Bev Rodin’s contemporary, impressionist look at Canadian landscapes is coming to Canada House Gallery.
The show, which features works from three different series, runs until May 16. An opening reception, with the artist in attendance, takes place Saturday (May 5), from 1-3 p.m.
“I’m featuring two of my very popular series, and then I’m presenting a new one I’m working on, called The Wetlands,” said Rodin.
The two other series are The Forest Light Series and The Shoreline Series.
“The Forest Light Series paintings feature different times of year, and times of day, but are a contemporary impressionist look at light coming through between the branches or onto a path or at the edge of the water,” said Rodin. “They’re a little more contemporary than some people would paint the forest and they have a fair bit of mood to them.
“They have a lot of depth, and I achieve that through multiple glazes that I use on the canvas.”
The Shoreline Series looks more at landscapes which interact with water, she said.
“They feature a lot of movement and reflection on water, and often it’s just a branch overhanging the water, and maybe it’s the fall and the branch is a maple or birch that has started to change colour,” said Rodin.
“I really enjoy this series, because there’s an opportunity to play with a bit of abstraction and layering and I’m very interested in transparencies, so often you can see through the depth of the water as well.”
The works range in size from small squares to large scale paintings, and are primarily acrylic on canvas. Rodin has been professionally producing art for about 15 years.
“I have a background in art from a very young age,” she said. “I lived in a number of mining towns – my dad was an engineer – and these towns had pretty good art classes. I focused on landscape because we moved so much and were always surrounded by bush.
“I went on to take art formally through a university, but also through independent learning environments, where I’d study with a particular artist on a short-term basis. About 15 years ago, I branched into selling at a variety of galleries.”
This will be Rodin’s third time showing in the Canada House Gallery.
“I love Alberta, and I’m very familiar with the western landscape, it’s just one of my favourite places,” she said. “It’s appealing on that level, just for the scenery, and then it’s an extremely good gallery.
“It’s a beautiful show space and very good management – the people who run the gallery are very excited about art and do a good job displaying the work and running a very friendly, approachable gallery. And it does have an international audience, people are exposed to Canadian artists that they might not normally be aware of.”
What makes the work most appealing, said Rodin, is it’s more of an interpretation than a representation.
“I think what’s appealing about my work is that it has this blend of impressionism and realism,” she explained. “It’s interpretive of the landscape, rather than just being some photographic representation.
“I use quite a variety of techniques with the canvases and paints, and also a variety of reference of material – I might take photographs of shapes and different kinds of lighting, and on-location sketches – I think the best quality interpretive work or abstraction is based on a real knowledge of what the subject looks like.”
For more information on Rodin and to see her work, visit her website at bevrodin.com
