Artist paints series of Canadian landscapes based on photos, stories
Allison Smith of St-Lazare to use 13 images from coast to coast for her work
Allison Smith had always dreamt of travelling across Canada to paint landscapes but after her daughter was born, she dismissed the idea as unfeasible.
Still, the idea tugged at her until she realized she could approach the project differently. Instead of painting her own journey across Canada, she would see Canada through another lens: through the stories and photographs of other travellers.
Inspired by national celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Confederation, Smith is gathering images and stories of special places across Canada, with a goal to select one image from each province and territory to use as a reference for a series of new large-scale landscape paintings. She calls the project, Canada East to West.
“I hope to inspire conversation and a sense of connection,” said Smith, a St-Lazare resident. “A big part of this is to get people talking about Canada and share different perspectives.”
The Alberta-born artist has received around a dozen photo submissions so far, mostly from contacts in B.C., Alberta and Quebec. She is hoping word will spread so she can collect images that represent every part of Canada, from Prince Edward Island to Nunavut.
In addition to the images, Smith is asking photographers to submit a brief story or description that explains what makes that place meaningful to them.
Smith is blogging about her progress and sharing the images and stories as they come in on her Facebook page and website, canadae2w.com. She plans to announce the selection of 13 images on Canada Day, and will spend July and August painting. Smith hopes to exhibit the finished work alongside the original photos and stories.
Although inspired by other Canada 150 arts and culture projects, Smith has not applied for any grant money or federal recognition.
Smith hopes she will be able to raise money through her project to donate to a charity supporting arts in Canadian First Nations communities. The artist hasn’t found a national charity yet that quite fits with what she has in mind, but anticipates she could raise between $5,000 to $10,000 through the sale of her original art.
“I realize as it’s getting underway that I still have a lot to figure out, but maybe that’s a part of the joy of it too, because it’s really limitless what I could do with it,” she said.
The completed paintings are expected to sell for $500 to 1,000 each, depending on size, and she will offer prints for sale as well. Contributors whose images were selected for the final paintings will receive a free print as a thank you for participating in the project.
Although Canada East to West was born of a certain amount of wanderlust, Smith said she is happy she has put down roots here.
“I love it here,” Smith said.