This weekend the Harrison Art Show is featuring an artist inspired by Canada’s natural geography.
Jenny Wolpert lives in Hope, but her paintings reflect the unique beauty of Canadian landscapes from coast to coast.
Last year, Wolpert decided to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canadian federation by creating an art piece for every province and territory – some she had visited recently, and others she captured in photographs years earlier.
“I’ve been a photographer since I was a teenager, and that was sort of my diary, I took pictures wherever I went,” she said. “When I had this light bulb idea that I should explore exactly how much I knew about Canada in my paintings…I was able to go back through the last 25 years in travelling through different provinces.”
Some of Wolpert’s pieces feature iconic, easily-recognizable landscapes, like Nova Scotia’s Peggy’s Cove or Alberta’s Red Rock Canyon. Any one who’s travlled to Canada’s smallest province will appreciate Wolpert’s quaint yet accurate depiction of Prince Edward Island – a small church with a potato field in the foreground.
Drawn to the dramatic gold-orange of the needled Larch trees, Wolpert’s B.C. painting features the Larch Meadows in Manning Park at Mount Frosty.
Wolpert loved re-creating Canadian beauty, but said it’s impossible to capture the full experience, the intangible essence of Canada’s varying landscapes.
“It’s really impossible to capture your memories and three-dimensionality on that painting,” she said. “You can give people the impression that you’ve captured it but it’s a small part of your whole experience.”
“I’m hoping people will enjoy [the paintings] and maybe it will bring memories of what they remember from these places.”
Wolpert’s recent travels to Newfoundland, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories fueled the latest round of paintings for the collection. But she said even after travelling the country and spending hours on her Canada painting project, she is struck by how much more there is to see.
“We will no doubt continue travelling.”
View Wolpert’s Canadian collection and art from a variety of other talented artists at this weekend’s Harrison Art Show from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on May 19-20 at the Harrison Memorial Hall.