An Optimistic View: The Art of Claire Cepukas
Claire Cepukas is a Canadian painter whose works are inspired by the nation’s remote landscapes and the artist’s time spent living and working as a tree planter in Northern Alberta and BC. Claire’s works are saturated with brighter-than-life colours and present an optimistic view of the wilderness.
Snow Ghosts, acrylic and paper on canvas
I really appreciate Claire’s graphic style and the unique approach that she takes to the production of landscape paintings and drawings. The artist’s approach is one that emphasizes large, clean shapes and planes of colour, trading in photorealistic details for an impression of the landscape that is whole but untethered to any actual location or reference point. The resulting images have a kind of approachability and familiarity that suggests that they could be anywhere, while still honoring the landscapes by which they were inspired.
In creating her works, Claire uses a variety of media including alcohol markers, watercolour, and oil paints. Though each medium lends a slightly different effect to the finished image, it’s interesting to see how consistent the artist keeps her style across different media and subject matter.
