Artist Statement
“The self must know stillness before it can discover its true song.”
~Ralph Blum
I do not often enough seek, with intention, moments of stillness in my life which inevitably fill me with a sense of connection to something greater than what the world seems to offer with its distractions, politics, noise and so on. Painting is one path to stillness; when one gets lost in the moment, completely absorbed in what fills one with purpose, all feels well in the world. With these paintings I hope to express and savour the moments I have experienced which have stopped me in my tracks and brought me back to that quiet place which I mention in the Artist’s Statement from my bio:
"I am endlessly fascinated by the textures and layers which are found not only in the landscape, but which comprise our relationships with each other and the mental and physical environment in which we live.
In this frenetic society we live in, I cherish the quiet solitude I often feel in my community which allows room for peaceful contemplation. Through my work, I seek to impart a sense of that stillness which allows us to feel connection to each other and the natural world."
Having a moment of connection with another human being grounds me; in my art, I love being able to focus on the face of another person in an unguarded moment of quiet. I was so fortunate to have been able to connect with several wonderful women, four of whom invited me to sketch and photograph them during their final trimester of pregnancy. This is a profound time of life that often requires us (as mothers) to slow down and cultivate a sense of stillness which allows us to reflect on the new life inside us and our role in it. I’m so grateful to these women for their generosity and trust in allowing me to try to capture these intimate moments. I hope these pieces bring to the viewer a sense of stillness that allows them a few moments of peaceful contemplation and respite from the distractions that daily fill our lives.
-Kari Lehr, 2015
Joyful Expectance
24"X48" acrylic on canvas, 2015
$2750 (framed)
With her beautiful crown of dreadlocks and natural approach to life, Marie is the quintessential earth mother.
To me, this pose captures an attitude of luxurious acceptance and contentment with who she is and where she is at in life while awaiting the birth of her second child.
Promise
30"X40" acrylic and collage on canvas, 2015
SOLD
Since meeting the beautiful, sunny, vibrant and earthy Sarah, the words "flower child" spring to mind whenever we meet.
Radiating a sense of quiet joy with this pregnancy, I wanted to paint Sarah in a field of flowers as vibrant as she is, basking in the calm certainty that all is well. Live expresses itself around her with cheerful insistence, and in the quiet presence of the little bird there is the promise of peace.
Radiating a sense of quiet joy with this pregnancy, I wanted to paint Sarah in a field of flowers as vibrant as she is, basking in the calm certainty that all is well. Live expresses itself around her with cheerful insistence, and in the quiet presence of the little bird there is the promise of peace.
Metamorphose I
24"X30" acrylic on canvas, 2015
NFS
In 2013 my sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. What followed has been a journey of healing and self-discovery, tales of which she recounts with eloquence, humour and above all, gratitude.
I realized, as I pondered the portrait I was considering painting of her, that it was a very similar pose to one I was working on of an expectant mother who also posed for me. In putting the images together, what initially seemed a juxtapositioning of two women in very different life circumstances in fact began to seem more like parenthesis; bookends which held between them a universal expression of grace: inner strength, resilience, acceptance and hope.
I hoped to capture these qualities as expressed in an ethereal beauty which is shared by both of these amazing women.
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
-Marcel Proust
I realized, as I pondered the portrait I was considering painting of her, that it was a very similar pose to one I was working on of an expectant mother who also posed for me. In putting the images together, what initially seemed a juxtapositioning of two women in very different life circumstances in fact began to seem more like parenthesis; bookends which held between them a universal expression of grace: inner strength, resilience, acceptance and hope.
I hoped to capture these qualities as expressed in an ethereal beauty which is shared by both of these amazing women.
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
-Marcel Proust
Metamorphose II
24"X30" acrylic on canvas, 2015
$1725 (framed)
Beyond Blue
20"X20" acrylic and collage on canvas, 2015
SOLD
During lunch with a young friend of mine earlier this year, she spoke to me of her lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression. As I listened to her, I was struck by the calm and frank manner with which she recounted how she had come through a particularly dark period in her young life.
Later, she drew a word-picture for me which describes this relationship:
(Excerpt)
" In the stillness, the three of us are alone again. They've haunted me all of my life, and I'm exhausted from hiding away. "Let us have you," they say. "We'll take care of you. We'll show you the easy way out of this nightmare." I'm blue in the face from drowning in the words I want to say but cannot find the courage for. I rise, take a step back and say to them, "Not today. My struggles are raw, tangible and most definitely real. But for today... I am choosing life.
... as I thought through the stillness, I was able to find the strength within myself to stand alone."
I wanted to capture the calm face that I saw that day; a face that seemed to be imbued with a renewed sense of purpose and determination, optimism even. But visible also was a particular kind of knowing - a window into a soul that understands despair but is learning to find both the words, and the courage to speak them.
Later, she drew a word-picture for me which describes this relationship:
(Excerpt)
" In the stillness, the three of us are alone again. They've haunted me all of my life, and I'm exhausted from hiding away. "Let us have you," they say. "We'll take care of you. We'll show you the easy way out of this nightmare." I'm blue in the face from drowning in the words I want to say but cannot find the courage for. I rise, take a step back and say to them, "Not today. My struggles are raw, tangible and most definitely real. But for today... I am choosing life.
... as I thought through the stillness, I was able to find the strength within myself to stand alone."
I wanted to capture the calm face that I saw that day; a face that seemed to be imbued with a renewed sense of purpose and determination, optimism even. But visible also was a particular kind of knowing - a window into a soul that understands despair but is learning to find both the words, and the courage to speak them.
Emergence
24"X30", acrylic on canvas 2015
$1725 (framed)
The time spent awaiting birth is an incubation of sorts. We are wrapped in our own cocoon of dreams, desires and uncertainties; the unfoldment of new life within is reflected in the unfoldment of new motherhood without. The process of creating art is often compared to the birthing process, with its many stages of development from the inception of an idea to its birth on canvas, in clay, on the scoresheet, screenplay or choreography.
It can be a time of deep introspection and stillness with bursts of creative energy.
And many moments of self - doubt.
But we push forward through the creative process, and emerge, like many new mothers, with mixed feelings of triumph, humility, awe, fatigue... and sometimes, despair.
And then we take all of what has brought us to this point, tuck it away in our minds and hearts, and we begin again.
It can be a time of deep introspection and stillness with bursts of creative energy.
And many moments of self - doubt.
But we push forward through the creative process, and emerge, like many new mothers, with mixed feelings of triumph, humility, awe, fatigue... and sometimes, despair.
And then we take all of what has brought us to this point, tuck it away in our minds and hearts, and we begin again.
Reflecting
20"X20" acrylic on canvas, 2015
SOLD
My daughter, caught in one of those lovely dreamy moments of stillness we've all experienced in childhood. While I don't know what was going through her young mind in these moments, as her mother I found myself looking at her and reflecting on the young woman who was slowly taking place of the delightful, inquisitive, loving child of my heart.
A Fine Balance
16"X20" acrylic on canvas, 2015
$725 (SOLD)
While watching my son teaching my daughters a bit about climbing recently, I was struck not only by the grace with which he demonstrated his skill, but also the quiet joy which was apparent as he worked his way to his goal. I asked him for one word which captured for him the essence of climbing, and he said, "balance". In having had conversations with my son about his love of climbing, my sense is that for him, climbing brings together in one meditative pursuit a fine balance of mind, body and spirit.
How many of us seek with intention that place of equilibrium where we find peace enough for quiet contemplation?
"Enter into the stillness inside your busy life. Become familiar with her ways. Grow to love her, feel her with all your heart, and you will come to hear her silent music and become one with Love's silent song."
- Noel Davis
How many of us seek with intention that place of equilibrium where we find peace enough for quiet contemplation?
"Enter into the stillness inside your busy life. Become familiar with her ways. Grow to love her, feel her with all your heart, and you will come to hear her silent music and become one with Love's silent song."
- Noel Davis
Act II
36"X36" acrylic and collage on canvas, 2015
$2850 (SOLD)
I met this lovely woman at an art market and before long, I knew I wanted to paint her. Sophie radiates a calm, accepting kind of love that is irresistible to anyone who cones into her presence. She is open and honest and loves the good earth, trying to leave as small a footprint as she can as she walks upon it.
And, just when you think she can't be any more amazing, she tells you that:
She went to circus school and is a professional clown, acrobat, dancer and performer.
You can find Sophie performing and teaching hoola hoop to kids all the way from Crowsnest Pass to the littlest villages of South America. And so many other things... how could I not want to paint Sophie swinging by the light of the moon, centre stage where she belongs? Here she gazes into the future, dreaming of Act II, where she'll begin her greatest and most challenging role yet.
P.S. This production had a vey happy ending.
And, just when you think she can't be any more amazing, she tells you that:
She went to circus school and is a professional clown, acrobat, dancer and performer.
You can find Sophie performing and teaching hoola hoop to kids all the way from Crowsnest Pass to the littlest villages of South America. And so many other things... how could I not want to paint Sophie swinging by the light of the moon, centre stage where she belongs? Here she gazes into the future, dreaming of Act II, where she'll begin her greatest and most challenging role yet.
P.S. This production had a vey happy ending.
There's Something About Sophie
14"X16" watercolour sketch on board, 2015
NFS
Sophie's clowning background is touched on in the statement to "Act II"
Roots and Wings
Acrylic and collage on clay base, 2014
SOLD
The talented potter Heather Fletcher creates beautiful clay torsos, and I had long wanted to use one as the base for a painting. I love the female form, and believe that female beauty lies in our strength, wisdom, resilience and grace - qualities which transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. I am fascinated by the threads of experience which weave their way through each of us, connecting us in a kind of sisterhood as we share our stories of joy and woe. I am so grateful for the many beauty-full women in my life who inspire me every day, at once grounding me and giving me courage to grow.
" In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer."
- Albert Camus
" In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer."
- Albert Camus
Delicious Ambiguity
36"X72" (triptych) acrylic and collage on canvas, 2014
SOLD
It is so easy to spend time in the past or future, reliving moments of pain or dreaming of a perfect future life. I came across a quote by comedienne Gilda Radner which resonated with me and from which I took the title of this piece:
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity."
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity."
Ebb and Flow
30"X40" acrylic and collage on canvas, 2014
SOLD
Similar to "Still Waters", this piece is a meditation on the theme of stillness. I never tire of the magic of this little bay, and there is much left to explore here from a painter's perspective.
Still Waters
30"X60" acrylic and collage on canvas, 2015
SOLD
There is nothing so magical and mesmerizing as time spent in a place like this. I love pondering reflections in water, and this day provided an opportunity to kayak quietly on water as smooth as glass, absorbed in the discovery of all the magic reflected both on and in the lake.
"In a mind clear as still water,
even the waves, breaking,
are reflecting its light."
-Dogen Zenji
"In a mind clear as still water,
even the waves, breaking,
are reflecting its light."
-Dogen Zenji