When Keishia Treber saw the art gallery in Kimberley where her first solo show was going to be, she decided she would fill both floors herself. Over the course of six months, she created 80 works of art to go on display
“They had never seen so many paintings,” she said.
The show was called Muse and it attracted great crowds and a great response. This July, she will be putting on her first solo show in her hometown of Revelstoke and, once again, she has created a whole new collection of paintings to display, though this time there will be 15 works on display.
Her Revelstoke show is also called Muse, so I asked her what that meant.
“My paintings are my muse,” she replied. “Its my life. Every single painting is my muse.”
Treber now calls Kamloops home. She went there for art school at the age of 19, where she inspired by one of her teachers to take up painting. Now, still only 23, she has succeeded in becoming a full-time artist, attracting interest across the province and producing art work on commission. She said she works constantly in her basement studio; her goal is to paint every day.
“I’m always painting, making new works and expanding my skills,” she said. “If I keep at it I’ll be better and better before you know it.”
Treber calls herself an expressionist painter who likes to paint with bright bold shapes and colours. Her works have two dominant themes – nature and women. On her website, she notes that the female form can even be found in her landscape and abstract paintings.
“I paint what I feel, what makes me happy, what I find attractive and appealing,” she said. “I suppose it’s because I’m so attracted to the figure and curves.”
Another distinct aspect is her use of odd shaped or multiple canvasses for some her paintings. She also likes to produce large pieces of work – one of the paintings that will be on display in Revelstoke will be 7’X4’.
“I’m going for the WOW factor,” she said.
Recently Treber has taken up glass art and has begun creating and selling her own jewellery. She has also started painting with acrylic on glass.
Keishia Treber’s solo show Muse premiers at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre on July 8 at 6 p.m. and runs until Aug. 5. If you miss it, she has work on display at the Woolsey Creek, Sangha Bean, the Cabin, Energy Matters and Style Trend in Revelstoke.
Her website is located at www.ktreber.com.
