Arts

Art Scoop: ASK Member Isabelle West’s Fantasy, Feathers and Flowers

To me, there has always been a comfort in creating. It soothes my ruffled feathers, calms and nourishes my soul and provides an avenue of expression which I find difficult to convey otherwise.

Drawing and colouring were my favourite pastimes growing up. My mother cultivated beautiful gardens that often became my subject matter in drawing. I would also sketch my classmates and doodle in the margins of my schoolbooks instead of listening to the teacher.

While I maintained a creative spirit, my main focus was my children while they were growing up, concentrating more on domestic duties and sewing projects, and helping to develop a love for creativity in them.

Feathers by Isabelle

My two boys had fun drawing and would sit and draw cartoon characters from the TV screen and of course, monsters. On the other hand, my daughter, who didn’t inherit my drawing talent, had good imaginative writing skills.

It was during those years I experimented with new creative outlets such as ceramics, knitting, crocheting and embroidery.

I started my quilting interest around the same time and somewhere along the way took a basic quilting class taught by Robin Morey. She was a spectacular fabric artist with huge quilts gracing the Windsor Art Gallery.

This little class ignited a spark in me and has guided me with my fabric and natural designs throughout the years. Recently, I finished a Queen-size Crazy Quilt from materials gathered in my travels around Ontario.

Quilt by Isabelle

While visiting my aunt in France, I had the privilege of viewing Monet’s garden in Giverny. Awe-inspiring! I also stood in front of the famous church at Auvers-sur-Oise, painted by Vincent Van Gogh. These are two of my favourite painters and was an unforgettable experience to say the least.

One of my dreams is to visit the Rocky Mountains and the beautiful Arizona red sandstone geological formations. Rocks and clouds have always fascinated me. I did travel to Texas with our motorhome a few years ago. Loved the palm trees, cactus and open air.

Sister Jerome at St. Mary’s Academy taught me art every Saturday morning during my high school years. I progressed from charcoal to pastels to oil painting.

Cottage on Lake

My water-colouring has been mostly self-taught after a short class at Kingsville high school.

I did take oil painting classes later from Vera Newman who helped me fine-tune my painting skills. I really enjoyed the Zentangle class I took in Windsor. It reminds me of my early doodles. In fact I added Zentangle doodles around the wrapped canvas edge of a recent painting.

David, my husband, had a photography business for a number of years. I helped him by taking some photos, helping to arrange the models or wedding groups, and then choosing the best photos to print.

Later it was my job to touch up and edit as needed. This was meticulous work, including aspects such as opening eyes, adding or removing people, removing stray hairs or blemishes and fixing the background.

Big Flowers by Isabelle

Before digital cameras, I changed the photographs by airbrush. This process used numerous sprays on the photo before and after the actual airbrushing. A very labour-intensive affair, and I have long since moved on to newer technology where I can achieve a better result digitally in far less time.

At Sun Parlor Home in Leamington, where I worked for almost 30 years, I was instrumental in developing ‘Resident Quilt Squares’. These were two large mounted showcases that housed sixteen 12” quilted squares. One stood for each resident on my unit which represented their past joys and accomplishments.

I also designed the Palliative Care pamphlet and a SPH logo that was used for a while at the Sun Parlor Home.

Plants by Isabelle

Over the years I have been included in a few exhibitions, booths and contests. My first teaching experience was for our RV group. We spent an afternoon painting a lovely sunset marsh scene, then the next year, a garden scene. We all went home happy with a masterpiece.

My brother, Jim, showed me how to carve soapstone. Although I will never be as proficient as he was, I have carved a few pieces and continue to use soapstone in some of my jewellery designs.

I’ve enjoyed painting with the Windsor and Essex County Plein Air Artists for a number of years and am hoping to join them again in the near future.

I have found that 50% of my creative process is done in my head before any tangible work is done.

Sculpture by Isabelle

To organize my thoughts I’ve found A systematic approach works best, whether for a personal or commission piece. I ask myself a series of questions such as:

    • WHY am I doing this? Is it for practice, commission or another reason?
    • WHAT is this project about? Is it part of a bigger picture, a memory piece or just a fantasy?
    • WHEN does it need to be finished?
    • WHERE will this be worked on? Do I need a dedicated space? Outside?
    • HOW will I accomplish this? What method or techniques will I use? Do I have the necessary skills and supplies? How expensive will this project be?

Sad Angel

Many of my creations involve feathers, either painting on them, adding them to dream catchers, in jewelry creations or as a subject matter in a painting. My artwork seems to steer towards fantasy, feathers and flowers. I end up feeling very attached to my artwork and often have a hard time parting with them.

Since I retired, I have published a colouring book for adults, Essex County Colouring Tour. I’ve also illustrated a children’s book, Oma’s Toolbox by Elsie Galbraith. Recently, I provided some colouring pages for Odd Ears and the Shrinking Meadow by Robert Lynch and Photo-Art by John Dutton.

Please contact me if you would like to purchase any of these books.

Dream Catcher

I joined the Kingsville Arts Society a few years ago and am now the Membership Chair. The group is remarkable, full of creative and supportive people, numbering close to 100 in total.

Although we can’t meet in person at the present, we still connect on Facebook and see each other virtually for our monthly meetings. We share our most recent works and talk about opportunities available to us. I encourage anyone with an interest in art to join us.

~ To learn more about Isabelle West or to contact her:

Email
Isabellewestoriginals@gmail.com

Website
Arts Society of Kingsville

ASK email
theartssocietyofkingsville@gmail.com

All photos provided by Isabelle West

6 Comments

  1. Isabelle, I love your meticulous work. You are a very hard working and talented lady with so many interests. I also went to St. Mary’s Academy a long time ago! Anita

  2. Kathy Collins L'Esperance

    Isabelle, what a gift God has given you!! Your beautiful beautiful paintings are a reflection of you; your gentle spirit and your beautiful smile. Kathy C

  3. Rosemary Byrne

    Such a lovely display of your talents Isabelle!
    Proud of you girl!

  4. Robert Lynch

    +WOW!!! Why haven’t I seen these pieces before? Bad on me. I went backover each piece and found I missed each time. And every time I did I felt better had I had the time before. Thank you for bringing something special in the world of art.

  5. Linda McCracken

    Who knew back in nursing school of Isabelle’s innate talents that definitely ‘blossomed’ over the years. Feel privileged in owning her colouring book & ‘Oma’s toolbox’. Continue to enjoy viewing her posts on FB exhibiting her new creations. Bravo, Isabelle👏🏻

  6. Multi-talented Isabelle! With a story full of artistic talent!

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