My Mother's Teapot
2009

My work has been juried into exhibitions throughout the country as well as solo shows. In 2004, my paintings were included in a traveling exhibition entitled “Clear Cut: The Understory”, as well as “Elemental Inspirations: Out of the Wildfire” at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff, Alberta. My work is included in private as well as public collections such as the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the University of Alberta Children’s Hospital. I have been an artist-in-residence at the Arctic Institute in the Yukon, the Leighton Center, the Whyte Museum in Banff, Columbia Ice fields, Num-Ti Jah Lodge and most recently the Banff Centre. I had the opportunity to spend six months in Paris where I informally studied art, completing many sketches, taking photographs and gathering material for my work. My paintings are about the rhythm and soul of the landscape. It is an exploration of shape, contour, line and texture, the very basics of art and imagery. The spirit of my subject comes with me into my studio and is translated onto the canvas. I photograph and sketch on site and then use these as a stepping stone onto the canvas. I now paint primarily in oils after many years of working in acrylics. I enjoy the fluidity, the movement and sensuousness of the paint on the canvas. I am also experimenting with layers of textured canvas, using various varnishes and other oil painting techniques depending on my subject. I have been teaching art to young people for many years and I now teach adult workshops in acrylic and oil painting at Bear Valley Ranch in Lumby, B.C. You can see more of my work at www.saltwellstudios.com.