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MY ARTISTIC STATEMENT

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annette.m.steele@gmail.com

www.annettesteeleartanddesign.com

 

“Visual Art has the power to lift the spirit and make you joyful, to inspire you into action, to take you to another place or time, to stir you, to awe you,

to make you smile

I feel that it is in fact an integral part of our humanness.

I also feel that it is this human connection to art that gives art

a life beyond its form.

beyond the canvas, beyond its creation.

It is in fact this connection which gives art its life

and

Great Art its immortality”

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Annette Steele

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BIO

As a child I spent all my free time creating images on paper of houses, people and places.

Like many child artists, my journey was interrupted, but 

 Over the years in keeping my dream of becoming a visual artist alive, I took university, community and college courses as well as private classes which included the study of watercolor, pottery, acrylic painting, block-printing, drawing and faux-finishing.

Having had the great fortune of extensively travelling much of the world and being a curious observer of life, I photographed images of not only extraordinary places but also

of ordinary people doing extraordinary everyday things  

It is just since 2016, that I have somewhat resumed my art journey and I find myself more and more challenged in trying to capture light and shadow, texture, tonal values, atmosphere and perspective in the compositions I create

I am also challenged by the idea of creating something that is not necessarily “needed” by the viewer in terms of its practicality but rather something that is simply “desired’ because it connects with the viewer

Having grown up in Niagara and having returned to it to raise my family after living in Toronto for 9 years, celebrating the spirit of 21st century Niagara is also a strong focus of mine

  As an emerging artist I find myself drawn to the same images that I focused on as a child:

images of houses, people, and places, but now I am attempting to create images that reflect

 what drives us, what we hold dear, where we dwell and what we do,

our relationships and our connectedness with nature, ourselves, our families

and the people in our communities

Essentially, our why, as well as our where and how we gather ... or not

My body of artwork is titled

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Painting the Everyday

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MY ART MEDIUMS

Acrylics & Acrylics on Texture –  

 

‘Texturalism’ as I have come to call it involves the use of stucco, Venetian plaster, sand etc.

 as my 'ground' and starting-point on canvas.

The way I apply my texture and what kind of texture I apply is dictated by my composition:

 if I'm doing an abstract piece the texture is freely applied;

 if my composition is structured it's applied purposefully with a brush, a palette knife, a spatula, or whatever. Usually I allow it to dry before applying acrylic paint.

Sometimes I will mix the textures or I will mix the acrylic paint directly into the texture before applying it to the canvas in order to create my desired effect.

 

MEMBERSHIPS

Niagara has had a long and wonderful history of supporting area artists, and as a member of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Pumphouse, Fonthill’s Just Art & Co, St. Catharines’ Rodman Hall and the St. Catharines Art Association (SCAA), as well as Welland’s Visual Artists of Welland (VAW) and Port Colborne’s Arts Place,

 I am thankful for having had the opportunity to meet and learn from some of the wonderful Niagara area artists who offer their expertise and their passion.

 

SHOWS  & EXHIBITS

Just Art & Co Galas  --- 2016,2017,2018,2019

Art Lovers Affair – Juried  SCAA 2019

Art at ROMA – juried – SCAA 2019

Spring Fling  Visual Artists of Welland  VAW  2019

Pumphouse Nia-on-the Lake  --  contributing artist 2019

The Font, Fonthill, On – private show May 2019

Sleigh Bells VAW Seaway Mall 2019

Lakeside Books & Art, Ridgeway, On March 2020

FONTHILL 2019

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• my painting ‘Where We Gather’ was the SAVE THE DATE poster image for the Fundraising GALA at the Meridian Centre in Fonthill and part of the Live Auction at the Oct. 19th 2019 event

• my painting ‘Fonthill ... where the living is easy’ was the image used for the RAISE THE ARCHES SOCIAL fundraising campaign poster 2019

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