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BRANDY SATURLEY
Brandy Saturley Canada Website brandysaturley.com Social Media facebook.com/consumethis instagram.com/iconiccanuck vimeo.com/iconiccanuck Biography Brandy Saturley was born in Victoria, BC, Canada. Her career began in the film industry and quickly transitioned to fine art. She is a prolific painter, travelling photographer, and multiple award-winning artist. Saturley has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions at art fairs, in public and private art galleries, and in unique corporate venues in Canada and the USA. Saturley gained national attention with her paintings inspired by Canadian culture and art including: goalie masks, Canadian athletes, the Canadian flag, Canadian Sports, Alberta Rockies, and Canadian wildlife. Why did you decide to become a creative artist? I have been making art as long as I can remember: it’s in my blood. I grew up with an artist mother and was always encouraged to pursue a career down this path. I was introduced to many avenues through education including fashion design, film making, photography, illustration, writing, sculpting and painting. I settled on painting in acrylics about 15 years ago, and haven’t looked back since. How did you get your start?
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When I was a child I got my start by copying images in comic books; then I started drawing portraits. People started asking me to draw things for them, which lead me to realize that maybe I was good at this and maybe it could be something more. I was fascinated by the fashion industry and design and switched high schools before graduating just to take a fashion program. I won the top award in my class and spent more time in the art and fashion rooms than anywhere else during my senior
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year. This lead to meeting a very influential art teacher. She encouraged me to attend Art College and explore all the options for a career in the arts. Up until that point I had never painted, and mostly sketched black and white portraits influenced by fashion advertising. Once introduced to painting in college, I picked up a brush and have not abandoned it since. For years I painted while maintaining jobs on the side. About eight years ago I transitioned from working side jobs to working full-time as an artist. It is my longest career commitment and I am full of gratitude. How would you describe your style? How has it evolved during your career? My style is contemporary realism with the Canadian influence people have come to refer to as ‘Canadianisms’ on canvas. Canadian Contemporary Realism – broad strokes with soft edges, bold colours and high contrast. When I began painting fifteen years ago, my style was vivid with broad and less controlled strokes: lots of movement and less detailed. Over the years I have minimized my palette to a core of signature blues, reds, greens and neutrals. I’ve learned to control my strokes for different effects within each piece. It’s like being a singer and having the chops to belt out a song at the top of your range from beginning to end. Over the years you learn how to control your voice so as to masterfully communicate the story and emotion of the song. I used to paint boldly with all the colours and without control, over the years I have learned to master my palette, brushes, form, and perspective. You learn that less is more and less is required. My goal as a painter is to communicate my thoughts as clearly and simply as possible to make a more engaging piece of art. Where do you find inspiration? I find inspiration all around; in everything I see, touch, taste and feel. The most important thing for me is to remain open and let experiences lead me to new ideas. When I let experiences lead, they all begin to make sense and I find a consistent pattern, I call it being in the groove or the flow. I have always used music to set the tone in my studio before beginning a painting and find it to be integral to my process. I can likely tell you what music I was listening to with any given painting, and recently I have incorporated audiobooks to my process which opens me up to a whole new level of mood and direction in my work. Can you explain your creative process?
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I begin with a narrative in my head, sometimes writing thoughts down. I use a combination of photos I have taken travelling, still life photos I create in studio, and
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What mediums do you work with?
take place in 2017 during Canada’s 150th birthday. This show will have a new title and include new pieces and well as the most popular pieces from the past five years.
I work mainly with acrylic polymer medium and gesso for underpainting or for laying the blueprint of lighted areas in the painting.
In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing art today?
sketches. I combine them all together when sketching a final plan onto the canvas.
Where do you create your art? I work in my home studio. I have large vaulted ceilings with lots of natural light. I am on the 4th floor with a large patio facing the Salish Sea and the Olympic Mountain range of Washington state. I live on the edge of an estuary and I get to experience the circle of life from the newly born deer, eagles, swans, ducks, and frogs in the spring, to the Canadian Geese migration in the winter. I also see the odd black bear licking patio windows on the first floor. In the summer I have the doors open and enjoy the sounds of nature. What has been your biggest art faux-pas? I feel like I have a lot of those, I wouldn’t be learning and growing if I didn’t. Probably the most embarrassing is asking a very established older artist questions as if he was emerging and then later reading his bio and finding out how accomplished he is. He was incredibly gracious, thankfully. Is there a piece you are most proud of? Why that particular piece?
The most important issue facing art today in Canada is education. We are still a young country and we are evolving, but there is still so much work to do with engaging the public and growing art appreciation in this country. I believe that if art is displayed in places where the general public can approach it in a comfortable setting, we will see an increase of attendance in public galleries and museums. Art appreciation must be taught in youth, and we must make public art venues more approachable. Every artist, gallery, museum, and teacher has to educate the next generation about art. People fear what they do not understand. Art is one of those things that people approach hesitantly. We need to let the public behind the curtain and have them engage on their comfort level. What is the most valuable lesson you have learned throughout your career? Have patience, it is required. Find your niche and stick to it. There are always opportunities that pop up; you have to remain fluid. Tell us your best joke.
Right now, the piece I am proudest of is Let Your Backbone Rise. It speaks to my reaching a point in my career where I feel like I can stand alongside established Canadian artists and hold my own. 2015 was very successful and it has continued into this year.
Three tomatoes are walking down the street -- a poppa tomato, a momma tomato, and a little baby tomato. Baby tomato starts lagging behind. Poppa tomato gets angry, goes over to the baby tomato, and squishes him... and says, ‘Ketchup.’ – from Pulp Fiction
What risks have you taken with your work or for your work?
What song is your current obsession or what music do you listen to when you are creating your art?
I have risked embarrassment, rejection and being judged for the way I am doing things as an artist. I risk painting less popular figurative works in a place that likes landscapes and abstracts. I risked alienating myself from the traditional gallery business by bringing sport into my painting and showing my paintings in venues other than art galleries, through working with sports organizations, museums and media. If you are not risking something, then you are not going to find success as an artist – risk is part of the deal. You have to find your own path and your own niche, and I have found this for myself. Is there something you are currently working on that you can share with us? I am currently working two series of paintings. The People of Canada Portrait Project, which is a collaboration between Canadians and myself where they submit reference photos for painted portraits. I am also working on a five-year retrospective show of the #ICONICCANUCK body of work which will
The Beatles are my go to essential band to set me soaring. My current soundtrack includes; Sail by Awolnation, 7 Years by Lukas Graham, Apple Blossom by the White Stripes, Wild Things by Alessia Cara, Take Me to Church by Hozier, Work by Rhianna, Alive by Sia, Hello by Adele; Alabama Shakes, Black Keys, Alanis, Bowie, Nirvana and all things grunge. Do you have a favourite quote? “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” - Georgia O’ Keeffe.
Artist Statement With this body of work, #ICONICCANUCK, my initial interest in exploring the landscapes and popular culture of Canada from my perspective; in the process it slowly became a venue for education and experimentation. I found myself not just painting Canadian iconography, but trying to bring two worlds together using art. I began with painting a goalie mask on the Canadian flag, the composition influenced by a Georgia O’Keeffe painting that had personal resonance for me. With this painting I found myself reaching two audiences; fans of hockey and those with an interest and education in art history. The conversations that grew from this painting set me on a journey of continuing to marry influences of Canadian pop culture (mostly hockey) with compositions of well known, historical paintings.
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Vibrance can be defined as vibrating so as to produce a sound. My work relates to this theme in its exuberant palette and complimentary shades. My work is bold and symbolic, filled with aspirations and radiating enthusiasm for the subject matter.
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