Fresh! AiR June/July 2015 - Destanne Norris

Please join us for a Presentation by Destanne NorrisJuly 23rd, 2015 - 7:00pm

"Whether from the Centre" -  Destanne Norris’ work is a convergence of landscape and place, metaphor and symbol, embodiment and Romanticism and the mirroring of ‘inscape and landscape’. Fascinated by weather formations and light in the sky, this project, which will take the form of a multi-paneled 6’ X 8’ painting, will explore “weathering” and “whethering” directly as metaphor for inner and outer life.

Watch Destanne Norris sketch and then paint a work that will become "Flight Path."[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svnvl2Ndx4g[/embed]

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Destanne was admitted to the Master of Fine Art degree during convocation in August 2009 at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia. Destanne's passion for nature and wilderness inspired her on adventures to hike in and paint the Rocky Mountains in Canada and to kayak the rolling waves on the Tasman Sea. Life experiences taught her to ride the waves gratefully.Destanne received a BFA (Honours) Degree in Painting and Drawing from the University of Victoria in 1987. Ten years later, after the passing of her youngest daughter, Destanne resigned as Manager of Tekarra Lodge, a seasonal cabin resort in Jasper National Park, and began to pursue her passion for painting full-time. Primarily an oil painter of landscapes, her practice and work was based upon her direct experiences in nature while on adventures into wilderness and natural environment areas. She was inspired by and very fortunate to have painted alongside Doris McCarthy, one of Canada’s highly regarded landscape painters, and also contemporary landscape painter, David Alexander during a helicopter painting trip.As Destanne’s career progressed she partook in workshops and artist-in-residence programs; she became a juried member of the Alberta Society of Artists; she was represented by three galleries in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan; she participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions in both public and commercial galleries, in addition to various special projects; and her paintings were purchased by many international private collectors and may be found in corporate collections, including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Consulate General, Japan, and Fining Canada.Destanne’s love of a challenge and the journey led her to leave the Rocky Mountains in 2003 to pursue post-graduate research at the University of Tasmania in Australia. One of the four strengths of the University is Wilderness and Natural Environment Studies, where a strong link and concentration exists in the University of Tasmania School of Art. While living and studying in Hobart, Destanne exhibited her paintings at the Entrepot Gallery at the University of Tasmania and in a curated group exhibition entitled, Propinquity and Distance, at the Carnegie Gallery in Hobart.Upon returning to Canada in 2006, Destanne moved to Vernon, British Columbia, to live, paint and complete her MFA studies. Destanne's MFA research project entitled, painted pools: a lens into subjectivity, explored the concept of water as a metaphor for life. Selected works from the water series project were exhibited at the fina Gallery at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in 2008. In addition, a video loop of her entire MFA water paintings choreographed to wave and storm sounds were shown.Since this time Destanne has been curated into three other exhibitions at Public Galleries, as well as participating in Members’ exhibitions and selling her work through commercial galleries: Mountain Galleries and Gallery Odin. Currently, Destanne lives on Silver Star Mountain and paints in her studio at the Caetani Cultural Centre in Vernon.Landscape and place, metaphor and symbol, embodiment and Romanticism continue to be her research interests. An overarching theme in her landscape painting is the mirroring of ‘inscape and landscape’. Over the past number of years, Destanne has been looking up and out across the great expanse from her mountain top home. Fascinated by formations and light in the sky, as well as the weather, her paintings have explored this subject as a metaphor for inner life. Thanks to Aaron Deans and the Allan Brooks Nature Centre for providing endless studio space and support for all our Fresh! AiR artists.