Gale Hagblom

My history began on the Canadian Prairies with short stints in the Arctic. The sparse population and the unmitigated denotation of the contrasting seasons, has fostered a fascination for nature and a belief that we are all part of a continuum.

My art education began with a series of painting workshops during the 70s at the Saskatchewan School of the Arts at Fort San located in the Qu'Appelle Valley. This followed with two years in the Fine Arts Department at the University of Saskatchewan under the direction of Don (Otto) Rogers and Mina Forsyth and more recently with Graham Fowler and Alison Norlen. Later, I completed my BFA at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) University. I currently work in paint, with intermittent intervals in wood and ceramics.

Because of my background as a graphic designer, I concentrate on line, shape and colour and the meaningfulness of symbols and what these individual or combined elements may communicate. In my painting, I am interested in creating work that will effect beyond observation – evoke a meaningful response by engaging the viewer and stimulating intrigue.

I interpret, abstract and sublimate a detail in nature to unveil a subtle reference to the familiar. This zooming-in employs a variety of painterly techniques that are underpinned with translucent layers of paint, expressive drawing and varied brush marks and is distinguished with sections of highly saturated colours.