Jane Gateson
The Artist
In whatever ways we choose to express our creativity, the things we pay attention to are often our inspiration. I paint what captures my awareness... the experiences that cause me to stop and explore their meaning or their beauty.
For seven months of the year, my studio on Lake Winnipeg exposes me to a big body of water and the creatures, insects, trees and plants that live nearby. It is quiet in those places in the Boreal Forest.
By contrast, my home, friends, life and studio in downtown Winnipeg can be busy, loud, bustling, quirky.
Both places offer celebration and sadness, humour and reflection, and the experience of life's cycle of birth, growth, death and rebirth. Both places invite me into relationship and often I am surprised to discover that I am standing on holy ground.
Whether my art is big or small, mixed media, acrylic or oil/cold wax; whether it is heading in an abstract or representational direction, making brings meaning to me. My art lets me give a voice to my experience, thoughts and longings. And that brings me joy.
