Picking up from where I left off

As the holidays approach, I wanted to post one more instalment from my painting dairies, before things get too busy. Also, to take a moment to express my gratitude for everyone who has supported me, took an interest in my work, and look for more to come in the new year. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2010!

Peace

A continuation from my painting dairies and so, for the next few years I painted…

I would say the works that followed were studies. I began working on my technique and painted mainly from still life and photographs. Often I would cut dead flowers or bring branches and twigs into my studio and paint the same forms over and over again. But instead of painting the vase and the room the still life sat in, I would zoom in, like you do with a camera lens. Then layer the forms on top of one another, having them fill the entire canvas. The technique gives the spaces around the lines (negative spaces) as much importance as the line or the subject it’s self. I still use this device today although I don’t work with still life much anymore. From this period, I experimented a lot with in the same theme, but I would say it was not a cohesive body of work. I had some gems in the rough, sort of the way golfers describe that one great shot that brings them back. I had some paintings like that, glimpses of greatness. I had a great painting instructor at ACAD, Don Kottmann he was known around the college as the “hockey coach of painting”. Practice, practice, practice, how do you get better at painting he would ask… the answer paint. As I developed my studio practice and went on to teach myself, I found myself often using Don’s techniques with my own students, quick paintings to warm up follow by repetition, painting the same still life over and over again.

Empty Mailbox, 5X3', mixed media, 2008
Lisa Tornack

I had the opportunity to participate in the Market Collective this weekend. The Market Collective, is a relatively new venue where Calgary's performing and visual artists can showcase their work. The weekend includes live performances by local musicans, an artisan fair, holiday photo booth, and displays by the Quick Draw Animation Society and "Calgary is Awesome" group. Although the work the artisan fair was a bit of a mixed bag, it was a busy weekend with loads of people in attandence, despite the frigid temperatures outside. I had a the opportunity to chat with a lot of folks and hang with my friend and fellow painter, Lisa Oehler.

It has been a busy week for me including a sale at my friend’s home, the T-shirt show in Vancouver, and an installation in Edmonton!

The T-Shirt show was coordinated by Corie Tornack in Vancouver. This was the second one of this type, featuring the designs from artists as well as “other hipsters types” as my brother coined it.

The T-Shirt Show Hipsters include: Garnet Harry • Don Bull • Mark Mushot • Joel Whist • Cam Andrews • Jessica Bushey • Jim Cummins • Grant Vanderslagt • Kim Vanderslagt • Patrick Banister • Corie Tornack • Eric Nylen • Davis Wylie • Sabrina Modder • Kari Rust • Anthony Preston • Aleksandra Potkonjak.

My design (shown above) was inspired by a trip and artist residency a took in 2008. “La Pau” the title of the T-Shirt translated from Catalan to English means peace.

La Pau - Peace
1) freedom from conflict or disagreement (2) serenity (3) a metro stop in Barcelona, Spain (4) a town in the south of France (5) For me La Pau is the culmination of a great journey, to paint and walk the earth.

The design includes the words La Pau, with what looks like a figure eight below the text. The eight is actually an infinity sign, which is something I refer to as a “personal symbol” and have used in a number of my pieces. Simply stated, I describe personal symbols as imagery that you feel connected to. I have a painting that is titled “Infinity: Flying Hearts and other Personal Symbols”, which includes infinity signs falling like leaves, human hearts with bird wings, and a variety of natural forms. I will touch more on this later, along with another instalment of my painting diaries.

If you are interested in seeing more of the T-shirt designs check out
t-shirtshow.blogspot.com or to see exhibition photos search www.garnville.com.

Upcoming Exhibitons

I am participating in a number of shows in the upcoming weeks if you are in the neighbourhood come check it out! The T-Shirt Show takes place in Vancouver this weekend, sadly I cannot be there but I will be in attendance at the 4th Annual Art Show & Sale, in Strathcona in Calgary this weekend. Then Sunday I head off to Edmonton, to install my solo show at the Northern Jubilee Auditorium.
Watch for more details and photos!

T Shirt Show
Saturday, November 28th
I, Braineater Art Gallery, 302 857 Beatty Street Vancouver, BC
7 pm-12:00am
Come Celebrate With Us!

4th Annual Art Show & Sale
Nov 28 & 29
10:00 - 4:00 (Saturday & Sunday)
19 Strathcona Place SW, Calgary, Alberta (house)

Artist in Attendance
Barbara Rumberger
Cindy Plomp
Connie Cooper
Jeff Yee
Jill Nuckles
Joan Irvin
Lisa Tornack
Mindy Andrews
Natali Rodrigues
Rachel Collins

Welcome to Atelier Natura!

My name is Lisa Tornack and I am a visual artist who lives and works in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In this blog, I hope to highlight my work, speak to technique, outline sources for inspiration, and talk about the creative process.

But first I will tell you a little about myself. I am a graduate of ACAD, from the ceramics department. During my time at art school I was making sculptural ceramics, working with nature themes. I sculpted small trees with leaves and cornucopia style vessels. I minored in painting at art school but 6 years ago, made the switch to painting solely. I was sharing a studio with Diane Sullivan at the time(my former instructor/ceramist). She was watching me working with clay and paint in the same studio. During one of our many long talks she suggested that she liked my paintings more than my clay pieces. It was one of those "aha" moments and I have been painting ever since. Although I have switched mediums the themes of my work have remained the same. I am working with nature, leaves, grasses, and trees. I am often asked why nature as a theme, actually it has taken some time to understand this for myself. When looking at the natural world we can see through a window of time, a condensed life cycle. One can observe all phases of life: birth, growth, demise, and regeneration. I am fascinated by the way nature illustrates, in the most unassuming leaf, branch, and twig, the interconnection of all things.

I began as an acrylic painter, but switched to oil due to financial need. I was broke and I was out of acrylic paint (I know now why Picasso had a blue period, it is one color you hardly use). A friend of mine was a friend/model of Charles Malinsky and he had gifted to her his large canisters of oil paint before his departure to Spain. My friend in turn gifted these paints to me. This is how I began working in oil. I must say it was a very difficult transition. I had never worked in oil at art school and really had to teach myself. In the beginning I was washing up my skin with thinners and battling to get anything “good”. It took a good six months to understand the properties of the material and few more years to get really comfortable with it.

So for the next few years I painted.