Cam Patterson
Treescapes and Escapes

This exhibit presents two quite different styles of watercolour painting: one stream is very elaborate and detailed studies of tree trunks; the other being simple, sketch vignettes painted while travelling in Mexico and Costa Rica.

In 1999, while at Kenderdine Campus at Emma Lake, I started exploring the beauty and diversity of Birch and windfallen Spruce trees. The paintings are focussed on the endless forms, textures and colours inherent in the tree trunks. Watercolour allows me to explore the subtleties of colour, with translucent layering gradually achieving the desired hue. I try to capture the essence or personality of each tree.

Background is deliberately eliminated as it would simply detract. The negative space is very important though, as it allows room for the viewer's mind to wander, filling in the blank space, and creating a yin-yang effect.

I love to paint outdoors in a wilderness setting. I return again and again to Fairy Island at Emma Lake, which was once leased by the revered painter, Ernest Lindner. It is perhaps no coincidence that I was drawn to the same subject matter as Lindner - the island is full of living characters and the spirits of those passed.

In contrast to the portraits of trees, which can take literally hundreds of hours to complete, the southern vignettes are quick studies typically completed in an afternoon. The paintings focus on particular subjects representative of my environs at the time. From the playita upstream from Yelapa, Mexico, to the diverse scenery of Costa Rica, the paintings provide snapshots of many enjoyable afternoons, when worldly concerns are forgotten, and one becomes intimate with nature.