Kelly Goerzen's Atmospheric Landscapes
Kelly Goerzen, "Boundary Bog Shoreline," 2017
acrylic on canvas, 48" x 64"
Saskatoon artist Kelly Goerzen has loved the outdoors since she was a child. Back then, she would paint wildflowers and pore over nature paintings by Ernest Lindner. At high school, she took art classes with landscape painter Reta Cowley, who continued to mentor her after she graduated.
Goerzen studied biology at the University of Saskatchewan and worked for a time as a fisheries biologist, painting when she could. After starting a family, she decided to devote herself to art full time. For many years, that meant painting watercolours en plein air. “I used to joke it was an excuse to go out and sit in the country,” says Goerzen.
1 of 3
Kelly Goerzen, "A New Day," 2017
acrylic on canvas, 10" x 20"
2 of 3
Kelly Goerzen, "In the Lane," 2017
acrylic on canvas, 36" x 36"
3 of 3
Kelly Goerzen, "It's Cold Outside," 2017
acrylic on canvas, 24" x 30"
She began using acrylics more than a decade ago when life circumstances tied her closer to home, often working from her own photographs, including urban scenes. But watercolour techniques continued to inform her acrylics.
Her show at Art Placement in Saskatoon, Familiar and Unfamiliar, on view until Nov. 30, includes Boundary Bog Shoreline, an atmospheric scene from Prince Albert National Park, north of Saskatoon, one of her favourite painting destinations. Her work here has a watery feel, and not simply because the image shows a small lake ringed by stunted black spruce. Goerzen says she pushes the surface transparency by using multiple thin layers of paint.
“I want the paintings to be magical in some way,” she says. “I want to express the place because it’s intrigued me for some reason.”
the Gallery / art placement
238 3 Ave S, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 1L9
please enable javascript to view
Tues to Sat 9 am - 5:30 pm
