Mairead Sikkes
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, art has always been my “happy place.” As a teen my parents arranged oil painting lessons with a local artist. I specialized in Art and Crafts at College, and taught that subject at an inner-city School just as the civil rights movement began and riots, bombings and shootings were becoming more frequent.
I left Ireland in 1971, for a volunteer teaching position at St. Joseph’s school in Smithers, B.C. There I met my husband, Nick. We married and raised our three children in the north. The intense colour contrast of the Canadian landscape drew me in like a magnet and I rarely went anywhere without a camera. Northern light on snow-capped mountains inspired me with awe. A local artist, Dave Nehring taught me much about rendering snowy landscapes with a warm cast in oils and how to simplify composition. I use acrylics mostly for basic tonal work but rarely for finished paintings as I enjoy the blending properties and ability to paint ‘wet in wet’ in oils. Later, workshops with artists Pat Hunter, Brain Ateyo and Zoltan Zsabo taught me the basics of watercolour, a medium I love and return to, often. The unexpected effects of ‘letting the paint do it own thing’ brings joyful surprises.
In 2012, a few years after retiring from teaching, we moved to the Okanagan to be closer to our children. I enjoy the variety of scenery with exposed rocks, and airy pines -quite different from the dense coniferous forests and mountains of the north. I appreciate the wider variety of floral subjects and longer season here. I always look for subjects that are strongly lit with interesting shadows. Backlit flowers would be one of my favorite subjects.
Walking in the woods here on so many different trails, I am filled with wonder at the beauty of our scenery and feel blessed to live where the ultimate artist has painted so many stunning landscapes. I only hope my work can make others appreciate His work too.
I left Ireland in 1971, for a volunteer teaching position at St. Joseph’s school in Smithers, B.C. There I met my husband, Nick. We married and raised our three children in the north. The intense colour contrast of the Canadian landscape drew me in like a magnet and I rarely went anywhere without a camera. Northern light on snow-capped mountains inspired me with awe. A local artist, Dave Nehring taught me much about rendering snowy landscapes with a warm cast in oils and how to simplify composition. I use acrylics mostly for basic tonal work but rarely for finished paintings as I enjoy the blending properties and ability to paint ‘wet in wet’ in oils. Later, workshops with artists Pat Hunter, Brain Ateyo and Zoltan Zsabo taught me the basics of watercolour, a medium I love and return to, often. The unexpected effects of ‘letting the paint do it own thing’ brings joyful surprises.
In 2012, a few years after retiring from teaching, we moved to the Okanagan to be closer to our children. I enjoy the variety of scenery with exposed rocks, and airy pines -quite different from the dense coniferous forests and mountains of the north. I appreciate the wider variety of floral subjects and longer season here. I always look for subjects that are strongly lit with interesting shadows. Backlit flowers would be one of my favorite subjects.
Walking in the woods here on so many different trails, I am filled with wonder at the beauty of our scenery and feel blessed to live where the ultimate artist has painted so many stunning landscapes. I only hope my work can make others appreciate His work too.
