“I love that painting is a language I can use to talk about dreams and the subconscious and other worlds and other places that you can’t do with any other medium.”
flat surface has to do with depth – transforming a flat surface and pigments into something that evokes a sense of place or depth,” she said. Jolene describes her style as illustrative and whimsical, filled with dreamscapes; although her art pulls from the very literal world around her, like the shape of a leaf or a colour palette in the sky. “I love that painting is a language I can use to talk about dreams and the subconscious and other worlds and other places that you can’t do with any other medium,” she said. Jolene has been a catalyst in bringing the local art community together. For the past five years, she’s been on the board of directors for Art Walk in Lake Country, the biggest art event in the Valley. She wanted to bring a similar event to Kelowna and organized the first ever Discover Art in the Valley at the Kelowna
Curling Club. About 45 artists participated in the first year, including graffiti artists and fire spinners. It’s an exciting time in Kelowna with a thriving cultural community, encouraged, in part by the creative tech community. Jolene sees art as uplifting, something she thinks is in dire need these days. “Art-making encourages me to be present because there’s a lot of bigger things, and more complex things in the world, and art should be something that brings me back to the present moment. There’s a lot of serious things in the world. It’s nice for art to be light,” she said. “Painting is my meditation. It’s a time I’m not thinking about anything but what’s right in front of me.” While Jolene’s work has often been inspired by nature, ships boulevardmagazines.com |
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