relationships and emotions via pears using gestures, juxtaposition, spatial relationships and expressive colour.

I paint flowers because they are such miracles of life and beauty. They represent fragility and strength at the same time, and are so complex and yet so simple. The transformations they undergo as the light and season changes are parallel to the stages of all life. I seek to see and express the beauty in each way of life.