Anne Burchill, the featured artist at this weekend's Olds Art Club 60th annual Show and Sale, got tired of creating paintings simply by applying brush to canvas.
So she now rips pieces of acrylic covered material and applies them to her paintings to give certain parts an almost three-dimensional effect.
That technique will be on display as she does her work during the show, which takes place at the Evergreen Centre this Saturday, April 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The club will hold a little celebration to celebrate its 60th anniversary from 1 till 3 p.m.
Burchill says part of the celebration's plans call for three members who started the club -- Dick Wray, Jean Richards and Michelle Brewster – to be honoured.
Burchill has been doing collages for about two years now.
“If you look closely, you could see there's a lot of variation with the collage. It gives it more interest than just painting it,” she says.
Burchill started experimenting with collage after it was demonstrated during an Olds Art Club class.
“I thought this was kind of fun – to get away from the old other stuff that I was doing,” she says. “As an artist you've got to keep your interest. It's the same as music. You need to be pushed; you need inspiration. If you don't watch, you'll get in a rut.”
First, Burchill creates an “underpainting,” the essentials of what the painting will be about. That can take as much as two hours. Then, over time, she places the collage bits on strategic areas of that painting. She'd been working on one piece she displayed at the Albertan off and on for about two weeks.
Burchill creates a good supply of collage material in various colours, many of which are stamped to create different patterns.
When she visited the Albertan, Burchill placed bits of collage on a painting of a lake, thereby building up the rocks and trees so they stood out more from the lake itself.
A raven can also be seen.
“I picked out a bit of black which happened to have lines on it that maybe had texture on it that give you the impression of feathers,” Burchill says.
“It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. You end up putting (in) all colours and shapes. But, having said that, it's got to work. You can't just slop them in anywhere.”
Although she enjoys making collages, Burchill stresses her first love is still watercolours.
“It's just that clean look and the transparency. And quite honestly, not a lot of people do watercolours anymore,” she says.
“Watercolours are great, because they dry quickly. Oils I find quite messy,” she says.
In addition to the watercolours and collages, Burchill also works with acrylics, pastels, and does some drawing. Works in all those media will be in the show, she predicts.
Burchill estimates she'll have about 30 paintings on display during the show and sale this weekend. About half will be watercolour. The other half are “more fun things,” like the collages, she says.
She says she painted about 80 per cent of the “buildings” featured at Centennial Park during Olds Fashioned Christmas, and has even painted pictures of animals using house paint.
Burchill was born in England and came to Canada in 1963 after graduating from an agricultural college.
Her grandmother, also an artist, encouraged Burchill to paint.
In addition to being a member of the Olds Art Club, Burchill is also a member of the Wellspring Visual Art Network and the Federation of Canadian Artists.
Burchill has exhibited in many juried and individual shows as well as designed theatre sets and displays. She especially loves to paint landscapes in northern Canada and spends a lot of time in the Yukon.
Because Burchill spends so much time outdoors, her theme for the show is Footsteps: Walk With Me In Nature.
“It's like, ‘come with me, I'll show you where I've been,'” she says.
"It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. You end up putting (in) all colours and shapes. But, having said that, it's got to work. You can't just slop them in anywhere." ANNE BURCHILLFEATURED ARTISTOLDS ART CLUB SHOW AND SALE
