Light
The quality of light on the prairies is a tonic. When the sun shines, there is warmth even on the coldest day. And when it's cloudy, there is movement and drama, as in the painting shown above - Storm on Waskesiu, by Dorothy Knowles. Waskesiu ('red deer" or "elk" in the Cree language) is a huge lake - almost a thousand square kilometres - which sometimes spawns its own weather, with massive turbulent clouds and sudden downpours.
Dorothy Knowles has been painting the prairies for more than 70 years. Though she often works en plein air or from memory, she has used photography to augment her memory, and has a catalogue of thousands of slides.
She was born in the farming town of Unity, and studied biology at the University of Saskatchewan, with plans to become a lab technician. But after a summer spent painting at the Emma Lake school, and with the encouragement of other artists, she turned to painting full time. Her work has been compared to Monet and Cezanne, and there are elements of Abstraction and English watercolour painting.
This is the view from her studio overlooking the North Saskatchewan River.
She was born in the farming town of Unity, and studied biology at the University of Saskatchewan, with plans to become a lab technician. But after a summer spent painting at the Emma Lake school, and with the encouragement of other artists, she turned to painting full time. Her work has been compared to Monet and Cezanne, and there are elements of Abstraction and English watercolour painting.
This is the view from her studio overlooking the North Saskatchewan River.
A Pink Twilight, painted in 1986, captures one of those sublime moments a cell phone camera could never pick up. Knowles says she has painted this view countless times, and every day it's different. Not for nothing do Saskatchewan licence plates proclaim this the Land of Living Skies.
Dorothy Knowles is the widow of William Perehudoff, whose murals we featured last time in Fine Art On The Kill Floor. Along with his murals, several of her paintings are part of the permanent collection at the Remai (say RAY-mee) Modern Gallery in downtown Saskatoon.
(We worked with Dorothy's brother Bob Knowles, at CBC Regina. Bob was one of the leading drivers for agricultural reporting at the CBC. He also worked with UNESCO to establish radio networks in rural areas in developing countries.)
In a separate gallery at the Remai are the Picasso linocuts and ceramics donated to Saskatoon by Ellen Remai, a local philanthropist who made a fortune in real estate. These artifacts show the work of an artist near the end of his life - potterings in the studio using simple tools and repeated themes. Below is one of several prints riffing on Manet's masterpiece Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe.
Aside from the permanent collection, the Remai Modern rotates touring exhibitions with an emphasis on Canadian indigenous art. From February 1 to May 5 it's Facing the Monumental, a survey of Rebecca Belmore's diverse 30-year career. (link below)
Just outside the Remai, above the South Saskatchewan River, is the Joni Mitchell Promenade.
Everyone knows her music. And many are familiar with her paintings, which have been shown at the Mendel and other major galleries. She included the Bessborough Hotel and South Saskatchewan River on the cover of her 1969 album Clouds.
Perhaps one day there will be a retrospective of her work at the Remai Modern.
Saskatoon is a very walkable city, even in the depths of January. The sidewalks are wide, and usually cleared. We stayed near the university, in what's called Varsity View, an easy 20-minute stroll across one of the bridges to downtown. For longer walks, the well-maintained Meewasin Trail rambles 60 kilometres along both banks of the South Saskatchewan.
And if the river's flowing too fast to skate away on, there's a huge outdoor rink a short walk from the Joni Mitchell Promenade.
Dorothy Knowles is the widow of William Perehudoff, whose murals we featured last time in Fine Art On The Kill Floor. Along with his murals, several of her paintings are part of the permanent collection at the Remai (say RAY-mee) Modern Gallery in downtown Saskatoon.
(We worked with Dorothy's brother Bob Knowles, at CBC Regina. Bob was one of the leading drivers for agricultural reporting at the CBC. He also worked with UNESCO to establish radio networks in rural areas in developing countries.)
In a separate gallery at the Remai are the Picasso linocuts and ceramics donated to Saskatoon by Ellen Remai, a local philanthropist who made a fortune in real estate. These artifacts show the work of an artist near the end of his life - potterings in the studio using simple tools and repeated themes. Below is one of several prints riffing on Manet's masterpiece Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe.
Aside from the permanent collection, the Remai Modern rotates touring exhibitions with an emphasis on Canadian indigenous art. From February 1 to May 5 it's Facing the Monumental, a survey of Rebecca Belmore's diverse 30-year career. (link below)
Just outside the Remai, above the South Saskatchewan River, is the Joni Mitchell Promenade.
Everyone knows her music. And many are familiar with her paintings, which have been shown at the Mendel and other major galleries. She included the Bessborough Hotel and South Saskatchewan River on the cover of her 1969 album Clouds.
Perhaps one day there will be a retrospective of her work at the Remai Modern.
Saskatoon is a very walkable city, even in the depths of January. The sidewalks are wide, and usually cleared. We stayed near the university, in what's called Varsity View, an easy 20-minute stroll across one of the bridges to downtown. For longer walks, the well-maintained Meewasin Trail rambles 60 kilometres along both banks of the South Saskatchewan.
And if the river's flowing too fast to skate away on, there's a huge outdoor rink a short walk from the Joni Mitchell Promenade.
LINKS:
https://remaimodern.org/
Ohhhhhh. Your writing combined with the photos is so rich. I am loving seeing through your eyes somewhere I have never been but hope to. So much to learn but also how the memories come up. In 1994 (!) Peter Gzowski and I spent the day together on one of his publicity tours in Vancouver. On our lunch hour we went shopping. To an art gallery for a Dorothy Knowles painting. Afterward we stood on the corner holding hands, jumping up and down, doing a happy dance while he sang, "I bought a Dorothy Knowles, I bought a Dorothy Knowles!"
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a wonderful treat. I love it when a new post appears.
Happy, happy trails indeed.