CHROMA exhibit features oil paintings of VC Glennie at St. Marys Station Gallery

“House on Dundas Street” London, Ont. 12-by-24-inch oil on canvas.

By Duncan McDonald

The oil paintings of VC Glennie are displayed in a solo exhibition, CHROMA, at the St. Marys Station Gallery until Nov. 22.

Trained as a medical illustrator, her journey in artmaking has evolved over the years into stunningly expressive paintings that are loose, painterly and filled with brilliant colour interaction. She has developed a freedom with her brushwork and compositions that she attributes to living in a beautiful and inspiring rural environment just 20 minutes from St. Marys.

“A constant over the years is protecting the past and picking up on emotions and connections with people and places,” Glennie said.

“I’m drawn to British painters because I have a strong connection to Britain. I went to school there for five years and I felt very much at home in the country by the end of the fifth year. Looking at the works of British painters, I see the struggle, what they had to overcome in order to keep going with their art. … I’m inspired by their stories. My mother used to always say, ‘You should have been an historian.’  Looking at a painting, I want to know about the life of the person who painted it.”

Unlike many painters who work from photographs, the artist works from sketches – just like painters from yesteryear.

“Pencil sketches act as a starting point; when I get back to my home studio I flip through them,” she said. “I get a feeling about a certain sketch and it’s a beginning, and in terms of landscape and architecture, I begin making connections with that particular sketch. It just takes off from there. In essence, I’m painting the invisible – emotion.”

Glennie’s art is a form of expressionism that beautifully captures the energy of people, places, and nature. The brushstrokes seem wild and almost out of control at times. However, if you spend time with the work, you will find a rare balance in gesture and precision – or ambiguity and directness.

The colours of these works interact in each piece with a playful dance, prompting the viewers’ gaze to find a focal point – a point that shifts our perception with each viewing.

CHROMA is currently on display at the St. Marys Station Gallery until Nov. 22. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., from Wednesday through Sunday each week. Admission is free.