Featured Artist Janet MacKay

Canadian artist Janet MacKay presents a stunning portfolio of figurative sculpture and bold landscape painting. Enjoy more of her inspired art by visiting her website.

 

 

Like most artists, I’ve been intrigued by art since early childhood. Growing up in Ottawa, Canada, I spent many an hour drawing on any scrap of paper I could find or visiting the National Gallery. After earning a Fine Arts degree specializing in painting and sculpture from McMaster University, I continued my education and pursued a career in graphic and industrial design.

 

 

In that career, my artistic background stood me in good stead. It eventually led me back to my vocation as a painter and a sculptor. Presently, along with my partner in love and in art, I work out of our Worldview Studio and Gallery of Fine Art, located in Ottawa, Ontario.

 

 

Painting is my joy, while sculpture is my passion. Although these mediums and the techniques involved are quite different, I find them very complementary. The inspiration for my sculpture comes from the emotions within. My paintings draw on the splendour I find in the world around me.

 

 

My sculptures are about strength of spirit and are primarily figurative, with a style reminiscent of Art Nouveau. I have recently enjoyed bringing this vision and approach to depicting the magnificence of whales.

 

 

The process of creating sculpture is a labour of love. It often takes six to twelve months from the initial concept to the finished piece, cast in bronze.

 

 

Painting, on the other hand, with its much quicker turnaround, seems almost to provide instant gratification. My canvases reflect the world around me—a world of water, light and beauty. When I am able to capture and convey my appreciation of that world to viewers through my paintings, I feel fulfilled.

 

 

My work is colourful and vibrant and has been likened to that of the Group of Seven, yet is distinctively my own. There is no doubt—my art is very Canadian in both style and subject.

 

 

Since I took up paddling a few years ago, a canoe or a kayak can often be found in my paintings. I love being out on the water. It’s where I gain a completely different vantage point, looking back at the shore with its rich reflections.

 

 

My series of paintings titled “Skinny Dipping in Canada” is a fun, playful and somewhat mischievous interpretation of the lazy days of a Canadian summer, when clothing is not always necessary. The canoes in this series, and the garments draped across their gunnels, provide a rich palette of colours reflected in the water. It is left to the viewer to imagine where the owners of that clothing might be.

 

 

I am currently working on a series of paintings inspired by a recent trip to Newfoundland. I’m enjoying transferring the enthusiasm I feel for this spectacular maritime province onto my canvases.

 

Artist Janet MacKay invites you to follow her on Facebook and her Gallery Facebook page.

 

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