rosanne DOLAN
ARTIST STATEMENT
My extensive training in figure and still life has led me to delight in aspects of both the natural and man-made world. I use colour and value contrasts in bold ways that can be evocative, suggestive, subjective and/or imaginative. Colour is my muse and my work habitually manipulates colour for impact and playfulness. Along with colour, I embrace textures, those created by paint and brush, by collage, and real textures that I apply directly to the canvas. I also explore the image in its relationship to both the canvas surface and illusions of depth.
I believe that everything I see is subject to interpretation, and, although I treasure the identity of things, I am not necessarily loyal to their details or environment. I would like viewers to engage beyond the first glance, to see what I have or have not done to an image and its surroundings to change what is assumed.
BIOGRAPHY
I have drawn and painted since I was a child, so it naturally followed that I would study art and work for a time in one of its many related fields as a secondary school visual arts teacher. I studied in Ontario at the University of Windsor and York University in Toronto, achieving an Honours BA with a major in Fine Arts from York University. Thereafter, I continued my art studies as a part-time student at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto for several years. I left teaching in 2007 to pursue my own art practise.
FLAMENCO IN THE WILD
>> Featured Work <<
“Flamenco in the Wild”. Mixed media. 36” x 24”. $800.
I’m very fond of whimsy. I was intrigued by a photo of a flamenco dancer in which the ruffles at the base of the dress made me think of a waterfall. I wondered if I could create a painting of a waterfall as a flamenco dancer. Of course, she would need a dancing partner, wouldn’t she? Hence the tree. I decided to experiment with non-paint materials to create texture. The waterfall is formed with crumpled tissue paper, and the tree trunk’s texture is made with an art product called molding paste. There’s also dried plant material, used tea dregs and grated pastel powder. At the end, my sense of the ridiculous kicked in, and I added flamingoes to go with “flamencoes”. I wanted them to stand out from the surface like the other figures, so I painted the birds on very thick paper, cut them out, and glued them onto the canvas.
Examples of Heather's Art
SUNLIGHT IN DEEP WOODS
30” x 24”, Acrylic on canvas
$800
I’VE GOT MY LOVE
TO KEEP ME WARM
11” x 14”, Acrylic on paper
$175
SQUARELY PURPLE
11” x 14”, Acrylic on paper
$175
WRITHEN
16” x 20”, Acrylic on canvas board, framed
$400
FACE THE SUNRISE
20” square, Acrylic on wood panel
$450
EYE OF AUTUMN
30”x 40” Mixed media
$1,200
WHERE CAN YOU SEE MY WORK?
The Colborne Art Gallery is the primary location to view my art. The gallery has 5 different shows from March through December with all artists presenting new work for each show. Additionally, small pieces are available thoughout the year in the Member’s Shop.
EXHIBITS & SHOWS (past & present)
Art Exhibitions Pomona Restaurant, Colborne, ON (2022 – present) group show Queenie’s Bake Shop, Port Hope, ON (2024) solo show Port Hope Library, Port Hope, ON (2024) group exhibition Trent Hills Library, Warkworth Branch, Warkworth, ON (2018 – 2023) – group show
Cobourg BIA Storefronts, Cobourg, ON (2021, 2022) – group show
Caper’s Restaurant, Campbellford, ON (2018, 2021) – group show Northumberland Hospital, Cobourg, ON (2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 – 2024) – group show Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg, ON (2021) – juried group show Port Hope Arts Festival, Port Hope, ON (2021 – 2024) – group show
Port Hope Arts Festival, Port Hope, ON (2019, 2020) – juried group show Northumberland Art Gallery, Port Hope, ON (2019) – group show Parrott Gallery, Belleville, ON (2018, 2019, 2024) – juried group show Northumberland Festival of the Arts, Northumberland County, ON (2017, 2019, 2022, 2024) – group show Waterfront Festival, Cobourg, ON (2016, 2018, 2019, 2023) – group show Caper’s Restaurant, Campbellford, ON (2017, 2022, 2024) – solo show Caper’s Restaurant, Campbellford, ON (2018, 2019, 2021) – group show The Art Emporium, Port Hope, ON (2017) – group show; (2018) juried group show Colborne Art Gallery, Colborne, ON (2017) – juried group show Trent Hills Library, Campbellford Branch, Campbellford, ON (2017) – solo show Maple Syrup Festival, Warkworth, ON (2015 – 2017) – juried group show Jazz Festival, Port Hope, ON (2016) – group show Norwood Pentecostal Church, Norwood, ON (2014) – duo show The Distil Gallery, The Distillery District, Toronto, ON (2007) – juried group show York Region CDSB Employees’ Art Show, Stouffville, ON (1992) – group show Mississauga City Hall, Mississauga, ON (1987) – juried group show
Gallery Address
51 King Street East
(905) 355-1798
P.O. Boc 903
Colborne Ontario
K0K 1S0
Gallery Hours
Thursday – Sunday: Noon – 4pm
