Wanda Knoss finds no shortage of inspiration in the rolling hills of south-central Saskatchewan where she has always lived. Her passion for the land and all it holds are evident in her photographs. With a keen eye for light, form and movement and a unique perspective, she transforms the landscapes, flora and fauna of her life into works of art. Largely self-taught, she constantly strives to present her unique vision and apply an artistic approach to her photographic work. Wanda is a juried member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council.
I’m a fine art photographer who loves to photograph nature, landscape, people, macro and inspire to work on the art of abstract photography. Saskatchewan is full of inspiration and the beauty is endless. Fine art photography is more about what the artist sees than what the camera sees.
Many of my images are created in camera. Most of my landscapes and my rusty goodness images are done with HDR. (High Dynamic Range). The editing is like a wet/dry dark room except it is digital. Now a days the digital darkroom allows me the opportunity to experiment and use Photoshop and textures to enhance my creative possibilities which are infinite.
I believe in an ethical code of conduct as a landscape and nature photographer. The code of ethics should be practiced each time you are out in the field. I practice a leave no trace ethics and principles. Respect and courtesy, in the making of an image both alone and in the company of others.
My choice of subject matter is very influenced by where I live. My favorite subject is the horse, but I also enjoy painting wildlife, local landscapes, rodeo scenes and the people I know. Working on a ranch and living in southern Saskatchewan definitely presents many and varied choices of subjects. Some of my other interests include history, wildlife and local flora. And so I like to think my art reflects my life. My favorite medium is watercolor but I also work in acrylic, pencil, pen and ink and pastel.
Rural life has brought out a keen awareness to the various elements of the seasons on the prairies. My work comes directly from observing and studying the reaction to these changes throughout the year. I use my sketches, plein air studies or photos for reference.
Having spent years experimenting with different mediums, I find acrylics and ink to be very versatile. The desire to portray my message in a unique and meaningful way sometimes introducing new mediums continues to challenge me. Inspired by Light, Line and Color I create close up images taken from the environment around me. Glorified color and larger than life subjects are my way of bringing attention to ordinary plants giving them significance to the world we live in.
I hope to bring awareness to the subtle yet vital role of plants and insects. I believe all people of our communities depend on this part of nature to sustain life. The inherent beauty and minutia of nature can embellish our own human experience if we let it. My intention is to bring out the extraordinary in something that is seen as ordinary or not seen at all; hoping to bring awareness and appreciation for how precious our environment is, through my artwork.
The altering of nature and its inherent properties are issues to be considered for our future health of the planet and our existence
Rita St. Amant is a professional artist working in mixed media with a specialty in textile arts. Born and raised in southern Saskatchewan, her work is heavily influenced by nature and landscape, with a particular fondness of the prairies. She uses the inspiration of the prairies to create realistic and abstract art. She explores multiple mediums to try every possible process for creating a surface.
Being deeply connected to nature, an alternate reality is created using wild colors and patterns. Techniques include painting, drawing, dying of cloth including silk, felting and layering with threads and wool. As a mixed media artist, material choices and processes vary with each new body of work. She has taken numerous classes in drawing, painting and online workshop with textile artist Claire Benn . She is heavily influenced by the works of Martha Cole, Hollis Chatelain, Nancy Crow and Jane Dunnwold. Her work can be seen in various places around Saskatchewan. She has sold across Canada and the US.
Having had the pleasure of living on both the West Coast of BC and the vast plains of the Prairies in Saskatchewan, my paintings are influenced by the unique landscapes and animals from both areas. They however, don’t just reflect what I am seeing, but what I am hearing and feeling around me, as well. Working in Acrylics gives me a wide range of painting techniques and styles to play with and my palettes are connected greatly to the contrasts going on between light and dark. a dance so perfect and only found in nature.
This compilation of Birds from around the West Coast, titled Tobi’s Birds. Song Birds and Birds of the Meadow, is the first series of several I have planned out, to paint, over the next year. While living in BC I had the pleasure of being friends with Tobi Higo. We, along with many of our other friends, would go fishing and camping together, out into the beautiful Mountains and Forests surrounding the West Coast. For the past few years he has been exploring photography and has taken some unbelievable photographs of Birds. This series is made possible due to Tobi's generosity in allowing me to paint his images. These four Birds remind me so much of home, and it’s bright, damp trees and skies alive with Song.
La Lune and Le Soleil are paintings I created in 2017. They are my representation of the sad tale of the impossible love that the Moon and Sun have for one another, but that can never be fulfilled. These owls look towards each other with sadness and love. Forever apart and together, at the same moment.
I am a self-taught artist, and over the years I have worked to perfect my own style of pen and ink. Through observation and studying animals through photography and looking at other artists work I have taught myself how to draw and paint. I have worked with watercolors, oils, pencil, and pen and ink over the past 50 years. I presently live in Assiniboia Sk.
In 1995 I started creating pen and ink drawings on pieces of spalted Basswood. The natural soft wood grain and the unique coloring created by the process of fungi lends to a wonderful background to my pen and ink drawings. The wood grain patterns and the natural knots along with the natural colors in the wood all combine to create a magical hidden landscape. With the added ink drawings on top of the natural wood patterns I am able to create a new dimension not found in Pen and Ink on paper.
I have combined different ways of working with the pen, and the multi layering of light touch technique of the ink pen that I use, helps to create my style of art. The use of simple lines, dots and dashes, pointillism, and soft shading, are combined to bring as much realism to the work as I can. Multiple layering of grays and limited use of solid black creates a warmer atmosphere and invites the public to enter into the scene and experience nature.