PRAIRIE DRIFT: A PERSONAL JOURNEY SUZAN BERWALD
This collection of works created over a period of four years showcases Suzan Berwald’s personal fascination with the Alberta landscape. The land has played and still shapes such an essential part of our collective identity and Suzan’s personal identity as a “prairie girl”. It is the quiet stillness of the prairie vista that has come to intrigue Suzan more and more. Suzan explores scenes drawn from childhood memories on the family farm and from her road trips; the grain elevators, the aspen woodland glen, the fall harvest, the wide-open vistas of the grassland and crop fields, and the overarching and dramatic sky. This exhibition deals with place, identity, memory, time, and continuity.
In Prairie Drift, Suzan works with a wide variety of materials and techniques. As an emerging artist, Suzan is continually learning and experimenting by taking numerous art workshops and classes. This exhibition highlights some of the techniques Suzan has learned as she experiments trying to discover her own unique artistic style. But no matter the materials or artistic techniques Suzan uses, the subject matter remains constant…the Alberta landscape. It is the land that nurtures our soul, feeds our body, and garners our love.
JASPER OUTLOOK, Acrylic & pastel on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5 cm (12 x 12 in), $140.00. Winter or summer, no season is complete without a trip to our scenic mountains. However, growing up on a working farm, visiting the mountains was a luxury we could not afford. So, it may come as a surprise to read that my first visit to the mountains happened during my early university years. To say that I was awe-struck would be an understatement! Over the decades, this sense of wonder has not disappeared. We are so privileged to have these monoliths within our borders!
PRAIRIE STILLNESS, Pastel on paper, 61 x 41 cm (24 x 16 in), $250.00. Autumn is my favourite time of year. I love the colours, but it also takes me back to my childhood; a successful harvest and my family preparing for the coming long winter. I no longer work on the farm, but I do have to prepare my garden and flower beds for the coming season. I captured this scene during one of my drives along a country road. It brought back memories of harvest time on our farm; racing to get the crop in before the deluge.
THE ROAD HOME, Acrylic on wood, 41 x 30.5 cm (16 x 12 in), $165.00. Driving home one day, before an approaching storm, I had to stop to catch the movement of the clouds as they raced across the horizon. The power and force of prairie storms can feel both threatening and awe-inspiring. I created 4 pieces based on the photograph I took on that day's drive back home. In The Road Home, I used acrylic paint and also two different tools—a palette knife and a brush. I did not want to duplicate my pastel interpretation because I always want to stretch my creative abilities and challenge myself. The sky is not as threatening although there are a few darkening clouds. As this work was a bit of an experiment with a new painting technique, I ended up applying more vibrant colours. The unexpected result is a much brighter, almost garish interpretation of the same scene. Sometimes playing with paint can bring about delightful results.
DARK SKIES, Acrylic & pastel on paper, 56 x 43 cm (22 x 17 in), $175.00. Driving home one day, before an approaching storm, I had to stop to catch the movement of the clouds as they raced across the horizon. The power and force of prairie storms can feel both threatening and awe-inspiring. I created 4 pieces based on the photograph I took on that day's drive back home. In Dark Skies my focus is again on the road and sky. The idea of a road leading to the horizon is a very strong element many artists portray. I do not know why. Perhaps it is the idea that, in life, we travel on a journey and do not know how or when it will end. In this work, it really is the darkening sky and the approaching storm that dominates the work. I wanted to really work on my study of clouds and the shifting colours we can see in the sky.
THE LONG ROAD HOME, Pastel on paper, 56 x 43 cm (22 x 17 in), $250.00. Driving home one day, before an approaching storm, I had to stop to catch the movement of the clouds as they raced across the horizon. The power and force of prairie storms can feel both threatening and awe-inspiring. I created 4 pieces based on the photograph I took on that day's drive back home. Using pastel in The Long Road Home I wanted to convey the looming sky which seemed to press down on me and hurry me home. Pastel is a pure powdered pigment that beautifully allows for blending, yet, no drying time nor colour change like with paints. This allowed me to really play with the dark emotions of the sky
ROADSIDE VIEW, Acrylic on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5 cm (12 x 12 in), $130.00. Driving home one day, before an approaching storm, I had to stop to catch the movement of the clouds as they raced across the horizon. The power and force of prairie storms can feel both threatening and awe-inspiring. I created 4 pieces based on the photograph I took on that day's drive back home. Instead of trying to paint what I saw, in Roadside View I wanted to use colour in a far more intuitive manner. This “intuitive” approach was quite difficult for me as I did not look at or use my photo reference after the initial sketch. You would not believe how many earlier attempts I discarded before I ended up with a work I liked!
HARVEST MEMORIES, Pastel on paper, 48 x 41 cm (19 x 16 in), $170.00. Late summer on the family farm meant harvest time. The long swathes of cut grain meant working late nights to auger it into our wooden granaries. Harvest time required everyone to pitch in. I had to shovel the grain from the centre mound created by the auger into the corners of the granary. The dust and ever-present mice were two things I did not appreciate. Having left the farm years ago, I am still fascinated by the undulating rows of the cut harvest, in spite of the memories of scurrying mice!
ALBERTA GOLD, Pastel on paper, 46 x 46 cm (18 x 18 in), $250.00. Two features stay in my mind from my childhood as a farmer’s daughter; the sunshine colour of our canola fields contrasting with our big blue sky. As a farmer’s daughter, I realized that canola would get the best-selling price for our family. But, as an artist, I just see that bright, happy colour! Nowhere in the world will you find a sky that is so enveloping or embracing. Looking up at that sky makes one realize how small humans are when compared to the natural world.
ELEMENTUM I, Acrylic on wood, 30.5 x 30.5 cm (12 x 12 in), $130.00. On occasion, I have been able to return to Germany where some of my relatives live. On a walk outside my aunt’s place, I encountered this countryside view. The colours and landscape reminded me of Alberta. Seeing that I had been in Germany for about three weeks, I was feeling quite a bit nostalgic. It was so nice to have a touch of home and coming across this view made me even more homesick. Travel often makes a person appreciate their own country even more.
ELEMENTUM II, Acrylic on wood, 30.5 x 30.5 cm (12 x 12 in), $130.00. Elementum I and II are a part of a series where I worked on different techniques while working in the same colour palette. This painting involved working with pallet knives and scraping the paint back. You can see the difference in Elementum I where I simply used brushes and paint. As an artist, I'm always learning and trying new techniques. I also love colour, so playing with the two allows me to have fun and grow my skills.
RIVERBEND, Pastel on paper, 35.6 x 28 cm (14 x 11 in), $140.00. I do not fish, but I am attracted to water; the sound, the movement, the changing colours within its depths. I was inspired to create this work because it combines all of the elements of nature I appreciate—the mountains in the background, the vibrant fall colours of the forest, and the flowing stream.
THE COUNTRY ROAD, Graphite on paper, 66 x 56 cm (26 x 22 in), $250.00. This is such a typical scene we can see in Alberta. In many ways, this work reminds me of my family farm; a fairly straight road protected by tall spruce trees, planted by my mother, that would eventually bring our visitors to our family home. I have followed in my mother’s footsteps and also planted a variety of trees along my driveway. I decided to work in pencil for this work because I could capture the finer details of the landscape that I often do not express in my pastel works.
JASPER VANTAGE, Acrylic on wood, 61 x 61 cm (24 x 24 in), $275.00. Every time I am lucky enough to visit the mountains, I am awe-struck by their rugged beauty as they surge upward into our sky. When I painted these mountains, I worked with a scrapper and with a great deal of pressure and force trying to duplicate the birth process of these rugged beauties. I wanted to feel as if I was actually building those peaks.
FROST’S FIRST BITE, Pastel on paper, 35.6 x 28 cm (14 x 11 in), $140.00. I have been very fortunate to live by a lake so it is not a surprise that I am trying to include water as a feature element in this piece. But you'll notice I don't have many water images in my exhibition. I love lakes, however, depicting water effectively is still quite a struggle for me. I chose to illustrate my backyard because of the water and the brilliant striking fall colours, which is also my favourite season.
RENEWAL, Cardboard, paper, matches, ink on wood; 30.5 x 25 cm (12 x 10 in), $100.00. There are times when events happen in the world that artists feel compelled to respond to. One such event was the Fort McMurray wildfire of 2016. I remember sitting in front of my television all day long watching the horrific images. I also remember listening to the residents and their stories and was amazed by the resilience they showed; their complete faith that they would return to their hometown and rebuild. This work incorporates both the destruction and the renewal.
WOODLAND WALK, Acrylic on canvas, 30.5 x 30.5 cm (12 x 12 in), $130.00. Here, I experimented with abstract style. Based on a photograph, this piece differs greatly from my other abstract work, Roadside View. I was drawn to create this image because as a child growing up on my family’s farm I would often walk to the nearby aspen woodland for some quiet time and reflection. The woods have served as a sanctuary my entire life. Walks in the woods, especially during these last two years, have provided the necessary solace and restored balance needed in my life.