Bienfait artist Deanna Brown has become well-known in the region for being a talented artist who has dabbled in a variety of mediums.
But she is only having her work displayed in a gallery setting for the first time.
A reception was held on Friday night at Art Concepts Custom Framing for Take Flight, a 19-piece collection of watercolour paintings involving birds. A large crowd of family and friends gathered to congratulate Brown, to view her artwork and to listen to her speak.
According to the artist statement for Take Flight, the exhibit carries themes of overcoming fears, trying something new, and not being afraid of failure.
“The theme, utilizing birds, helps represent the feelings of bravery, courage and just going for it,” the artist statement says. “Birds don’t think about taking flight. They just do it, never once imaging that they won’t be successful, or that they will fail.”
Brown said she was more interested in the medium of watercolour than the subject of birds. She has always wanted to work with watercolour, and Theresa Fuhr, who owns Art Concepts along with Byron Fichter, is a watercolour artist. Fuhr supplied Brown with tips and tricks on how to get started with watercolour.
“She gave me an idea of how to develop a series, because that’s what a gallery wants to show is more than one piece in the same medium, and so with her guidance, birds just sort of happened,” said Brown.
Her personal favourite in the exhibit is of a kingfisher, due to the composition and the colouring.
“And for whatever reason, that bird is my favourite. And I don’t know why. That or the eagle, because every biker loves eagles,” said Brown, who is an avid motorcyclist.
The watercolour works took anywhere from a few hours to a few days to complete. The first few took longer until she established a workflow that she liked.
“It’s actually a combination of watercolour, ink and graphite. I very rarely stick to one medium. So it was my version of what watercolour should look like.”
Brown describes her process as backwards, in that she sees a finished piece of art in her mind, and works to achieve her original vision. That’s how she chooses her medium and techniques. As a self-taught artist, Brown says she isn’t concerned with the textbook approach to art, and often combines several mediums and techniques.
Watercolour artwork seems to agree with her, as she has already started on another series.
And she continues to dabble in her other mediums. Brown has worked with pencil and charcoal drawings, acrylic paintings and airbrushing in the past. She has also recently started in sculpture.
“She is currently working on a new series which combines artwork and photography in a unique and striking way,” she wrote in her artist statement.
