Episode 30 - Victoria Pearce

Art Conversations with Lisa Jayne Irvine

Victoria lives and paints in Hamilton’s James North art district and cottages on the edge of Algonquin Park and enjoys hiking and paddling the natural spaces of Ontario’s north, be it Muskoka, Algonquin, Haliburton, Kawartha, Madawaska or the length of Bruce Trail. The contrast of sky to rocky cliffs, grand pines and idyllic islands make for great inspiration. Her labyrinth style finds much inspiration in the exposed rock of the Canadian Shield, the grand White Pines and wide open skies. Come join her on land or on water.

Victoria is a professional artist who works from her studio in the Hamilton’s James North art district. Over the last 20 years she has painted oversized, ants eye view florals combined with abstractions and surreal nests floating in the sky. She is currently focused on the Ontario Landscape in all its vast diversity.

As an artist and avid hiker, observing and recording as she hikes or paddles along is an important part of her process. Victoria is an enthusiastic Bruce Trail Conservancy member and cottager on the edge of Algonquin Park. The province boasts so many waterfalls and grand pine forests, silhouetted islands, craggy cliffs and voluminous skies that there will never be time to experience them all, but she tries. Within them she finds the shapes, lines, colours, patterns and forms she so loves. To play with the interplay of one colour pushing against another or shapes as parts of an overall interconnecting composition is a challenge and a joy. To see the constant movement of all things natural is sometimes easy, as in a waterfall, but more challenging in a wall of granite. She says it’s the geography geek in her that is excited by a ridge of Dolostone or Granite, or the rush of a water cascade, all products of the time glaciers covered the land. Expressing that friction and interconnectedness is what she strives to do.

Victoria’s labyrinth style of landscape is a unique one. It evokes a myriad of associations from ancient writings to tile or knitted patterns, even mathematical principles to some.

On today’s episode Victoria talks about her labyrinth style paintings and how her love of hiking the Bruce trail and nature inform her studio practice.

Interested in seeing some of Victoria’s work. Go to their website at https://www.victoriapearce.ca

Find Victoria on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/victoriapearceart

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com