Susan Mclennan
My Inspiration
My 7 a.m. walk to work was filled with idling tourists, but now it’s a 7 p.m. wandering of a ghost town. In the silence, bright flowers surrounding the Empress Hotel scream at me, the midnight waters quietly lap against the stone, broken by a strong low hum of a tanker horn. 2020 swallowed the chatter of people in coffee shops and those walking down the street, replacing it with pots and pans clanging together in appreciation of nurses and doctors. My old habits have been torn apart and stitched back together with latex gloves, face masks and hand sanitizer.
My Design Strategy
My daily life has become much more immersive, I wanted to find a way of visually portraying the rich sounds and emotions I experience every day. I allow myself to play with colour and shape based on my mood, deciding between organic or geometric shapes that I see during the week. They influence my pieces and the materials that are used. Depth is my focus for this piece, I wanted to show the layers of everyday life, what colours spark chaos in the viewers’ eyes, and which lines create a soothing slope for them to follow.
My Working Process
The excitement of a blank canvas never gets old. It allows me to explore dark and light shapes, establishing composition. Continuing shapes off the edge of the canvas gives movement, gold leaf foil is used to enhance light reflective contrast and emphasize the deep base colours. The thick pouring medium allows for organic shapes to take hold, creating acrylic skins. Clear resin flows over to show depth, magnifying the colours below. The hard lines show the viewers eye different paths while round red shapes sprayed with pink give a soft glow.
Contact Details
Website: www.susanmclennan.ca