A move to the Cariboo one year ago for artist Susan Kruse has been inspiring and eye-opening to say the least.
She and husband, Peter, migrated from Summerland to the 108 Mile Ranch in January 2012 and she’s been painting up a storm ever since. What’s been especially captivating about her new surroundings is the beauty that winter and its pure white snow brings.
“In the Okanagan, you don’t get a lot of winter. There’s some snow, but it doesn’t stay for long.
“Here, the beautiful white winter has inspired me to do winter paintings, which I have never done before.”
Like the grass that lies dormant under winter’s snowy blanket, Susan’s love for painting sat quietly in the shadows for decades, waiting for its time to grow.
In the early 1970s, she had aspirations of becoming an artist, and for two years, studied in the Fine Arts program at the University of Victoria. It didn’t fulfill her expectations, so a switch to the Faculty of Education followed and provided her with a long career as an elementary school teacher in the Okanagan. What was missing, however, was the opportunity to satisfy her artistic yearnings.
Retirement in 2006 gave Susan the time to take painting classes, explore watercolours and join the Summerland Art Club where she painted and exchanged ideas with other artists.
While watercolour painting was her favourite, she gave acrylics a try and immediately fell in love the medium. Later workshops with prominent Okanagan artists Robyn Lake and Terry Isaac taught her new techniques, which she is incorporating in her current work with much satisfaction.
New found friends in the Cariboo Artists Guild (CAG) are also inspiring, and Susan says she enjoys being part of the group.
An avid gardener and outdoor enthusiast, she often photographs and sketches the natural beauty associated with both, and then turns them into paintings. A painting she entered in the 2012 CAG Annual Show and Sale, “Fakes & Forgeries,” earned the second-place People’s Choice Award. It was a likeness of “The Jack Pine” by Canadian artist Tom Thomson and is currently part of her first solo show, which is featured at Showcase Gallery for the month of January.
The eclectic collection includes landscapes, florals and her latest passion – winterscapes.
Showcase Gallery is located in the main lobby at 475 Birch Ave. and hours are Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
