Join us for a Chapel service and closing reception for the current art exhibition, The Land About Us, featuring four expert landscape artists. Following our Chapel service at 2:00pm, we will take a guided tour through each of the four art exhibits. Refreshments will be provided.
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The Land About Us
McMaster Divinity College
November 8, 2022 – January 18, 2023
J. Douglas Thompson
Located in N.H. Parker Chapel
My book Radiance Through the Rain, a 160-page limited edition coffee table book is a collection of musings of a struggling wayfarer who has slipped, sipped and swallowed at the rim of life’s light, dark storms, and misty shadows. Beauty and brokenness, daily fare of all earths fellow pilgrims draws him to consider that light demands darkness to truly sparkle. These thoughts are primarily for the encouragement and the kind cajoling of fellow strugglers that hope and joy are found in silence, solitude, and surrendered thankfulness at our Creator’s lap, Abba.
I paint in acrylic on canvas, depicting the atmospheric effects of water, clouds, fog, or snow. Whether hiking along the north shore of Lake Superior, the west coast of Vancouver Island or the high country far above the tree line in the Rockies, the linear texture and atmospheric effects found in these areas have always attracted me. From the regal heights of grand cumulus thunderheads to the low-lying mists of early mornings on the coast, or rain forests found the world over, I find my passion in the moods presented to me in the natural world.
“The purpose and role of the artist is to bring awareness to others, so that they stop and consider what possibly would have gone unnoticed,”
“There is only one Creator…the painter only recreates.’
To view more of Doug’s work, visit www.jdthompson.net
Ela Malara
Located in the MDC Gallery
Ela comes to us from, Krakow, Poland, where her Masters studies in painting and design, helped her become a master painter in landscape, (studio and plein air), in watercolour, oil and acrylic. Under the tutelage of Rodzinski and Grzywacz. She brings to us a European sensibility of the history of painting and taking seriously the world around us as an artist.
She tries to identify and follow the harmony reflected in this surrounding world. “Studying my subjects, I paint and draw to catch the ephemeral moments, but foremost to deepen the bond with the transcendent source of beauty, truth, and life. I believe it is a responsible mission as an artist to create in accordance with my evolving faith and bring artwork to the audience reflecting my ideas and values.”
This sophisticated body of works has garnered her numerous awards both here and, in her homeland.
For information, please contact Ela at elathepainter@gmail.com
Jeanette Obbink
Located in the Farmer Memorial Board Room
Born and raised in Holland, Jeanette has been painting from an early age. She worked as a Delft Blue Pottery Painter for two years after finishing high school, then obtained her BA in arts and textile as well as a teaching degree. Two country moves later, having worked as a teacher and graphic designer, you can now find her mostly behind her easel in the studio or outside painting plein air or with a sketch book. Jeanette lives in Paris and her work depict the surrounding area, or wherever her travels take her. Her work is found in many private and permanent collections worldwide.
“When I paint, I aim to create a point of harmony and peace, a breathing space in our busy lives. As mostly a landscape artist, I paint what catches my attention, either a place that takes my breath away, or the opposite – a place to catch my breath, and as to be expected, they often coincide. I hope that with my work 1 give others a second chance to look closer and appreciate that which is out there for all to see, but passed by only too often in the haste of life.”
For more info, visit www.obbink.ca or contact Jeanette at jeanette@obbink.ca.
Heidi Brannan
Located in the Room 211 Office Gallery
Heidi Brannan has been an artist for over 25 years, mainly working with glass and stone. She has served as President and Executive Chair for the Semaphore Fellowship and Flagship Gallery in Hamilton, Ontario for 6 years and is thrilled to part of Hamilton’s art district. Her exhibitions have been shown in galleries across Ontario including the Thera Gallery in Toronto, 3 Galleries in Yorkville, and venues in Ottawa, Stratford, Jordan, Hamilton, and Waterloo.
Heidi’s work started with stained glass and has evolved. “The way coloured glass came to life with sunlight behind it was something I could not ignore,” she says. She explored the limitations of seams of soldered lines and then discovered cast glass where she could explore treating glass as paint. Every piece has a strong foundation of clear fusible art glass which is measured and carefully cut. Then coloured glass is added to develop hue and form. Finally, powdered glass creates custom colour and depth. Her works defy gravity with fluid movement, often combining cast glass and stone.
Find out more about Heidi’s work at www.heidibrannan.ca.