2009 Featured Artist
Every year we feature a visual artist as a part of the Rhythm on the Vine concert series. The featured artist for 2009 is Glenda Leznoff. The noted Canadian artist and writer has generously donated the use of one of her signature paintings titled, “All That Jazz” to Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Glenda Leznoff— In Her Own Words
I was born in Montreal, but Vancouver has been my home for over 30 years. I juggle several roles: mother, writer, artist and Creative Writing teacher at Douglas College. As a writer, I work in the genres of: film, playwriting, fiction, magazine writing and children’s literature.
My art training began at a very early age when a teacher sent me to take classes with Arthur Lismer at The Redpath Museum in Montreal. Unfortunately, the opportunity was wasted on me. Apparently, Arthur Lismer thought I had a gift for colour, but I thought Arthur Lismer was a scary old man with wild white hair, and I was intimidated by his intensity. Oh, to turn back the clock!
I later studied art at the Banff School of Fine Arts. In Vancouver, I've participated in a variety of workshops with painters such as Gordon Smith and Loree Manson. I launched my first show at the Amelia Douglas Gallery in September 2007.
My art draws on diverse imagery, from the gardenesque to the iconic. I enjoy incorporating collage and mixed media in my paintings, playing with an assortment of materials: textured papers from Japan, charcoal, petals and leaves from my garden, and an variety of found objects.
I love my time in the art studio and wish I could be there more often. Once I begin to paint, time melts away. As in writing, the starting point for my work may be theme, a scene, a character, an idea, but in creative process, surprises occur and the subconscious takes its own mysterious and intuitive journey.
"All That Jazz"
This vibrant acrylic and charcoal painting features a stylized guitar as its focal point. Shriners Hospitals for Children will be showcasing this colorful and lively work on a variety of items for the concert series in addition to its starring role on the 2009 Rhythm on the Vine poster.
For more information about Glenda, visit her website or contact her directly at gleznoff@gmail.com.
© 2009 Glenda Leznoff "All That Jazz"
