Detail: Yellow Square by Joanna Pettit, acrylic on canvas, 24x36, 2020.

Joanna Pettit  presents What Emerges
at the Gage Gallery 
​September 29 - October 18, 2020

Joanna's show at Gage Gallery was a great success!
"Many people came to see the show," she says, "and I was thrilled to sell eight paintings." 

​Joanna Pettit has been an artist all her life. As a child growing up in Vancouver, she spent much time outdoors. In the summers, her family took camping and hiking trips around BC. August on Saturna Island meant exploring. There were sun-bleached fields, rocky shores and tidepools, walks in the woods and blackberries to pick.

The young artist sketched en plein air, making still life drawings and paintings from nature. “I have such vivid memories of that time,” she says. Pettit still recalls looking out at the ocean from their cabin on a bluff. Seeing shades of blue moving from sea to sky, and the distant island shapes. The mysteries of water continue to inspire the artist, either gazing into their depths, or watching the play of light on surfaces.

Angular, acrylic on canvas, 20x20 in, 2020.

Together & Apart, mixed media, 24x24 in, 2020.

Overall, Pettit’s blue-green palette appears aquatic. Among the soft shades of teal, there are bright shapes and surprises. Pettit’s multi-layered acrylic abstractions offer worlds to explore. These peaceful places take the viewer on a visual journey. “I use colour to explore the contrast between form and spaciousness,” she says. “What emerges” in each painting is a mood and narrative fashioned by the skillful placement of colours and shapes.

This is Pettit’s first solo show after joining the Gage Gallery one year ago. “It was a big step in my painting career,” she says. Being part of an 18-member art collective motivates her in many ways. Each Gage artist has a unique style and medium, she notes, so there is much to learn and share. Running a commercial gallery takes time and energy, explains Pettit, and we all contribute. “I have to stay on task and keep organized for upcoming shows.”

Emergence, acrylic on canvas, 36x24, 2019

Spacious, acrylic on canvas, 36x18 in, 2020

​Pettit is a prolific artist, paintings adorn every wall of her light-filled home-studio. She often works on several paintings at once. And greatly enjoys the unhurried unfolding of each abstraction. Her paintings are built up of many layers of transparent and opaque colours. Each painting goes through many changes. She describes her critique method as “call-and-response”.
​“I walk out of the room, then back in, glancing at the painting,” she says. Adjustments follow.

For example, Spacious, now on the easel, is a wash of delicate blues and ochres. But several hours ago it looked like a moody seascape with a dark rocky outcrop. “I thought the colours lacked lustre so I painted over it,” she says. One of her favourite acrylic colours is Quinacridone Nickel, Azo Gold. This transparent amber hue produces a delicate warm glow. Pettit creates texture by scratching back through the layers and collaging with crumpled tissue paper. In works like Yellow Square expressive linework is added with dark oil pastels. The juxtaposition of darks and lights adds contrast, depth and drama.

Going Places, acrylic on canvas, 12x30 in, 2018

Pettit is a life-long learner in the arts. She attended the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Later, she studied Art Education at UBC taking courses in design, painting and printmaking. Pettit remained creatively active throughout her working years. She took courses in ceramics and water-colours. At Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts she studied painting with Xane St Phillip. Her paper-mache bowls, trays and whimsical creations were a hit at craft shows.

​Pettit is a member of the Nicholas Wilton Academy. His inspiring Art2Life workshops are well-attended. Wilton gives his students the confidence to produce bold compositions using skillfully mixed colours. Creative coach Cheryl Taves applauds Wilton’s teaching methods and online tutorials. In Feb 2020, Pettit studied with Taves for 12 weeks. The Artist’s Mindset was an online course promoting daily sketching for skill-building and finding authentic voice.

Blue Rondo, acrylic on canvas, 18x36 in, 2020

​​Pettit often studies at the Vancouver Island School of Art (VISA). Recently, she took a course with Barry Szekely called The Real and the Abstract. Below, Breezy (representational) and Yellow Square (abstract) are side by side. Breezy is one of few landscapes in the show. Pettit explains that Breezy started off as an abstract painting, but developed landforms, sky and water as the work progressed. I ask the artist a question: Why is it that people are drawn to representational art and landscapes? Is it because we crave the familiar, and find abstract art puzzling?

Breezy, acrylic on canvas, 20x30 in, 2020.

Yellow Square, acrylic on canvas, 24x36, 2020.

Pettit agrees that abstractions can be challenging for both the painter and the viewer. “An abstract artist uses colour, shape and form as tools,” she says. “The aim is to evoke a feeling or spark an emotional memory.” Pettit greatly admires a successful abstraction. She feels a sense of contentment moving through the lights and darks, and experiencing the depth and spaciousness. Visitors to What Emerges can look forward to similar joys.

​Joanna welcomes your interest and can be reached at  j[email protected]. Artist in attendance
​to greet the public on Sunday Oct 4 and Oct 18.

​Gage Gallery Arts Collective, 2031 Oak Bay Ave, Victoria, V8R 1E5 , 250 592-2760 Gallery Hours:
​Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 5pm. Sundays, noon-4pm.​

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Arts writer published in Focus on Victoria, Yam and Boulevard. 
History in Art degree and Public Relations certificate from 
​the University of Victoria
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