Artist Statement

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I have a desire to understand how a viewer’s emotions connect to a work of art. To uncover this, I employ the seasonal backdrop of Northwestern Ontario, as humans and nature are innately connected. It is in nature that we see a divine unification of the elements (line, colour, texture, light). Our field of vision assumes snapshots of perfectly rendered compositions and our eyes travel intuitively to focal areas. Colour is a dominant element in my work. I push the intensity of the hues to influence emotion. In doing so, the landscape becomes illustrative and causes the viewer to gain a new perspective.
Vibrant colours juxtaposed with soft, painterly brushstrokes inspire the stories within my paintings. I am less concerned with recreating the actual landscape, but rather, abstracting the forms to create new environments of fantasy, romance and intrigue. Due to this, much of my work alludes to the innocence and comfort of fables. Still though, I have a macabre side and it is in these paintings that light and colour disrupt the sublime to hint at something wicked hidden within.
Stephanie Siemieniuk