Shirley Elias, artist

Elias first made her mark as an artistic force as a concert pianist with performances across Canada, frequent broadcasts on CBC’s Radio Two and the recording of three CDs. She earned the sobriquet “Piano Woman” during New Music Festival performances with Maestro Bramwell Tovey and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO).

Her current incarnation as painter finds her marrying the art forms in works that often feature abstract music themes in bold strokes and colours. Her exceptional skill in capturing moments or movements of music and bringing them to life on canvas, has led to a high demand for her work, with more than ninety private commissions to date including recent ones to Florence, Italy and Stockholm, Sweden.

Some of those who have commissioned her work include Canadian opera sensation Jean Stilwell, WSO Concertmaster Gwen Hoebig, composer Randolph Peters and novelist Arthur Motyer, who describes Elias’s paintings as “vital and colourful forms that sing”.

Stilwell, who has been accompanied by Elias on piano in performance, said “Not one of her paintings is without exquisite colour, passionate energy, committed detailing and a fabulous sense of humour.”

In 2011 Shirley Elias completed a large installation for Corus Entertainment’s new radio studios in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The commission included a 6 foot painting for the reception area, and a 12 foot triptych for the board room. The grand opening of the studios included such guests as the Premier of Manitoba and the Mayor of Winnipeg. Shirley’s work is also included in the corporate collections of Wawanesa Insurance (Winnipeg), Bellatrix Exploration Corporation (Calgary), Croatia Industries (Saskatoon) and the Province of Manitoba.

Shirley Elias’s original paintings can be found in corporate, private and government collections in Canada from coast to coast, as well as in India, Italy, Sweden, England, and the USA.

"My art is about communicating with color and composition. As a concert pianist my performances were about connecting with an audience from stage, using colors of sound within a structured musical framework. My work as a painter is based on a similar principle, as I aspire to communicate with colors on canvas; vibrant colors presented in a detailed and balanced composition. I am directed by the flow and rhythm of the colors and design. Just as one's ear is constantly stimulated in a concert setting, I now strive to keep the viewer's eyes engaged and moving across the painting." -- Shirley Elias

Shirley’s original works may be viewed in the following Canadian galleries:

Art Beat Gallery, St. Albert, Alberta

Beaux Arts David Astrof, Montreal, Quebec

Birchwood Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Rendezvous Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia

Webster Galleries Inc., Calgary, Alberta

 

Bette Woodland grew up on a farm in Southern Ontario. After a year of work and travel in Europe, she came to Winnipeg to study at The School of Art, University of Manitoba. She graduated in 1974 with a BFA (Hons.) and received the Gold Medal for painting. Since then, Bette has made her home in Winnipeg. Over the last thirty years, she has exhibited her work in Winnipeg, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. Her paintings and monotypes are included in many private and corporate collections across the country. In Winnipeg, she presently exhibits at the Loch Gallery.

In terms of subject matter, her work generally falls into the categories of figurative and landscape, or alternately, figures in a landscape. For a period of time, she was quite involved with still life; this resulted in a series of paintings of flowers, worked from her husband's garden. She has also painted many portraits over the years, one commissioned by Genome Canada of senior scientist Dr. Henry Friesen. With all of these different subjects, light has been a constant preoccupation. Summer evenings provide her favourite kind of lighting, warm and intense. By working from photographs, she is able to use this transitory light to describe her subjects and give expression to particular feelings.

See also:

Artist Bios