Elaine Clerc, Darlene Marsch, Julia Penny and Marika Onufrijchuk Sokulski featured in this month’s exhibit
This month at the Gwen Fox Gallery, the walls and plinths are lit up with a variety of colourful and bold pieces made by artists Elaine Clerc, Darlene Marsch, Julia Penny and Marika Onufrijchuk Sokulski. The show, which the artists are calling ‘Honouring Mothers Through Art’, is a wonderful stop on your May travels.
Elaine Clerc
Clerc describes her art as realistic and representational. Her paintings at the gallery this month are made with acrylics and include landscapes and cityscapes.
Her inspiration comes from the variety of places that she’s lived.
“We’ve lived in three different provinces, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and now Manitoba. Each has its unique features. I take a lot of photos and paint from my photos then I started realizing that I liked the landscape, but I loved the way the shadows and the sun were shining on certain parts of the landscape. That’s what I wanted to portray in my paintings was the difference between light and shadow,” said Clerc.
Because she is inspired by the light, Clerc’s paintings often portray the world in the early morning or late afternoon when the light and shadow are stronger.
Her artistic journey started when she was young but it was in her 20s that she started to create more seriously.
“I always enjoyed art when I was a kid. In my early twenties, I met a girl who became a friend, and we got talking about art. I said ‘I’d really like to get back into it again,’ because I didn’t do it through my high school years and she said, ‘Well, I’ve been wondering the same thing.’ So both of us found our teacher in Regina, Saskatchewan, where we lived and so we started taking group classes,” explained Clerc.
She is now a member of several art groups and being from Winnipeg wanted to be part of the Gwen Fox Gallery on the advice of a friend who invited her to check it out.
“It’s a very friendly group of people and I always enjoy coming out here,” she said.
Her best advice for new artists is to practice and that it’s ok to use copy pieces that you like if your intention is to practice and learn.
“Copy paintings that you love and realize that if you are copying, it’s for practice. I would also suggest at the same time taking courses in composition and value, which I think are the most important things,” she said.
She encourages residents to come by and check out the Gwen Fox Gallery.
“[Our show] goes very well together and we have excellent people that hang the work and they’re very savvy when it comes to complementing each painting by another painting which I think makes for a really good presentation,” said Clerc.
Darlene Marsch
Marsch is a multi-media artist. She takes found objects and uses Paverpol, which is a hardener, to create sculptural pieces.
Her pieces this month include a beautiful life-sized heron, a pelican who’s just caught its lunch, several depictions of people in lifelike positions and some pendants with textured centres.
Marsch explained that her inspiration sometimes just pops into her head and sometimes she starts working and what she thinks will be one thing turns into another.
“[I like] animals and people [and am inspired by] different ethnic groups and stuff like that. I try to be very mystical. Some people say it’s kind of goth because it’s very mysterious,” she explained.
One of the ways that she makes her pieces unique is by using found objects like hand-made crocheted doilies that she finds at second-hand stores.
“[My sailboat piece has a base that was] cut off from a tree a slab when we were cutting wood for firewood. I thought, “I don’t want to throw this away.” Well, sure enough, I needed a base for one of the pieces. Another one was the fairy. A friend of mine, she had this block of wood and she said I don’t have anything to do with this but you probably would. Well, I made something with it. I don’t throw anything away because something will come out of it for inspiration,” she said.
A St. Clements local, Masch says that her artistic journey started when she was just a kid and she was bored and her mother gave her pencil crayons to keep her busy.
“I just went from sketching to doing art at school and then drawing for the yearbook and also now I’m kind of getting into photography,” she said.
She got into Paverpol work taking a class on the subject and it definitely stuck.
Marsch’s best advice for starting artists is to come into the gallery and check it out.
“Talk to any of the artists, we’re always coming around. There’re workshops and stuff like that. Come and get involved,” she said.
Julia Penny
Penny is a Winnipeg Beach area artist. She has a varied mix of realistic style work at the gallery this month which includes bold acrylic and oil paintings some sketching and a piece where she used white gel pen on a black background.
“I would describe [my work] as portraits. I do portraits. I love portraits even a tree to me is a portrait or even the landscape is a portrait,” she explained.
She takes inspiration from the world around her and since her studio is surrounded by trees that is a strong part of her work.
“My environment really inspires it. You can go for a walk, and see something that just absolutely hits you,” she said.
Penny described the start of her journey into art as part of her childhood playing. She drew in her mother’s books and her mother wanting her to move her creativity elsewhere gave her paper to use.
She’s never stopped having chosen a career in the arts.
“I’m trained as a graphic designer. I’ve always been art-focused. Scratch a graphic designer and there’s an artist underneath,” she explained.
In addition to seeing her paintings at the gallery, residents will also be able to purchase her book From All Walks of Life which visually depicts the stories of Canadian immigrants.
Her advice for aspiring artists is to create every day.
“I think if you’re an artist who wants to paint and draw you should be drawing every day,” she explained.
She also hopes to see residents coming to the gallery to see the show this month.
“Everything’s just so unique. I think we’re all slightly different so [seeing the show] will bring a new perspective,” said Penny.
Marika Onufrijchuk Sokulski
Sokulski’s work is bright using a unique style as well as vibrant colour to bring her gouache paintings to life.
“I work with a selection of water-based paints and I interpret the flora and fauna of nature using diminutive strokes of the brush. Diminutive strokes are somewhat akin, yet different from impressionist art. My palette is an extreme range of colour and the result is a textured surface,” she explained.
Her art is inspired by the natural world and residents who stop by the gallery will notice that she has floral paintings as well as some unique and beautiful depictions of fish.
“I’m inspired by patterns in nature. When I see patterns on animals or patterns in the form of leaves or flowers, they inspire me,” said Sokulski.
In addition to her work with diminutive strokes, Sokulski also has some pieces with a Ukrainian influence that brings together many cultural elements.
Art has been a part of her life for a long time and being an accomplished artist with paintings in the collections of the government of Manitoba, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre – Oseredok and the National Museum of Lviv, Ukraine she has a strong education in art to match her accomplishments.
“When I was younger I was always interested in painting. I started taking art lessons from my local art instructor who was not far from me. I took lessons and then I took art in school and then I took art at university, I was always inspired and always wanted to paint colours, forms and shapes,” she said.
As a Winnipeg artist, Sokulski has continued to be part of the Gwen Fox Gallery because of the opportunities that it gives artists to be able to exhibit their work in our community through not just monthly exhibits but also their all-members shows.
She invites residents to stop by the Gwen Fox Gallery.
“It’s a beautiful gallery that used to be a post office and now it’s renovated. It’s spacious and it’s an excellent place,” said Sokulski
The four artists will the at the gallery throughout the month but if residents want to they can check out the artists reception on May 11 from 1 to 3 p.m.
This month’s Gwen Fox Gallery show will be up until June 1. Residents can visit the gallery for free anytime from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. They also are open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays.
Record Photos by Katelyn Boulanger
