Arteles Catalogue 2023-2020

Silence Awareness Existence program / MARCH 2022
Leanne Rockliff
Canada
leannerockliff.wordpress.com
About
Born and raised in a Canadian rural farming community, I
was keen to explore the world after completing a Bachelor of
Arts. I spent 3 years living in London and Melbourne soaking
up culture and history. These travels are now a source of
inspiration for my paintings. After a successful career in
finance, being the art enthusiast – I made the purposeful
decision to follow my passion to paint and create full time.
Based in Vancouver now, I am tossing myself between
photo realism cityscapes and mixed media abstracts. I
want to capture fleeting moments in time that to someone,
somewhere it’s poignant or impactful. My work is fully self
serving and at the same time very much for the viewer, it’s a
joint joyful sensation that connects us.
Screaming Out
While at Arteles I worked on a body of work that I intend on
exhibiting back home in Vancouver, Canada as an ode to the
place I love to live.
I prepared 9 canvases before arriving so that I could hit the
ground running when I at Arteles. I had a plan A and B and
wanted to let the vibe and feeling of Finland determine which
direction of take for my work while in residence. I decided
to use photographs of favorite views in Vancouver and used
the Finnish sunset as the colour palette inspiration. I worked
on all canvases simultaneously and that helped keep the
works coordinated. It was as though I was building one large
building and each level of each painting was complete before
moving on to the next step. I wouldn’t be able to work this
way at home as I don’t have enough room, so I really wanted
to take advantage of the space here.
My process began organically, applying blocks of colour
without any thought to placement. I then went back in with
collage to work on shape defined mainly by colour. I then
went back and forth adding realistic detail and then removing
portions to come to a point where there’s a good balance of
abstract and photo realism. My time at Arteles allowed me
the atmosphere to immerse myself fully into what was asking
to be put onto canvas.