This Tuesday, October 3rd, Halifax born artist Susan Paterson, highly regarded as both an accomplished watercolour painter and skilled printmaker, returns for her third solo show at Lyghtesome Gallery, 166 Main St., Antigonish, N.S.
Paterson first studied under Ted Pulford and David Silverberg at Mt. Allison Univ ersity, Sackville, N.B. where she graduated with a BFA in 1980. She pursued further study in painting and drawing at Sunbury Shores, St. Andrews, N.B. and the Byam School of Art, London, England, and then went on to learn lithography and etching at the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design in Halifax. After living several years in Toronto, Susan Paterson moved back to the Maritimes and established her home and studio in Dartmouth. Since 1979, her work has appeared regularly in public and private galleries in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and been commissioned by organizations such as the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, N.S. the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Sherbrooke Village, and the Dartmouth Heritage Museum, Dartmouth, N.S. Her work can be found in numerous private and corporate collections including Husky Oil, the Bank of Detroit, Citibank, Nova Scotia Art Bank, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Bell Canada, Employment & Immigration Canada, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, TD Bank,, Olympia and York Developments, Magna International, K.K. Sakai Co. of Tokyo, Mitsu Taiyo Kobe Bank, and Mercantile and General Reinsurance Group.
Best known for her rural and seaside landscapes, Paterson delivers an elegant, reflective realism, imbued with subtle, human sympathies. Among the fourteen watercolours in the show are several floral close-ups, farm animal scenes and three larger panoramic landscapes, including one of Halifax Harbour through the snowy trees of the Dartmouth waterfront park. Working from a calm and meticulous distance, Paterson captures quiet moments of suspended evening light, the soft and surprisingly varied quality of snow, the translucency of water and flower petals, all with refined technique and sensitivity. The show runs from October 3 - 31 and mid month will be accompanied by a display of soapstone carvings by David Jamali, a sculptor from Zimbabwe who is currently studying at the Coady International Institute in Antigonish.. November will follow with an exhibit of recent oil paintings by Antigonish artist Paul Price.
