Artist Proof: Cyanotypes by Robin Byrnes

Expand

Robin Byrnes, "Curtis Phagoo, Goldsmith," 2019

cyanotype on cotton

First Friday Opening: November 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Robin Byrnes’s upcoming exhibit is a marriage of her fascination with a historical photographic process and her admiration for Central Alberta artists. As a visual artist, Robin has been involved with the local visual arts community and she is a fan of many local performing artists. It led her to realize how deep the pool of artistic talent is in Central Alberta, and drew her to make local artists the subject of her own artistic experiments with cyanotype. Robin began playing with cyanotype photography four years ago and has learned to process the Prussian blue images onto paper and fabric. Photographing the images led her to meet even more local artists and to see the diversity of their own talents. This exhibit is the culmination of those exploratory works and the wonderful people she has discovered in her own community.

She believes there is an intimacy in these portraits that reflect the artists’ willingness to invite her into their spaces to watch them work and then take the images home with her to create her own artistic interpretations.

Artist Statement:

I stole the expression “Artist’s Proof” from the printmaking process.  My “Artist Proof” is a visual statement that the arts are alive and well in Central Alberta. As you will see, the proof is in the pictures.

Although I did not set out to find the best known artists in Central Alberta, some that you may recognize are sprinkled among those on these walls. I was looking for people who were known for one art and also excelled at another.

Along the way, I have met and become friends with an interesting, talented and generous group of artists. All the while learning how well the cyanotype process is suited to portraiture in my style. When I ask permission to take their pictures and transform their images into something new for public viewing, I am amazed at how willing, interested and supportive people are. - Robin Byrne