Artist Statement
The natural world is my deepest inspiration and source of sustenance. I do a lot of walking. My paintings explore a life-long sense of universal consciousness: animals, birds, fish, bones, trees, flowers, seeds, leaves, water, rocks, weather, dreams – the interconnection of living things. Finding ways to express this energy and the intricate complexity of nature through colour, form, line and other tools of art exploration, even in a small way, is an ongoing challenge. Hopefully a painting carefully nurtured might speak for itself.
I am inspired by the plants, people and animals I love and by all those on our home planet who are taking brave action to protect the earth and to seek equality, justice and kindness – acts of change both grand and small. Lately I am more inspired by the young girl I used to be, living more boldly in the “real” world of my imagination!
Process
Art comes first from the body, through the arm, the hand. Mark-making is at first intuitive, risk-taking, and playful. There is often a later period of very frustrating decision-making and sometimes some intense destruction and reconstruction. Then, on a good day, maybe an arrival, that eureka moment of tender recognition when something special is being born.
My current work is in contemporary acrylic and oil painting — best described as abstract expressionism. Sometimes I use mixed media such as plaster, sand, egg shells, and recycled textural materials. I usually work on canvas, cradle boards and on both cotton rag and stone paper. For abstract images, large canvases and big brushes, combs, scrapers and a host of other surprisingly useful household tools help me maintain a spontaneous approach. I try to “find” the images within and encourage my critical brain to take a back seat, eventually slowing down to work into and with the painting. After some “excavation” I might invite my brain back in again. This process involves a willingness to “fail” or “learn” as the case may be!
The technical versatility of acrylics allows one to work quickly and intuitively in the initial stages of a painting and the brilliance of colour, glazing, the ease they offer is wonderful. Building texture provides an actual physical response during painting—sculptural, impasto, light-capturing surfaces interest me. The depth, richness and organic qualities of oil paint are also beautiful and very forgiving, allowing more time to work with an image over days or months. I also make monoprints and block printings from recycled/found and carved objects and use these as collage elements with graphite and ink drawings. Some of these pieces are more narrative, sometimes telling a story or part of a dream.
Biography
Lynn Andrews has studied photography, painting and sculpture at the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa School of Art, the Shenkman Centre and St. Lawrence College. She has attended many innovative painting and mixed media workshops in Canada and in the United States. Lynn grew up in Ottawa and now lives on 73 acres in rural south eastern Ontario. She paints and does some teaching from her art studio, built on the property in 2016. She shares her life in the country with her life-partner, a number of animal friends and some truant honey bees.