Featured Artist, Heather Dubreuil, page 2

The works on the previous page are titled Berkhamsted #2, Montmartre #4, Boathouses #1. Below are Open Door, Riga #2, Water Tower #1, 53rd Street West and View from the Academy.

The Berkamsted work is from a photograph Heather took in England. Open Door is inspired by a photograph by Lauma Cenne (below). Water Towr #1, 53 Street West and View from the Academy are all from photographs Heather took in Manhattan. Heather uses her own or other photographs of cities to make sure that the perspectives and shapes are realistic. The intention is to have scenes recognizable as real city buidings, walls and structures. Once this part of the work is taken from the photograph, heather can ley her imagination create the overall impression by using color, texture and needlework.

Open Door Riga, Revisited

No, I don't have all the titles worked out yet. Here is my third piece based on Lauma Cenne's photos taken in Latvia. I have used the skeleton of the lines and shapes of her image, and transformed it by using my own colour palette.

This time, I placed high value contrasts in three spots, to make a sort of triangle that keeps the eye moving around the composition.

Heather Dubreuil

In some works, shapes and texture predominate. In others the extensive needlework acting as a sketching medium gives shape to the scenes. Sometimes the needlework follows the outlines to draw sharp, contrasting lines. At other times, the needlework lines are shifted to create an abstract effect, with shapes strangely out of sync with their shadows. In newer works, colours sometimes become an important factor, with reds and oranges playing against the blues and greys of earlier works. There are the ubiquitous water towners and other structures which add an industrial, less pretty look.

Heather’s art is not conventional, and she has had to find her own way and define her own methods. Where painters, ceramists and woodworkers have many models to choose from, there are fewer successful instances of fibre artists. Art is often defined by limitations. When artists create within the limits that their work methods impose and the constraints they impose upon themselves, they can use the paths that remain open to create uniquely captivating work. Heather has only been creating her cityscapes for a relatively short time and is still experimenting with these limits. A she finds out which limits are productive and which spur creative effort and positive results, her work is likely to continue to develop in new directions.

Former Recent and Upcoming Shows

* "Synthesis 2", SAQA, Central Canada region, 2012 - 2014 (juried)
- Greenwood Gallery, Guelph ON, Jan - Feb 2012
- John Parrott Gallery, Belleville ON, June - July 2012
- Chambers Gallery, Almonte ON, May 9 - June 4, 2013
- Corridor Gallery, 155 High Street, Almonte ON, June 4 - July 2, 2013
- Atrium Gallery, Nepean ON, July 26 - August 21, 2013
- Rails End Gallery, Haliburton ON, Oct 26, 2013 - Jan 11, 2014
- Kirkland Library, 17100 Hymus, Kirkland QC, February 8 - 27, 2014
- Gallery 200, 200 Critchton St., Ottawa ON, March 4 - April 20, 2014
- Stone School Gallery, Portage-du-Fort, QC, Aug 16 -Sept 7, 2014
- Gibson Gallery, Amherstberg ON, October 23 - November 16, 2014
* Arbor Gallery, Vankleek Hill ON, June 18 - August 17, 2014 (solo)
* Guest Artist, Stewart Hall, Pte. Claire, Sept 6 - 7, 2014
* Atrium Gallery, Ottawa ON, September 26 - October 22, 2014 (solo)
* Galerie Valmi, 1595 Van Horne, November 13 - 20, 2014 (joint show with John Vazalinskas)
* Soulanges Bike Path Project (juried) 2013-2016

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