The Maritime Plaza Hotel, composed of large painted panels, models, and intimate observational drawings on paper, is an arrangement of moments, a meditation on time and place.
Bathroom Retreat
This series was painted almost entirely in my bathtub or bathroom. It began as a way to continue painting right after the birth of my daughter. I was surprised to find the constraints of this series, such as time, water, and gravity, helped me focus, and in the end to see in a different way. I found many similarities between this project and painting plein air.
Emma Lake Archive
In 2012, Crystal Bueckert & Cameron Forbes were invited to document the buildings on the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus, a summer research and fine arts residency operated by the University of Saskatchewan. Cam painted the interior of the buildings while Crystal created as-built, scaled architectural drawings of each building.
River Painting
Starting at “the Forks” in Winnipeg, where the Assiniboine River meets the Red River, I go door to door along the Assiniboine to gain permission to paint the private view of the river from these sites.
The plein air landscapes, viewed from windows within strangers’ homes and businesses, serve as maps, documenting both the physical passage of time interwoven with the social implications of being in inaccessible spaces.
Pictured above – Window, The Forks, Acrylic on birch panel, 20" x 24”, 2012, (series of 15)
Woodrow Block Party
I lived in an apartment on this one block street, Woodrow Place, along the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg. Somewhat dilapidated, all of the homes on the street had private riverfront access.
I painted the views of the river from my neighbours homes. All of these homes were owned by one person who recently sold them with the intention to build riverfront condos. Before impending eviction, we threw a block party to celebrate the people who live here.
The painting surfaces are found corrugated sign board, often used for real estate signs, and were installed in corresponding front yards for the block party.
Pictured above – River Painting- Woodrow Place. 24” x 36”, 2011 Acrylic on plastic signboard (series of 6)