Bernadette Peets

Bernadette Peets AOCA, is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design where she majored in Drawing and Painting. Her work in theatre as a scenic painter, set designer, prop maker and costumer from 1988 – 2007 has informed her studio practice and had a lasting impact on her choice of subject matter and its presentation in a variety of visual idioms.

She says, “I am perpetually learning and exploring as I work. I am happy when I reach a new skill level, discover a new way of making art, or find a new material to work with. My paintings are dramatic and sometimes playful, influenced by my background working in theatre. The vibrant, saturated colours, shiny fabrics, layered images and textures evoke the sensuous and varied materials I have worked with as a designer/maker.

My approach to painting was affected by the pandemic. At first, work was slow and I was feeling fearful and immobilized. I became much more introspective and had to paint what was at hand in the space that was available to me. I constructed a box to place small still-life arrangements in and used a grid for drawing and painting through a circular viewfinder. My circular canvasses are peepholes through which the audience can peer at the paintings of carefully constructed, still-life tableaus I’ve created using thrift-store objects. The objects stand in for characters and the purposeful arrangement of them suggests a narrative or theme that is open for interpretation. While the stage is intentionally set, the story itself is fluid.

I seek to create a dialogue between the viewer and the work, inviting the viewer to find their own story within.”

You can see more of Bernadette’s work on Instagram @b_peetsart.