By Emily Larman
Ms. Spencer, a resident visual art teacher at Collingwood and lover of the medium of expression, began doing art because it has always been something that she enjoyed. She stresses that her interest was initially sparked by a great art teacher she had during her time at West Van Secondary School and subsequently during a Summer program studying Art History at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Her passion for art stems around a love for the sheer flexibility that creating allows for:
“I think it’s taken me awhile, but I’ve come to realize how happy I am when I’m creating. I slip into a different mindset, am definitely more relaxed, and truly having fun. A year in London completing my Masters in Art Education, reaffirmed my love of art. I found myself immersed in Art everywhere I turned, had access to world class galleries, and was out of my comfort zone for an entire year.”
Ms. Spencer’s current avenue of choice is creating abstract landscapes on wooden panels, showcased above, using acrylic paint. She extolled, “I really enjoy the freedom of a non-representational piece,” for she enjoys the fact that she can be messy and aggressive with the piece while still being able to experiment heavily with marking and color. Furthermore, she has also recently been dabbling with watercolour by recreating old travel photos from the past few years.
Ms. Spencer, a resident visual art teacher at Collingwood and lover of the medium of expression, began doing art because it has always been something that she enjoyed. She stresses that her interest was initially sparked by a great art teacher she had during her time at West Van Secondary School and subsequently during a Summer program studying Art History at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Her passion for art stems around a love for the sheer flexibility that creating allows for:
“I think it’s taken me awhile, but I’ve come to realize how happy I am when I’m creating. I slip into a different mindset, am definitely more relaxed, and truly having fun. A year in London completing my Masters in Art Education, reaffirmed my love of art. I found myself immersed in Art everywhere I turned, had access to world class galleries, and was out of my comfort zone for an entire year.”
Ms. Spencer’s current avenue of choice is creating abstract landscapes on wooden panels, showcased above, using acrylic paint. She extolled, “I really enjoy the freedom of a non-representational piece,” for she enjoys the fact that she can be messy and aggressive with the piece while still being able to experiment heavily with marking and color. Furthermore, she has also recently been dabbling with watercolour by recreating old travel photos from the past few years.
Ms. Spencer’s plans for the future include attempting to create art on a larger scale, maybe even venturing into a giant panel. She noted, however, that “At any current point in time (despite using a drop sheet), my apartment has paint on the sofa, kitchen table, floor, and fridge, so this larger scale won’t happen any time soon.” Nevertheless, it is an attainable dream that she has for the future and hopes to accomplish. Her current prized piece remains a small panel piece based on a series of icebergs that is featured above (the turquoise and white painting.) She loves the way it turned out, it is now hanging in her house, despite her intentions to give it to her best friend for a wedding present.
When asked as to her inspiration, she shared that her love for abstract work is often inspired by other artists’ work she finds on Instagram and on sites such as “The Jealous Curator.” No true artist is able to be completely innovative without the inspiration of other’s work, a concept dubbed as inter-textuality as where every art piece builds on itself. She also particularly loves the work and is inspired by David Fredrik, of whom she shares a similar style with, and Samantha French, whom she finds intriguing because of her interest in swimming. Ms. Spencer conducts herself with the poise of a true artist and I can only imagine what she has planned for the future because her talent and kind-hearted nature will take her far.
When asked as to her inspiration, she shared that her love for abstract work is often inspired by other artists’ work she finds on Instagram and on sites such as “The Jealous Curator.” No true artist is able to be completely innovative without the inspiration of other’s work, a concept dubbed as inter-textuality as where every art piece builds on itself. She also particularly loves the work and is inspired by David Fredrik, of whom she shares a similar style with, and Samantha French, whom she finds intriguing because of her interest in swimming. Ms. Spencer conducts herself with the poise of a true artist and I can only imagine what she has planned for the future because her talent and kind-hearted nature will take her far.