About the Artist:
Sheena Fraser McGoogan
A recent voyage in the
Northwest Passage has certainly affected my work. In the Arctic, I was entranced
by the icebergs -- so much more dramatic than I expected. And the starkness of
the landscape. It made me feel that this is where I had been heading all along. Cleaner, simpler, more
Zen-like. That is what had been happening in
my latest paintings of rocks and shoreline, possibly because of living in the Toronto Beaches. Every day I walk or ride
along the water. The rocks, the waves, the sky so
big, like in the West. Maybe, over time, this has put me in a Zen mood?
Anyway, the paintings arrive, and afterwards, as usual, I try to figure out where they have come from. The process began in the Montreal studio of my artist grandfather, Albert Pattison. That is where, as a child, I fell in love with colour and paint.
I work on canvas using acrylic paints and wax, glazes and a multi media technique. I use acrylic because I like vivid colours and also I like to paint quickly, expressing my feelings and emotions. I play with the surface texture using printmaking and scratching back to uncover the secrets below the surface of the paint. I have traveled extensively around the world -- most recently, to the Arctic, but also to India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, East Africa, Mexico, Australia, Tasmania, Great Britain, continental Europe and New Zealand. I use my painting to tell stories of my travels and my experience with colours and light. I think of myself as an expressive painter.
I like to experiment with colour combinations. Sometimes I layer colour upon colour using the glazing technique. I always paint to music, usually jazz or blues, zydeco or world music, and usually I listen to music related to the area I am painting.
During my travels, I take many photographs. And I use a combination of photos and memories to create art. Sometimes I use primitive, universal symbols and rock or fish fossils in my work, almost hiding them beneath many layers of glazing, and other times using them to help form my composition.
This art expresses my love of the natural world, and my belief that somehow, we are all connected: people, plants, animals and the earth.
RESUME
SHEENA FRASER MCGOOGAN
Sheena Fraser McGoogan was born and raised in Montreal, and spent her childhood
in the art studio of her maternal grandfather, Albert Pattison. A respected
professional painter who
celebrated Old Montreal, Pattison studied with influential artists Maurice
Cullen and William Brymner. Sheena has studied art at the Musee de Beaux Art,
McGill University, University of British Columbia (where she took a degree in
Art Education with Gordon Smith), Banff School of Fine Art (she won a scholarship to attend),
Alberta School of Art (with Barb Milne), and Art Gallery of Ontario (with Ewa Stryjnik).
Through her paternal grandfather, William Fraser, Sheena gained a special
affinity for Toronto. Trained as an architect in Scotland, Fraser immigrated
here and, under the auspices of Lillian Massey, designed numerous Toronto
buildings, including the School of Household Science building across from the
ROM.
Recently, Sheena has shown work at Art Square, Lennox Gallery, Praxis Gallery, Engine
Gallery, Sage Café, Beach Studio Tours and ARTA in the Distillery. Her
photographs feature in several books by
Ken McGoogan (Fatal Passage, Ancient Mariner, Lady Franklin’s Revenge),
and she drew the portrait on the front of his novel
Visions of Kerouac: Satori Magic
Edition.
Highlights and Specifics
1. University of British Columbia. Earned Art Education degree
with a double major in painting and printmaking
(Bob Steele / Gordon Smith).
2. Scholarship to Banff School of Fine Art.
3. Federation of Artists juried show - Vancouver, B.C.
4. Various student art shows - University of British
Columbia.
5. Studied printmaking and painting - McGill University.
6. Art show, Leighton Centre, Alberta 2004.
7. Alberta School of Art: studied painting with Barb Milne.
8. Art show for charity - Kuhn Gallery, Calgary 2004.
9. Illustrations in Chasing Safiya, a
novel by Ken McGoogan.
10. Photographs in three non-fiction books: Ancient Mariner, Fatal
Passage and Lady Franklin’s Revenge by Ken McGoogan.
11. Three art sales out of a private collector’s home - 2004.
12. Studied painting with Alexandra Flood- Fredericton, New Brunswick 2004.
13. Studied painting with Ewa Stryjnik-Art Gallery of Ontario 2005.
14. Studied painting with Atsmon Ganor- Art Gallery of Ontario 2005.
15. Juried Art Show - Kew Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
16. Beach Studio Tour, Toronto 2005-06
17. Praxis Gallery, Toronto, Still Life Group Exhibition- Sept. 2005.
18. Kuhn Gallery, Calgary, group show - Oct.2005.
19. Praxis Gallery, Toronto: Juried show: Inspiration - Nov. 2005.
20. Engine Gallery, Toronto, XXXMAS Group Show - 2005
21. Praxis Gallery, Toronto, Expressions Group Show - Feb.2006
22. Beach Studio Tour, Toronto - Spring 2006
23. Sage Café, Toronto – Celebrating Colour: Two-person show, June 2006.
24. ARTA Gallery, Toronto, Distillery, Summer Creative Flutter, June 2006.
25. Lennox Gallery, YELLO Group Show, June 2006.
26. Art Square, ColorFest: Two-person show, October 2006.
27. Beach Studio Tour -- Fall 2006.
28. Praxis Gallery, Artist Inspiration: Juried Exhibition, November 2006.
29. Open Studio: Studied silk screen printmaking with Nick Shick, Sandi Ralph: 2006-07.
30. Art Square Gallery: Near and Far: Four-person show, November 2007.
31. Beach Studio Tour, Spring and Fall (October) 2007.
32. Member CARFAC ONTARIO: The Association of Professional Visual and Media Artists.
33. Member of The Collective: Toronto Visual Artists Network
Further Information
Contact:
sheena.mcgoogan@gmail.com