Holly Dyrland

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Holly Dyrland, “Prairie Wetlands,” 2020

acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48”

The prairie landscape is at the centre of Holly Dyrland’s first show at Gibson Fine Art in Calgary. 

Dyrland grew up on a farm near Donalda, southeast of Edmonton, and now lives on an acreage near Edmonton. Her immersion in rural life is reflected in the pleasant intersection of light and geography in her paintings, on view until Feb. 22.

Dyrland, who is also represented by the Lloyd Gallery in Penticton, B.C., drew a lot as child and was fascinated to watch her grandmother, an artist. But she wasn’t sure how to build a career as an artist and decided to study interior design at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

She worked for several years, but when she and her husband started a family, she realized it was time to see if she could make it as an artist. She began to paint seriously in 2010, focusing on landscape because she had found it so challenging as a child.

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Holly Dyrland, “July Sky,” 2020

acrylic on canvas, 40” x 30”

“I find it so joyful and peaceful,” she says. “I love the breadth. I see the light. And it’s changing all the time, so there’s always something new to see.”

When she started, Dyrland worked in a representational way, copying from reference photos taken during drives in the country. Eventually, things shifted. She now paints more expressively, often using long brushstrokes that create a sense a movement.

“I stopped copying and started painting … I find brush stroke very captivating and how that can become a focal point, just where you lay that, or when you change a brush stroke, how that pushes or pulls you in or out of a painting. I’m really playing with that and trying not to be quite as literal.” ■

Holly Dyrland’s work is on view at Gibson Fine Art in Calgary from Feb. 1 to Feb. 22, 2020.

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