In Depth with The Evergreen Artists

We had the opportunity to chat with the nine artists featured in the Evergreen Exhibition this fall! They opened up to us and allowed us to understand their artistic process and what inspired them to paint. Keep reading to learn more about these amazing artists and gain insights into what drives them to keep creating.

The Evergreen artists at Opening Reception!

Ewa Stryjnik

Ewa Stryjnik is a familiar face here at Twist Gallery, Evergreen is the third exhibition she has participated in. Many of Ewa’s paintings are influenced by the vast and uninhabited regions of Northern Canada. Ewa feels it is a privilege to live in one of the most beautiful countries of the world where one can still experience the pristine, natural territories. With her landscape paintings, Ewa invites the viewer to walk through the lands she’s visited and experience the topography; the natural and physical features of the area, as well as, the moods of the weather. 

Labrador 3 (Battle Harbour) | 54" x 48" | $3500 | by Ewa Stryjnik

Over the years, Ewa has adapted her creative practice. For years, she loved to apply multiple layers on the canvas. Allowing for the colours and shapes to peak through, in order to create the complexity of the surface. Lately, she simplifies the layers, opening up bigger fields to bring calmness and clarity to her paintings. Ewa’s paintings project happy and positive energy, which she achieves with bright, saturated colours. 

Theo McLaren

Theo McLaren has been drawing and painting for over 40 years. Recently, Theo has adopted monoprinting; she enjoys this technique because it is a more spontaneous and intuitive method of mark-making. 

Her favourite piece from the Evergreen is “River Flow.” It is a piece inspired by watching the tide in New Brunswick. She was fascinated by the patterns the water was leaving behind in the sand. 

River Flow | 20" x 14" | $400 | by Theo McLaren

Theo’s current artwork is about a memory of a place, traveling through the Canadian landscape. When you are alone in the forest or in the vast hills you think about where you have been or where you are going next. Or sometimes you pass by without really looking - but that image stays in your mind and resurfaces later.

Monique Parlevliet

Monique Parlevliet started working primarily with oil paint in 2021, after painting with acrylic for years prior. She finds the motivation to create in the hopes that those around her will enjoy it. When she finishes a painting, Monique always makes sure to share it with her family because she knows it will put a smile on their faces. 

When creating, Monique tries to not spend a load of time on one painting. It is easy for her to get caught up in “small details”, which you can tell from her beautifully detailed work. She likes to keep her paintings on the impressionist side, which she can easily end up overthinking and overworking if she spends too long on it. 

Beaver Valley | 16"x 20" | $1100 | by Monique Parlevliet

Monique finds inspiration from seemingly plain but scenic views of trails, fields and lakes in places she travels to. Growing up in a small farm town, she is influenced by her love of fields, which is something that some people might see every day but never fully appreciate. Monique used to think that landscapes had to be beautiful and one of a kind to be worth painting, like giant mountains or a crystal clear lake. She has since come to appreciate the beauty in more common scenes

Nerso

For Nerso, Evergreen is his first group exhibit and that makes it very dear to his heart. It is a new experience, meeting other artists, and gaining new perspectives. Overall,  Nerso is very excited to take part in the exhibit. 

As an introvert, Nerso is accustomed to painting in the nook of his basement. He still manages to create even when natural lighting is scarce. Out of Nerso’s whole Evergreen collection “Pink Parasol '' is his favourite painting. 

The Pink Parasol | 24" x 24" | $1100 | by Nerso

 Family is very important to him. The branches symbolize the protecting arms of a family and the pink parasol itself represents the bonds within a family, characterized by deep affection, respect, loyalty, and unconditional love. What viewers can take away from his art is a state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

Michael Brennan 

Michael Brennan’s motivation to paint fulfills the need to practice creativity and freedom. After years of making art for other people commercially, it feels good to have the freedom to make his own choices and make something for himself. Michael is endlessly experimenting with materials, paints, brushes, and surfaces. Constantly trying out new things or painting at new locations to keep him stimulated every day. As an artist, Michael finds he is learning something new about art, so he can't get enough.

Sunrise Sunflower Farm | 18" x 24" | $900 | by Michael Brennan

The hardest part of creating a painting for Micheal is making it look fresh and spontaneous. He finds it easier to get the look he’s after when working from life, but there are times it just doesn't work out and it is better to just start over instead of reworking. That is one of the reasons why he enjoys painting with oil. He can wipe and start over. 

For Evergreen, Michael shares his space in the gallery with his aunt Maria Grazia. They come from a creative family, so he finds it nice to have a collaboration where they can showcase work together. We couldn’t agree more!

Maria Grazia 

For Maria Grazia, painting is equivalent to a type of meditation. Her focal point is what inspires and moves her the most in life and that’s why most of her subjects include the natural world, whether it's the sky, water, trees, or flowers. 

Maria has learned over the years that ALL paintings go through an “ugly” or not-so-desirable stage. Back when she was first learning to paint she threw away a lot of paper and painted over a lot of canvases because she would not like something she painted and just give up. Now Maria knows that it's only a natural part of the process and if she keeps at it, the piece transforms right in front of her eyes. 

Quiet Is The Night | 11” x 14” | $240 | by Maria Grazia

The paintings Maria features in Evergreen specifically highlight the sky. Maria loves the sky and that’s why she paints it. She lives on the 20th floor of a condo and it faces the West, so almost every night of the week she is treated to a beautiful light show of various stunning colours during sunset. Nature is a master artist and it inspires her!

Janet Horne Cozens

Janet Horne Cozens is drawn to painting Canadian landscapes because they were part of her childhood, growing up in Northern Ontario. Even after decades of living in Southern Ontario, she still feels that sense of "home" when traveling north and experiencing the rocks, the trees, the water, and the skies of that area. 

Painting landscapes is a very personal expression of Janet’s life journey. Janet sees herself as an ambassador of the Northern Experience, not only the physical world but also of the culture and spirituality that exists in Northern Ontario. It's hard for her to explain in words but there is a different feeling that you experience when you are outdoors there - a sense of awe at the natural world, a connection to the land that is fostered by the natives, a sense of vastness and separation from others, and a serenity that one cannot find in the hustle and bustle of the big city or urban sprawl. She tries to convey those impressions and experiences to the viewer in my work. 

Reflections (BLACK RIVER) | 30" x 40" | $2000 | by Janet Horne Cozens

Janet’s style of painting is influenced by Canadian artist, Tom Thomas. When Janet studied at Ontario College of Art (now OCAD), she used to spend hours pouring over his small plywood oil sketches that were kept in drawers in the gallery, taking in each brush stroke. Janet’s favourite work of his is Morning, now in the Tom Thomson Gallery in Owen Sound, because of the colours that he uses in it: purples and pinks and mauves. 

Janet loves indigenous art of all styles because at first glance it seems so simple, but as you look at it you become aware of the artist's personality, culture, and personal experiences coming through in the art. 

Heather Munsie

Throughout Heather Munsie’s artistic career, she’s had lots of support and inspiration. Heather and her husband travel to find references for her paintings and her husband’s enthusiasm and support keep her going. 

When she first started painting, living in Calgary, Heather had a mentor who pushed her to deeply analyze a scene and gave her the confidence to pursue painting as a career. Heather is inspired by master painters and her current favorite is William Blaire Bruce (b. 1859) from Hamilton, Ontario. 

Rapids Amphitheater | 22”x 30” | $1000 | by Heather Munsie

Prior to being a painter, Heather was a geologist. Both geology and painting involves looking at the bigger picture and working down to the details. Heather has an appreciation for the complexity of how the terrain was formed and strives to paint accurately to best depict the geology of the landscape. 

When she’s outdoors it’s easy to feel the energy of the scene because it engages all senses. “The trick is to hold onto the energy of the location and bring that into the studio.” Heather will ask herself these questions; “How do I make this scene feel stormy? How do I make this ice feel glassy? What texture is needed to make the water feel frothy?” By paying attention to how something feels, she can vary the texture of the paint and brush strokes to best suit the scene. 

As an artist Heather wants viewers to notice the little things – the glowing ochre tinge on a tree or the vibrant rust color of water when the light hits it. There’s so much variety outdoors and she strives to bring those details onto the canvas so that the viewer can experience what caught her attention.

Danilo Ursini

Danilo Ursini’s inspiration is dictated to represent the intersection of an imaginary line between reality and fantasy. For Danilo painting represents a way of learning himself, representing a subject, with the background with the lights (strengths) and shadows (defects). Danilo likes painting without judgment, he tries to be as objective as possible, like a photo, which stops in a special instant. 

His painting style is inspired by his love of the Group of Seven. Many of his paintings feature trees, they represent an extraordinary being that moves in time and space, like following and changing every season, every year. Danilo’s painting Fall n3 was inspired by reality. It was autumn, Sunday afternoon, and he was sitting on the coast of Lake Algonquin Provincial Park.

FALL n 3 | 15” x 60” | $1250 | by Danilo Ursini

Closing Thoughts…

Each individual artist represents the meaning of Evergreen with their own unique style and creative process behind their paintings. Taking inspiration from the natural world, their artwork is a great reminder of the brilliant landscape across Canada. 

We would like to thank all of these fantastic artists for their dedication to creating beautiful and meaningful art. Of which, our Evergreen exhibition would not have come to life in the way it has. We hope that Evergreen motivates you to explore the Canadian outdoors and to embrace and preserve the beauty of nature for future generations to come. 

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An Interview with Kim Puil, the Artist Behind Inner Landscapes, Arisings from the Space of Being

Written By Simran Birk

This month's exhibition at Twist Gallery, Inner Landscapes, Arisings from the Space of Being, features the extraordinary work of Kim Puil. Half way into the show, Kim’s work has met many positive reviews. Each piece is a big, bold and colorful collage that has its own backstory. We sat down with Kim to gain some perspective on how she was able to create such magnificent pieces.

I understand that you started off as a dancer, was art something you’ve always been interested in? or did you find it as another medium that you could express yourself?

 I have always been interested in art and cannot imagine a world without it. I had the privilege of being a young artist in a very exciting time in the art world. The 70’s were bristling with artists breaking boundaries and rules- and the independent art scene was thriving. The dance form that I trained in was technically very hard to do requiring discipline and commitment yet it was full of emotion, intensity and included the shadow side of the psyche. I have been drawing and creating alongside my dance since the beginning.

I understand Bon-Buddhism and yoga are important influences to this exhibition. Could you elaborate on this? Could you describe what Bon Buddhism is?

The dancer and yoga have always walked hand-in-hand so from a very young age I have practiced yoga and continue to do so. They are very complimentary to one another- i.e. movement and stillness etc. As a seeker in life, meditation was the next natural step and I even paused from my life to enter an ashram for a number of months to deepen my experience.

For me, meditation is not about “exiting” the reality of one’s life here on this planet, but it is to understand and work with the realities on all levels, of what it is to be a human. This includes all parts of us whether they are labelled “good” or “bad”, “pleasant” or “unpleasant”. I feel blessed that I was fortunate in my life to have an art form whose purpose of expression and content was to transmit these realities to the audience.

Buddhism has always peaked my curiosity because the teachings are about how to navigate the waters of this life. There is acknowledgement that suffering does exist but at the same time the idea is that we are responsible for and can mitigate how we cope with and react to the challenges that we come across.

Bon buddhism has its roots in the ancient shamans of Tibet and its culminates in the advanced meditative practices of Dzogchen- “The Great Perfection”. The Bon practices encompass the “whole” - our external world as seen in nature and the universe, and the internal world of our mind, emotions and thoughts.

I enrolled in a self-transformational program in the United States called The 3 Doors Academy that was started by my Bon teacher Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche . Over a period of 2 1/2 years one had to practice various meditation techniques, do group and personal retreats and reflect on challenges, resistance or blockages (a.k.a.”pain”) in three areas of our life: personal self, family and work/community. This culminated in 63 written “transformations” where over a period of time by working with formal and informal mediation practices we “dissolved” or experienced a “shift” in the nature of our “pain”.

Kim Puil and In the Midist of It All

Could you also explain the processes behind these collages? They’ve must have taken hours and hours of work! Could you elaborate on the type of mediums you used?

The first step in my process is meditation practice either with or without a purposeful intention. My subject is my experience of “how things are living in me” at a particular moment in time and my working relationship with the meditation practices in any given moment. It’s funny that my work space is very, very tiny and yet the collages are big! I am choreographing in a new way - and at times I am moving my body all over the place as I cut and try to reproduce the kinesthetic sense of what it is that I have felt. I like to use handmade papers from around the world, discarded and found objects as well as the recycled cardboard that is the “canvas.” It takes usually 3-4 weeks to lay down the layers of paper and objects. The job I hate the most is the gluing as I do not usually glue as I go along. I have to make sure that I am well-centered and not tired as this is an arduous process that requires concentration and great patience - a practice of its own!

Inner Landscapes, Arisings from the space of being. Why this title?

“Inner Landscapes” refers to me, the traveler, and my reactions and feelings travelling through the different terrains of my life. “Arisings From The Space Of Being” alludes to what they refer to in Dzogchen as the base of all or on the elemental level - the element of space where everything in existence arises from and dissolves back into. These collages are my arisings- past, present and future and an expression of what it is to be alive.

Finally, what is your favorite piece in this work? Why?

I don't have a favourite piece. I know all of them very intimately as they are all “me” and are a visual, kinetic experience from a very real moment of time in my life. My connection to them is much like that of 2 lovers…we shared, we loved, we travelled the heart and corners of ourselves and now it is time to part, to continue the journey of exploration and share the love with others.

With many great reviews, Inner Landscapes, Arisings from the Space of Being is not to be missed. Come on down to Twist Gallery before June 30th, to see the work before it is gone!

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