Throwback Thursday

Bare In Front Of You

20 x 20

acrylic and oil on canvas

© Nicki Ault, 2012

NFS

This is the last ever painting I painted at the Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus. It was the culmination of a week of abstract painting in a workshop led by Alicia Popoff. I think I was just beginning to hit my stride and feel safe enough to really get down to the business of experimenting when the week was over. It was a real luxury to be able to take that time and I miss it dearly. I took a week long class there every summer from 2007 until 2012 when it closed. Before that I had also attended in 2000 and 2001. There has been nothing I have found in Saskatchewan that offers what it was able to offer. The campus has been closed for three years and it looks like another summer will pass by without it welcoming students, scientists, artists, musicians, dancers and writers among others.

This painting hangs on the wall behind me as I type this. I had to keep it. It reminds me of a special time and it reminds me that I need to stretch beyond what I normally do.