Sheila Kernan: Secret Gardens

Experiencing the world has become an integral part of Sheila Kernan's art making process. She finds beauty in large urban centers as well as on remote mountain tops and is mesmerized by the energy and excitement of translating an experience onto canvas. She says that nothing is better than paint gliding across the canvas as a multitude of patterns and reflections form from the paint squishing, oozing and blending together - the surface becomes filled with thick impasto marks, brilliant colours, and flat shapes that fuse and meld together to create conversations.

Sheila’s fascination with bright lights of the cityscape and golden hues of the Canadian prairie, and remarkable ability to paint them into something immensely more intense and alive than seen by the naked eye, has led collectors and curators alike to deem her “the one to watch”.

With an endless array of fascinating subjects and my camera on hand I am eager to experience, explore, and document my surroundings. Observing each unique environment. I pay close attention to the many different characteristics and subtleties. Absorbing the ambiance.

Feeling compelled to reflect my love for such moments. I draw upon sketches, memories and photographic references. Taking a moment to reflect upon many whimsical visions. Reacting with a sense of urgency to describe them. It’s pure delight. Stories spill over onto the canvas with simplicity. Nothing is better than paint gliding across the canvas. A multitude of patterns and reflections form from the paint squishing, oozing and blending together. Surfaces become filled with thick impasto marks, brilliant colours, and flat shapes that fuse and meld together to create conversations.