I just can't stop myself! Hiking through the estuary, mountain biking down the Wonderland trail, paddling across Alice Lake - everywhere I look, I catch a glimpse of my next flora painting. Like my impressionist precursors, I paint outdoor scenes using a multi-coloured palette. These pictures are bright and vibrant, often without much detail, featuring strokes of bold, thick acrylic colour.
My mind spins into creative overload: I want to represent that meandering estuary and how the flowing waters have engraved deep impressions into the emerald-crowned meadow. I want to capture that slight breeze (I know you're thinking that there never is just a light breeze in Squamish). I need to depict the exaggerated contrast as the candid sunlight pushes through to the otherwise obscure woodland floor.
My pieces are experiments: trials of texture, researching styles and painting the same subject in multiple ways, developing tonal contrast, testing the fluidity of my marks, and trying to know when to stop! Creating, practicing, demonstrating - as an artist I am inspired by perpetual movement and the omnipresent natural environment, landscapes, water scenes, the effect of sunlight and changes in the atmosphere all tie into my strong passion for colour.
Surrounded by the tranquil coastal mountains, I live in Garibaldi Estates. I am the creative owner of Jaxon Design studio, where I continue to enhance my design and graphic skills while curating the Foyer Gallery and pursuing my love of painting in vibrating colour. My commissioned portraits reveal how colour affects and stimulates the visual senses.
I am a dedicated volunteer and art event co-ordinator who is thrilled to once again receive recognition as Best Local Artist in the latest Chief Reader's Choice Awards. Thanks for your votes of confidence in my work, my passion. For more information about my work please email [email protected] or visit Toby's Art Gallery on Facebook.
In the cases between July 5 and Aug. 8, Karen Yaremkewich presents her "Wonderland Madness" exhibit, a magical display of scrap art couture and mosaics. A Squamish-born-and-raised talent, Yaremkewich is passionate about making costumes, art wear clothing and upcycled products for theatre and film productions, special events, art galleries and unique shops - with an ethical focus on conducting business within a 100-mile radius.
Tim Burton's recent work, Alice in Wonderland, and an invitation to Sanctuary's Annual Tim Burton Ball in Vancouver have inspired her creative process for this series. Yaremkewich's adventuresome "scraps come couture" are made entirely from reclaimed fabric waste, captivatingly embellished with stitching, buttons and lace, while her mosaics are created using broken teacups reminiscent of a tea party gone happily awry!
Under her 2010 label Endure Upcycled Designs, Yaremkewich began creating functional fabric art pieces, handmade, one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly, and breathing new life into thrift store resources.
Daughter of the late Hedi Knudsen - a well-known resident textile artist, weaver, spinner and knitter - Yaremkewich comes from generations of "makers." Both her grandmothers were seamstress/dressmakers who raised their families in the 1930s and '40s in Europe. Yaremkewich muses, "Upcycling wasn't a coined term back then, but it would have described exactly what they did as their way of life. Old things were taken apart and made into something new again."
Many of Yaremkewich's pieces, such as "Mad Hatter," "Pin Cushion Queen" and "Ice Queen," are prize winners at Vancouver Sanctuary Costume Themed Parties.
She also models/demos her attire at live events, designs for theatre productions and has recently created the "Landfill Larry" costume mascot for the Squamish Climate Action Network. Come out and see her booth at the Squamish Farmers' Market flagged by reclaimed burlap banners. For more information, visit Endure Upcycled Designs on Facebook or email [email protected]
An opening artists' reception for Toby Jaxon's "Estuary Encounters" and Karen Yaremkewich's "Wonderland Madness" is planned on Tuesday (July 5) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. All are invited.
