Living near the quiet shores of Kootenay Lake provides watercolourist Karen Arrowsmith with endless inspiration, and her new show at Puffin Design proves that. The show will include work completed over the last six months – most of which were painted en plein air (or open air) and then completed in her studio.
“I really prefer open air painting; it allows me to best capture the subject matter, but it also allows me to best capture what I’m feeling at the time. Consequently, I paint a lot of landscape. But, saying that, I can only paint for a couple hours outside before the light changes and I have to finish what I’m doing in the studio.”
Painting this past winter hasn’t always provided the ideal weather conditions. “The overall theme of the show is nature in the Kootenays, but I got to the point where I couldn’t paint any more snow, so I worked from previous photographs. I needed to paint my grandchildren and horses and other reminders of a different season,” said Arrowsmith.
Arrowsmith believes there is always something to learn from painting, and she is always experimenting. “I have to constantly feel that I’m pushing myself. I need to be a little uncomfortable, otherwise I’m not learning. And it’s about overcoming that awkward feeling – that’s when I become inspired and something new reveals itself,” said the artist. “I’ve noticed lately that the birds in my paintings no longer play such an obvious role but are now a secondary focus, tucked into the painting somehow. That way the public sees the painting first and then the animal, rather than the other way around.”
From the light that reflects off the lake to richly coloured transparent darks, watercolours can produce painting effects that no other medium can match. What may appear simple in execution can take years to perfect. “Watercolour has an intricacy to it that I don’t find in acrylic or oil,” said Arrowsmith. “The paint dries quickly and I appreciate how the colours blend. I also appreciate the immediacy of the medium and the way the pigment responds on the paper. Watercolour best matches my emotional reaction to the subjects.”
When Arrowsmith goes for her morning walk, she is never sure what she will find. “Every day is different and I never know what subject I will be painting or what colours I will use. Since I have to carry everything on my back, I usually bring about twenty colours with me, but each painting usually only requires five,” said the artist. “Living in Boswell is wonderful. I take my dog Pansy for a walk everyday down at the lake’s edge, and I can see what’s going on and how the light is playing off the water and through the trees. I love to capture the life that goes on around me: the dilapidated boats or the ravens that seem to show up a lot in my work. Sometimes the hours just pass by, but Pansy breaks the spell and lets me know if there’s something that needs my attention.”
Arrowsmith moved to the Kootenays with her husband and young children to find a simpler life and, after working as a nurse, changed careers to become a full-time artist. “I took my first class with Elaine Alfoldy and then over 14 years I took classes whenever I could, learning from both Canadian and American artists. I found painters whose work I admired and respected, and sought them out. Now I paint 50-60 pieces a year,” said Arrowsmith.
The Arrowsmith Gallery is open to the public from May to October. “I usually set up the open sign after I come home from my morning painting session, and I receive about four or five visitors a day. But I don’t have any set hours. I never know how long I’m going to be painting each morning – and that’s okay.”
The show opens on April 8 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and continues until April 15 at Puffin Design (137 15th Avenue North).