Persons of Interest is not a group of felonious mugshots but rather a portrait series that excavates personal qualities that may not be apparent to the casual observer.
The series highlights the two main painting techniques Brenda has used in her career. The direct method or "alla prima" means applying colours directly to the canvas in a single session. This can be seen in the first three portraits — "Anne", "Susan", and "Barry".
The second method is a more classical technique. An "indirect" method, it requires many thin layers of usually transparent paint that yield true-to-life features of exceptional depth and detail. Careful selection of backgrounds and objects further heightens the viewer’s insight into these personalities and
the lives they lead. Viewers often come away feeling as though they “know” the anonymous sitter.
Brenda customarily works in oil and acrylic media. Rendering in oil provides greater depth of colour and facilitates blending, especially with skin tones, while acrylic offers flat fields and speedier drying times. While the classical technique is demanding and painstaking, requiring hundreds of hours for each portrait, she has come to realize that nothing else produces such a vivid sense of an
individual’s unique bearing and character.
Artist's Bio:
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Brenda studied interior design and graphic arts before launching her 25-year career as a graphic designer and design/production manager. She subsequently pursued her love of painting and sculpture at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Manitoba and later at the Alberta College of Art + Design. Now residing in Peachland in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, she spends her days painting, sculpting, and enjoying the great outdoors and the fine wines of the Interior.
Brenda Maunders: The Progress of a Portraitist
June 9 - July 22
Reception June 9, 7 - 9 pm
