by Janet Strayer
This is the painting that identifies me on the poster that introduced Art Saturna in the very first posting of this blog. Entitled Riders of Dawn, it's an acrylic painting that includes some gold metallic paint and mixed media on wood panel. For me, it is evocative of the natural world that surrounds us and enters into our sense of being alive. I'm more aware of living in nature on Saturna than occurs in other locations, partly because of being surrounded by the sea and trees and birds and animal life. It's important to me because I was raised as a city girl with little experience of nature back on the eastcoast. Yet, here on Saturna, nature has always been inviting and, thankfully, kind.
Where in the world does one find a small, still sparsely
populated island inhabited by so many inspired artists? Saturna, indeed. It’s a
pleasure to be in the company of Saturna artists, some of whom have already
introduced themselves on this blog.
I’m a painter, mostly of imaginative figurative works, but
also of abstracts. I came to Saturna years ago, living in a large, renewable
tent on a permanent platform for more than a decade until we built a house
overlooking the water. Up a small hill from this haven on the unspellable (and
almost undriveable) Houghquie Wynd road is my beautiful studio. Magic… all of
it .
I’ve travelled through many parts of the world and am still
amazed to come home to this place. It’s timeless and fresh all at once. It’s
also the perfect setting for me to work. This is where I officially launched
myself as a painter. I’d been drawing, print-making, and painting for years, in
and out of accredited fine art establishments in Canada and Europe, It was here
on Saturna, though, when I first realized it was time to come out and show my
work. It’s the showing that now completes the creative process for me:
generating the idea, giving myself over to it, doing it with all the
concentrated internal-external communications of that “making” process , then
letting it go out into the world to complete itself in the viewer’s involved
reaction.
Though I have just this fall opened a studio/gallery in
Vancouver, it is here in Saturna that I find the solace, inspiration, and
clarity of vision to do what I do. I love it here. It’s that simple.
Being part of the Saturna artists’ show this Thanksgiving is
a welcome example of the creative energy that abounds in this small and
wondrous place. It will be a pleasure to have you come see and be part of it.
Here is one of the paintings that I'll have on display at the Art Saturna show. Entitled Fox & Foxy, it is part of my Animal Lovers series. You can see more on my website (click here). This collection of works blends a fascination with the human-animal form in all its varieties and moods with my longstanding interest in fable and in the inner-outer worlds we humans inhabit. I hope it tickles your fancy (or whatever else may need tickling). And I hope to see you at the show.
New Vancouver Studio:
1000 Parker Street, Studio #202 (near Venables and Clark Drive)
In 2013 when I was in Amsterdam, I saw this projection in the atrium of the Van Gogh Museum. My feeling was that the inspiration behind the projection was the energy of Van Gogh's brushstrokes. 
