Exhibition
November 12 – December 15, 2022
Reception November 12, 2022
” Birdscapes II is my second exhibition that features birds, my preferred subject matter. The first show, about five years ago, comprised a selection of my large stone lithographs, whereas these smaller works on paper are done with coloured pencils. Some of us may remember using these in school art classes, then called pencil crayons. As I discovered, it is a surprisingly complex medium which involves layering colours, blending, burnishing, and erasing. Paper selection is critical as are the different brands of quality pencils that are now available. Pencils can be water based or wax based, and wax ones can be soft or hard. The Prismacolor brand I remember from art school is being replaced by far superior quality pencils, some costing as much as $8 each. With my lifetime devotion to drawing, I’m surprised I didn’t discover this exciting medium until recently and find I’m discovering more with each drawing.”
— Elisabeth Sommerville
Elisabeth Sommerville graduated from the Alberta College of Art in Calgary. After a career in graphic design, she studied printmaking and found the traditional method of stone lithography complemented her drawing skills. After twenty years drawing and printing stone lithographs, the physical demands of the medium made it difficult to continue. Elisabeth now works in her home studio painting with egg tempera and drawing with coloured pencils. Her Métis heritage clearly engendered her choice of subject matter: landscapes, trees, and birds, especially crows and owls.
Elisabeth is a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, achieving SFCA Signature Status, and is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists. She was recently chosen as a member of Artists for Conservation, a world-wide organization for wildlife artists who support conservation. Her work is in collections in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and the USA.
