Dear Emily - Fine Art Print

Emily Carr (1871-1945) is undoubtedly one of my heroes. She was adventurous and and eccentric and had an ambitious, take-no-prisoners zest for life. She painted the natural world here in the Pacific Northwest in the way that I feel about it. Those of us who love her and her work know well this feeling that comes across in her paintings!

My paintings on the other hand, are very unlike hers, for now…

When I was in school for scientific illustration in 2014-2015, one of our class assignments was to create a painting in the trompe l’oeil style (French for “fool the eye”), portraying a still life scene with a number of ephemeral objects, laid out on a surface to tell a compelling and cohesive story. For me, the life of Emily Carr was what I wanted to work on at the time.

Carr’s portrayal of traditional First Nations artwork is not without modern controversy, but she did live and work among them on her expeditions, and from what I have read they had a mutual respect and admiration. Emily Carr would not be who she was without her First Nations influences, and perhaps her privilege and influence on western settler society created an awareness of First Nations culture when it may have been further erased. This painting of mine is in homage to that legacy. I acknowledge that perhaps it was not my story to tell, but from here it can do some good: $10 from each print will be donated to charities for the Every Child Matters campaign.

This print run accompanied the original painting in my first solo show, in the living room of Emily Carr House itself, in August-September of 2016. The original mixed media artwork (gouache & watercolour paints, and coloured pencil), which is 19” x 19” and framed in a black gallery frame at 25” x 25”, is currently on loan where it hangs in Emily’s House of All Sorts on Simcoe Street in Victoria. The original is also for sale; please enquire by email if you would like an in-person viewing and I can put you in touch with the house’s owner; it may take some time to arrange.

These archival prints are 8”x 8”, and ship unframed in a plastic sleeve with an acid-free card backing board. Shipping and handling is included.

(Note - in the 2nd photo there is a sticker that says “20”… this was the original in-person price from 2016, without shipping, and without a donation added)