ARTIST RESIDENCY

A love letter for arts in Canada. 

Dear people,

Together, art and science communicate in ways neither can achieve alone.  Many years ago I undertook a 4-year artist residency and collaboration with Dr. Ann Dale, Canada Research Chair for sustainable communities. We are each a story.  But together, the cultural and scientific exchange was rich. Given the existential threat of climate change, we explored Canada's rapidly changing landscape through art, love and science.  It is known as the Edging Forward Project. As I am a painter of the spiritual realm through nature —  love and existentialism is something that deeply interests me.  Why are we here? I am honoured to have the full collection of my residency work published to illuminate the upcoming book release: Beyond the Edge by Ann Dale. The book contains wisdom for humanity in the next era.  Wisdom for learning how to live regeneratively in our communities  by restoring nature and nourishing society's well being.  The Beyond the Edge book is culturally imperative and is an urgent call to action.  It offers nature-based solutions to make Canada climate-safe and will be released in 2025 through Friesen Press & Publishing.  The book and the Edging Forward Project for regenerative living, was informed by 25 years of engaged research, passionate writing and explorative painting.

The Beginning
Creative artist residencies can offer a paradise for artists and I was fortunate to be immersed in one filled with spiritual space and practice.  They are intended to enhance the creative process.  The Canada Council for the Arts awarded Ann Dale with the National Arts Molson Prize for Social Sciences and Ann is known for integrating arts and culture into her research.  I was selected to be the resident artist for the Edging Forward Project for my spiritual and emotional approach to painting nature through abstracted landscapes. I collaborated with Ann Dale and Jaimie Clifton, our Curator, to find a fresh understanding of being.  It always came back to: How do Canadians evolve for our children's future?  As mothers, Ann and I know the answer lies in humanity's love.  A wider more encompassing love and respect for nature.  Deep down, the Edging Forward Project is more about: ["human stories and how they shape and influence our relationships to one another, to other species and to the planet."], says Ann Dale.  I realized this was an opportunity for me to rethink the emotional and personal experience through my work. 

Explore and Create
My artist residency for the Edging Forward Project uncovered new perspectives and expanded my artistry through reimagined landscapes.  Taking the journey of creativity demands that you let go of fear and find your own way.   We now know that we are interconnected with nature as one, even at great distances.  Painting beyond the conventional boundaries of the traditional 'landscape', my brushes began finding potent moments of wonder expressing the mysteries of life.  I poetically painted through thoughts, memories and sublime experiences with nature.  Over the four years, I produced a revolutionary body of work that culturally contributed to the social and natural heritage of my country.  Large in scale, the paintings are an expression of love for living things and an inspired vision of the eternal. I explored the sublime by uniquely combining nature with the built environment through atmospheric techniques and compositional redesign. While Nature as a subject is not rare, it is the way in which I brought both together that grants wonder and consideration. Working with oils and mixed-media on joined diptychs — where the two canvases physically touch, the frame’s architecture profoundly suggests our built environment. The composition in itself, took me one year to craft and fully resolve. The painted result was beautiful and offers a unique aesthetic vision of the sublime and our own emotional experiences beyond the edge. 

To evoke a more visceral response, I starting painting vertically so I could feel my body being enveloped by the canvas.  [..."Notably, her unique approach to composition channels the vitality of nature, thereby offering new perspectives.  Made up of two unified canvases, each painting flips the traditional landscape on its end and adopts the orientation of a portrait, eliciting a visceral connection with the human body. The merging of two canvases, magnified by sweeping brushstrokes, depicts the earth’s crust. Architecturally, this feature also signifies the interconnection between our built and natural environments. Subtle details of nature are framed by rustling wind and crashing waves, blending the abstract with the figurative. If you look closely, you may spot a rabbit hole running through the core of the canvas or a dragon-shaped cloud floating through the carbon filled atmosphere. These delightful details stir our hearts and minds, reminding us of our connection to the natural world..."], says Jaime Clifton, B.A. (Hons.), MMSt. Curator for the Edging Forward Project.  

Throughout the residency I responded to chapter themes. I drew on relationships and interconnections between our built environment and the natural world.  Water — as a symbol of renewal, cleansing and emotional energy; flows throughout the painting series. It is the source of all life and fundamentally interconnected the paintings to our own lives.

Community Outreach 
Colour me thrilled! Community engagement was fundamental to bringing the Edging Forward Project alive.  Graciously, the residency paintings and writings were hosted by The Bateman Foundation to showcase how important collaborations are for building a regenerative future for our country.  Reconnecting viewers to art, love and science, in 2017, the paintings and writings were exhibited at the legacy Bateman Gallery of Nature, one of Canada's admired public art galleries for leading-edge contemporary exhibits.  Jaime Clifton, Curator for the Edging Forward Project, worked with the Bateman Gallery of Nature to design an evocative multi-media exhibit for the public. Ann Dale launched the initial Edging Forward book at the opening reception. The community engagement was abundant and the exhibit was held over. One of the many wonderful outcomes of the residency was being offered full representation as a contemporary artist for themed shows reconnecting people to nature.  You can only imagine how thrilled I was and yes, I accepted. Sadly, the gallery is one of many Canadian galleries that closed after the pandemic, however the Bateman Foundation and Board remains active to assess future potential to reopen.    

Collectors and Provenance 
Even after a residency is complete, the effects can prove potent.  Among the best artists in my region, one of the paintings won best in show for artistic innovation and accomplishment in a juried premiere competition. In 2017, the Carbon Thoughts painting was acquisitioned into The Royal Roads University Fine Art Collection.  In 2019 two additional paintings were acquisitioned into The Royal Roads University Fine Art Collection to forever live on the walls for students and educators to find a moment of contemplation and personal reflection. The university is located on the beautiful Hatley Park National Historic Site and on the traditional lands of the Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) and Lkwungen (Songhees) ancestors. The remaining paintings live on the walls in private collections across Canada. Six years later, the paintings are being catalogued and academically printed in the new Beyond the Edge book for inspiration and provenance. In addition, the collection is digitally published in an exhibition catalogue for the Bateman Gallery of Nature. The entire experience was breathtaking.

Thank You 
I had a special team to work with. I'd like to express my sincere appreciation and acknowledge Ann Dale's enduring care of and continuing dedication to Canada's culture and climate-community from which we all benefit from today and tomorrow.  Jaime Clifton, our Research & Art Curator was always there for me diving into language, ideas and providing curatorial support.  A special thank you to Royal Roads University for funding the public exhibit and later accepting the acquisition of three of my paintings into their fine art collection to create a legacy for future generations.  The Canada Council of the Arts is always a beacon of hope for artists and provided invaluable guidance during this creative journey.  A very special thank you to Stephanie Webb, a Curator & Art Historian who kept me afloat with love and reflection.  A writer on Rothko, she often visited my studio and stirred my courage to find my own ethereal language. And so I dived in.  My family...my family was always there for me, understanding and believing in this path I was compelled to take. I could not have done this residency without their unwavering support and encouragement.  You all have an unwavering belief in cultivating the arts and I thank you ever so much.


Reflective Insights 
We are each a story.  But it is when we learn to 'work together' that we can see and feel our kinship to one another. Echoes of Rembrandt's backgrounds and Turner's handling of atmosphere influenced my brushes as the reimagined landscapes transformed. Rothko's serene and delicate surfaces always touch my soul.  The cross-fertilization of the residency had a profound effect on my work. With extensive layers of vaporous gestures, delightful textures and titanium pulled pigment, I will continue to capture the light and the atmospheres that sculpt the West Coast. The incantational quality of the ancient cliffs are now calling me back home to my studio, for I now need to find peace in soft places. It is always my ambition for viewers to find a moment of contemplation within my paintings. A moment for personal engagement and reflection  I am forever hopeful people will find a dialogue beyond the canvas.  

And this brings me to the end of my letter, so let us edge forward.  Sometimes we need to flow where truth and growth take us.  Taking a leap into the unknown can be uncomfortable, but sacred to finding one's full potential. With hope, I encourage all creatives to experience a collaborative residency if you can, for it is truly transformative and life altering.  After all these years, I am still feeling ever so humbled to be part of it all.
   
Love, Nancyanne. 2025

The Edging Forward Art Collection, c. 2013-2017.