Artist in Residence
Sondra Richardson
Bn: 1966, Victoria B.C Canada
Sondra Richardson is an artist whose work has been influenced by the multiple interests in her life, encompassing various studies including the areas of technique, drawing, colour history and psychology, murals, textile arts, furniture and ‘functional’ art, interior and ceremony design.
She has exhibited in Canada, United States, and Mexico. Her work can be found in private collections internationally.
ART BLOG
March 9th, 2024
I’ll be honest. It’s been a while since I picked up a paint brush. Sure – I’ve had the ideas and the desire, but like many people, ‘adult-ing’, life, and its responsibilities take over, and time speeds up… it becomes more precious. Shorter somehow. Before you know it, a week, a month, a year passes… and if you squint just so, you see that it has in fact, become many years…one rolling into the other like waves on the sea.
Like most things, we are inspired and driven by that which expands our hearts and minds… An individual, an idea, an invention, a love... Joy and pain alike. Something that shifts our perspective to see the world around us differently… to FEEL it differently. It wakes us up and offers a viewpoint unlike any we have had previously. Inevitably, it shapes us into something new.
For me, I was inspired to reach for my brushes again, after the horrific fires burning through the Okanagan last year. It was continuous heart-breaking tragedy, week after devastating week - an overwhelming blanket of sadness, smoke and despair covering the valley.
Yet, through adversity, in the light of hope, this beautiful community banded together in various ways to help – One, a fundraiser to aid those devastated by this catastrophe.
Penticton business owners, Hayley and Rod, of ‘Arcadia Modern Home’, hatched the idea, Eric and Dallas Thor opened their doors (and their big hearts) at ‘The Standard Space’, located at 124 Estabrook, hosting the gathering where numerous individuals participated with selling their wares, and contributing to a silent auction. It was a full and happy house!
This was the spark - my return to my love of painting, and a great reason to give back to my Okanagan home and friends. The painting was auctioned off and I’m proud to say, contributed to the cause of raising just over $15,000 in total in relief funds for our community.
And there we go… the proverbial ball started rolling, and I’m back to including my cherished life as a painter, into my life’s “happiness pie”. The Thor’s graciously offered me a position for 6months as ‘artist in house”, with a solo show there, afterwards, May 11, 2024. Be there or be square! Bubbles and bowties - It’s going to be awesome!
In gratitude,
Sondra
ART BLOG
Working Process
April 4th, 2024
I’m often asked, “How do you even come up with this stuff?!” My answer is usually something cheeky, like,” Oh, I don’t know - it’s a wild place in this brain of mine!”
I’m usually inspired by a ‘happening’, a place, a word, or… most likely, in truth, garbage. That’s right – garbage. I’m a” garbage picker-upper.” A crow. A finder of shiny and often strange, twisted things that get tossed to the side by someone else… squished and run over and looked past until I spy it and put it in my bag. A treasure. I’d say to whoever was with me, “It spoke to me - This is a painting!”
When I begin a painting, my first marks are always intuitive and spontaneous. Oil pastels, ink, graphite, one or two colours squirted onto matte medium, and applied randomly onto the canvas. Through brushstrokes, word-writing, mark-making, rubbing, scrubbing, and lifting out, shapes begin to emerge. From there, pieces of gathered ‘treasures” are collaged and layered into the piece, further telling the story. These marks and items play an important role in my painting, serving as expressive and personal messages, yet are relatable in the viewer in a way that’s perhaps wholly different yet inexplicably mirrored.
It's a cool process, upcycling – Transforming garbage – something tossed aside, into something beautiful and meaningful. New life, seen with fresh eyes. It’s a beautiful thing.
In gratitude,
Sondra
