for Great Canadian Landscapes

The boxes full of photographs I’ve collected over my 24 years (or more) of road-tripping around Ontario and the rest of Canada, has made me realize I have a lifetime of creative fodder I can work with in art and writing. Some of these photos I took with my old pentax film cameras back in the 1990’s and early 2000’s.

As I’ve been looking through old images, I have been getting so many ideas for different art collections. Not just oil painting, but also photography, collaging, drawing, and watercolours. I have two ideas I may look into for art grants as well (bigger trips and bigger canvases).

Since I was a child, I was fortunate to have a family who enjoyed camping most summers; as a teenager we traveled as far as Prince Edward Island; and I also got to spend a summer in Ottawa, which lead to an autumn visit to the colourful Gatineau’s in Quebec where I captured some of my favourite film photographs (to this day – two will be included in my new collection of oil paintings).

When I was in my twenty’s I visited Algonquin Provincial Park with friends. Sometimes we would camp closer to home at Presquile Provincial Park, Emily Park, or Rice Lake. Once a year I would do a solo camp, and would pack all my art gear and journals, and I’d enjoy a fire and stars in the solitude of my own company. I volunteered a few years with Shelter Valley Folk Festival, and we would camp at the top of the hill, with festivities below. Many great memories were made over that decade! They were the adventures that formed my love of nature and travel.

It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I started driving further North, and adventuring further across the western provinces. These are the travels that changed me. Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, and Jasper’s Rocky Mountains are what anchored my understanding of the value of art and painting. Many of these places have “check marks” that share locations of other great Canadian Artists (usually specific to the Group of Seven). 2015 is when I knew I had to keep painting, and I had to keep traveling. Since then I have created a large collection of acrylic and oil paintings, many have found homes around the country and world. I am so grateful to all the support I’ve had and connections I have made during these formative years in my work.

Now in my forties, I am eager to fine-tune my art. At this point I am working exclusively in oils. I enjoy playing with “oil sketches” which are fast paintings that help me explore colours and loose compositions. Next, I will be doing a small oil collection on 8×8 inch, gallery-style, birchwood panels. Currently I am sanding and using black gesso to prime them. I am super excited to use my old photographs to create this new collection of work.

If you’re interested in following this evolving project I encourage you to sign up to recieve my “Artist Note.” It’s an email newsletter I send occasionally (next one will be in October for my 2024 Art Calendar orders). It also includes updates on my art, and upcoming events or shows (I have one or two that will be happening in November). You can also follow my journey on Facebook “Jennifer Anne Burke, Artist” or on Instagram @Burke_Untitled. My YouTube channel has my art and poetry… Enjoy!