2022 On the Rock Residency
The tiny studio On The Rock is in the Township of Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, located just south of the city of Kenora, Ontario, in the heart of the Canadian Shield.
August 5 - 12
I didn’t really have a plan of what I would do while here. Artwork-wise, I mean. But I had planned to be in the studio 4-6 hours each day, for the 6 days I was here, that’s all I knew for sure. I brought some drawing supplies, pencils, pens, a selection of coloured pencils, a small bottle of homemade black walnut ink, 2 small sets of watercolours, a roll of drafting vellum, a roll of white butcher paper, a 9x12 watercolour pad, and a 16x20 drawing pad. I also packed my green cutting mat, 18-inch metal ruler and x-acto knife. I didn’t really think twice about bringing any those materials, but I do remember when I was packing the car that in my mind I asked myself, ‘what the heck am I going to do with drafting vellum and butcher paper?’ On the first day at the studio, I began with very basic drawing exercises and they quickly informed me of my surroundings. Drawing like this reminded me what my eyes had seen moments before, and in the days before as I drove across three and a half provinces.
Some other techniques I started with were very basic, imprinting the textures and patterns of the studio and of the rocks and trees around it, and tracing (this is where the drafting vellum came into play), and drawing random shapes that overlap each other, and then colouring in the shapes that the overlaps make- I tore up bits of paper and scattered them on the floor, then traced over the shapes.
I was coming back to the part of the country I grew up in, so this really made sense that I was revisiting the basics of drawing and colouring- I began to really see the parallels of my past and present. My work continued to organically morph into a small collection of drawings and ink paintings that clearly reflect the quiet, natural environment of Nestor Falls, and the spectacularly light-filled tiny studio On The Rock.
My art is deeply influenced by what I see around me, and this really came through in the work I did while here. The colours, the textures, the different place introduced a different way of working, while maintaining the fundamental techniques of my regular art practice.