Painting created by Liz MacArthur
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Liz MacArthur
December 01, 2024 - 2:30 PM
Vernon artist Liz MacArthur loves to paint the little things she finds extraordinarily beautiful. What others may find mundane, she studies, finds the remarkable and captures it with her paintbrush.
Although she has travelled to many different countries, she says something always draws her back to the wonder of the Okanagan.
“I'm just taken with the beauty, and it's not like it's static, it changes all the time with light and seasons and the moods change, so it's you know you can keep capturing something different even if it's a similar scene,” MacArthur told iNFOnews.ca.
MacArthur does her best to show the beauty and intricacies in the world around her with her use of vibrant colours.
Painting created by Liz MacArthur
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Liz MacArthur
Most of her inspiration comes from spending time in nature. When she goes on hikes she takes photos to use as inspiration for her next painting. She has hundreds of photos sitting in a box to spark her creativity, although she doesn't think she'll get around to painting all of them.
She spends time examining the small details around her. She inspects the hues in the clouds, the lines on the trees, the blades of grass. Every detail counts to capture the magnificence of the ordinary.
“You just look at the world differently,” MacArthur said. “When you look at the clouds you go ‘oh wow, there's a lot of pink and purple in those clouds.’ Normally you would just look up and see clouds. I look at the trees differently, I look at the clouds differently, I look at the light, I look at people.”
Painting created by Liz MacArthur
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Liz MacArthur
Typically, MacArthur sticks to landscapes full of water, trees and rocks, but she sometimes diverges to scenes with people.
What may be an image of people standing outside and about to go into a house could really be a family eagerly walking inside their home ready to meet their loved ones.
She said it's all about perspective. While it may just seem to be a regular, daily moment in time, MacArthur tries to capture a heartwarming story behind the painting and the people in it.
Painting created by Liz MacArthur
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Liz MacArthur
“You communicate your inner world and I see the world very bright and beautiful and happy, so I'm hoping that's how my paintings come across,” she said.
MacArthur also likes to paint scenes that locals can recognize, something with a sense of familiarity that can bring connection.
Typically, she spends about two to four weeks on each painting. She said she needs enough time to perfect the colours and capture the feeling the painting should evoke.
MacArthur attends art shows and has a website where her paintings are available for purchase. The prices vary depending on the size of the image.
Painting created by Liz MacArthur
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Liz MacArthur
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