12 • The Upper Columbia Pioneer
December 24, 2004
ARTIST PROFILE
Denise Lemaster paints nature’s gifts
“Mount Aenas and Pedley Pass” is the title of this 10” x 12” oil painting, found at Artym Gallery.
By Michelle Taylor Special to The Pioneer For those of us who live here, this majestic landscape is a routine part of our lives. But through her oil paintings, local artist Denise Lemaster tries to spark the viewer’s appreciation and bring a new level of awareness of the breathtaking beauty of the valley. “I hope that when people see my work, it allows them to step back and realize the gift of nature that is given to us,” she says. What inspires her to begin a painting? “The lighting is what first grabs my attention,” she says. Many of her landscapes have been discovered through hiking in the mountains. As for winter scenes, they are often captured during her cross-country skiing expeditions. In the world of painting there are many media, each producing its own distinct impression. For example, oil paints, acrylics, pastels and watercolours create different textures, reflections and finishes. Denise has focussed on sketching and painting landscapes with oil paints. “Each medium is a lifetime endeavour. The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know,” she says. There are no miniatures here. Although Denise Lemaster does some small canvas work, she enjoys painting big. “The mountains are big, so I like to paint them big,” she says. So will you see her climbing up a mountain with a four-by-four-foot canvas strapped to her back, a bucket chock-full of paint and a stack of brushes? Well, that’s not exactly how it is done. On location
Composition and value are developed during the sketching stage and are the keys to creating a good piece, she says. Then the colour follows. Denise always starts with the darker colours first. Once they are dry, she adds the lighter colours. The advantage to using oil paints is that they take a long time to dry, which allows the artist more time to work with the colours and play with the piece. Born and raised in Cranbrook, Denise obtained her Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts and Education from the University of Calgary. She worked as a land planning developer for several years, including the development of Panorama during the eighties. Denise was also the Director for the Banff Festival of Mountain films from 1989 to 1994. Once she and husband Dr. John Rose started a family, Denise wanted to be a stay-at-home mother so she stopped working. Around this time she also got serious about her painting. Denise and John now have two teenaged sons. Aside from her fine arts degree, Denise has taken many workshops through the Federation of Canadian Artists and Leading Edge, working with other talented artists. “It’s a big help. You always come away with something,” she says. She also taught art classes for children at Pynelogs Cultural Centre this summer. “Teaching helps to reshe takes several photographs and does a detailed sketch of the scene. In the body of the sketch, she inforce what you have already learned.” Much of her work can be found at the Artym writes down her colour notes. Gallery on main street Invermere. The next gallery “If I spend the time during the sketching phase, my paintings seem to work out better,” she says. group show will be held December 27.
Paul Glassford
250-341-1395 Rockies West Realty Independently owned and operated 230 Laurier Street DIRECTOR’S PLATINUM Invermere, BC V0A 1K3 AWARD E-mail: paul@rockieswest.com Website: www.PaulGlassford.com
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