"Festival Lily"
Laural Rossnagel, "Festival Lily," 2005, watercolour and ink, 7" x 9".
LAUREL ROSSNAGEL, Visions of Lily Nook
Collector’s Choice, Saskatoon
Mar 24 - Apr 15, 2006
By Kristin Linklater
Imagine you’re a lily. A lily surrounded by a field of lilies. That’s the intent of this show of new ink and watercolour work by Saskatoon painter Laurel Rossnagel. After a visit to Neepawa, Manitoba — not only the home of Margaret Laurence but also the world lily capital — on a sunny July day with the lilies in full bloom, Rossnagel found she couldn’t stop thinking about the perspective of the lilies. “The exhibit attempts to place you in the field,” she explains, “as if you are sitting on the ground and indeed as if you are one of the lily plants viewing your lily neighbours.” Moving the frame down to the flower’s level introduces an expanded mix of colour and forms, and a focus on the shadows cast by the subjects. The lilies, at times, become almost translucent. The artist, who is largely self-taught, has a penchant for experimentation, evident in this fresh approach to florals.
Represented by: Collector’s Choice, Saskatoon.