There isn’t much that slows Pat Trudeau down. She’s still one of St. Albert’s most prolific artists, which is saying something, but she’s also one of our most prolific novelists too, which is saying something else altogether. You could call her a creative firebrand if you really wanted to hit the nail on the head.
Oh, and she’s 85.
Trudeau has gathered her forces for a fine show of form with a new show at the Visual Arts Studio Association. Her New Pointillism and Retrospective Journey is a bit of the old mixed in with a bit of her recent explorations in the world of visual art.
“It’s kind of a combined two shows in one,” she said, noting that her acrylic pointillist works are new but she’s no stranger to them. “They had also asked me to do a retrospective of my former paintings. Well, I went down to my basement and sorted them all out.”
She has developed a theme that reflects her own extensive personal travels. With the retrospective element added in, it makes for a cohesive theme along with her artistic journey too.
“I used to do pointillism some years ago using felt pens … and also watercolour in the tip of the brush, but since I’ve been working with acrylic, I thought, ‘why don’t I get back to pointillism?’” she continued.
She decided to blend some of her new media with some of her old techniques and now vows to continue this practice for her pleasure and for the wondrous paintings that it results in. There are 63 works in total so there’s something for everyone to enjoy and be impressed by.
The exhibit has been on display for a week already but the opening reception will be held tomorrow evening from 6 to 9 p.m. to run in conjunction with the final ArtWalk of the season. The artist will be in attendance. It runs until Friday, Sept. 16.
VASA is located at 25 Sir Winston Churchill Ave. in the Hemingway Centre. Call 780-460-5990 or visit www.vasa-art.com for more details.
Brenda Danbrook, the Redwater potter and fave of the St. Albert Farmers’ Market, is surely going to thrill many with her new collection of works now on display at the Art Gallery of St. Albert.
Reconstructions features a showroom-sized amount of sculptures, pots and ceramics with a twist. Her artistic practice has a strong base in tradition but she’s taking it into the realm of the contemporary with some eclectic and striking work.
The exhibit features some of her wheel-thrown ceramic dishes emblazoned with silkscreened photos (which were taken by the artist herself, naturally), along with cast bronze appendages and clothing pegs to hang the works either from clothing lines or to pose them against antique doors and windows. The installation is meant to instill some charming nostalgia of new works completely immersed in old views.
The show starts tomorrow with an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. to run in conjunction with the final ArtWalk of the season. The artist will be in attendance. Reconstructions runs until Saturday, Oct. 29.
The Art Gallery of St. Albert is located at 19 Perron St. Call 780-460-4310 or visit www.artgalleryofstalbert.ca for more details.
