Bathing beauties and
strong women
Friends and family inspire two East Coast artists BY SHANNON WEBB-CAMPBELL PHOTOS BY STEPHEN HARRIS
P
ainter Brenda Palmer, born and raised in Moncton, divides her time between Fort Myers, Fla., and Shediac, N.B. She comes home every summer for six months to reunite with friends and family, and spend time in her studio. “I love the wonderful artists and art in this area,” she says. “We all seem to draw on the local scenery, culture, joie de vivre, and beach ambience for inspiration for our work. My husband and I had our high-school graduation dinner at the old Shediac Hotel. This is truly home; we have a long history here.” As a summer resident of Shediac (AKA “the lobster capital of the world”) since 1995, Palmer feels at home on the Northumberland Strait, where warm waters meet sandy coastline. The culture is a complex mixture of English and French — language and culture intermingling amongst the fresh salt air and seafood. Her cottage was originally built in 1937. Palmer and her husband bought it in 1995, and had their work cut out for them. These days it’s a far cry from an old house filled with bats and squirrels. They added a studio addition, with a view of the water, clotheslines, apple trees, and big dreamy skies. It’s the perfect setting for her to paint her cast of vivacious and fabulous femmes. “I give my portraits personalities and names in my mind as I am painting,” she says. “It helps me to make artistic choices along the way.” Most of Palmer’s subjects are whimsical women in colourful settings — bathing beauties, French girls all gussied up, ladies with their dogs or cats, and sometimes even birds. “I am fascinated by the French style,” she explains. “I am a subscriber to Vogue, I love fashion magazines. I love dressing the women I paint. ... I have been following the creative editor of Vogue for years. Grace Coddington is no longer there, but her style is just phenomenal. She put Vogue magazine on the map. I observe the stances and dress of her models and run with ideas from there.” At 74 years old, Palmer’s work echoes her love of all things feminine. Whether it’s a portrait of a redhead wearing a beret, or a lady in a print dress in a funky chair with full makeup and red lips, Palmer often places a bird on her subject’s head to add a little more charm. “I love the girlish things in life,” she says. “I am an old girl now, but I still like the shoes, the hats, the purses and the hair. I can work a whole painting around a pair of shoes.”
14
eastcoastliving.ca
···
SPRING 2022
