Almonte artist showcases multi-media works at MERA

Jan 21, 2015

Multi-media artist Elizabeth Veninga studied art at the Canberwell Art School in London, England in the 1970s and has been drawing, painting and sculpting ever since.

Veninga, who also teaches art, was showcasing her multi-media works at the MERA School house in McDonalds Corners at her opening Vernissage on January 18. The show includes works in a wide range of media and subject matter. Two that stood out immediately for me were a mixed media drawing of the former Doctor's House in Sharbot Lake, now known as the Sharbot Lake Country Inn, and the second, a charcoal drawing on canvas of an old homestead on the Burke Settlement Road. “I'm really interested in history and older settlements and environments and I came across these two buildings when I was visiting that area a while back,” Veninga said. These two works are elegant and straight forward renderings that beautifully capture times gone by.

Veninga likes to paint her buildings and landscapes on site and as a result these works possess a certain “nowness” that comes with making quick aesthetic decisions on the spot. “I love painting on site because you meet people and you learn about the history of the place, which is really interesting,” she said.

Further along one wall hang a series of three rock paintings, two in black and white, and one with added pastel colour, each depicting a single rock whose bulk takes up most of the picture plane. “I love painting rocks. There is such a history and an inherent beauty in them that I love. I like that sometimes you can see stories in them too; these paintings are not just about what you see but also what you feel.” The immense rock forms are filled with intricate details that remind one of other objects, though on completely different scales: one might be a swirling solar system; another, a microscopic peek into a single-celled organism.

Other works that stood out were Veninga's portraits. Commissioned portraits of pets, people and houses are a large part of her output. One work is a self portrait, the artist in serious reflective moment, and a second, a portrait of her deceased husband. Each is drawn minimally but with the confidence that comes with knowing very well the subject matter at hand. Her portraits of her own two cats are charming and are reminiscent of illustrations one might find in older children's books. These are simple, immediate works that suggest the quiet yet active alertness that cats possess.

The one and only sculpture in the show is a large, free standing steel work that Veninga has titled “Rock Face”. Made from pieces of metal of varying lengths that have been welded together and painted a matte black, this work was created from a photo of a rock face that the artist encountered. This work seems to come from a more abstract place and captures in three dimensions the angular lines that rock faces present to us when viewed from a single vantage point.

Veninga says that she is in no way a purist and that is demonstrated in the wide range of media and subject matter represented in her show. “For me making art is all about connecting with the environment. I am always curious and I love the natural world and I love science too and by drawing, painting and sculpting I get a chance to look really closely at things, which gives me a better understanding of them.”

Veninga's show will be on display at MERA until January 31. For show hours contact Ankaret Dean at 613-278-1203.