Stephanson, Loraine

Loraine Stephanson grew up in Edmonton. Loraine attended the University of Alberta in the 1970’s to study art and education.

“Painters that influenced me and my work are numerous and changed as my work developed. Giotto, Piero della Francesca, Pierre Bonnard, Agnes Martin, Lois Dodd, Douglas Haynes and Robert Sinclair are some of those. I have also been privileged to have had a studio history and mentorship from art critic and curator Karen Wilkin.

On the practice of painting small: In 2014 I undertook a self-directed study project intended to help me make more deliberate choices about color and composition. I painted small watercolors exclusively, in bound sketchbooks, working from both observation and memory. After completing a stack of those sketchbooks, I began working with oil paint on small panels, treating each with the same attention and focus I would afford a large canvas. The practice of painting small scale is challenging and satisfying on many levels. Small paintings can infer large space and scale. The determination to paint small also feels like an aspect of the new urban world, where taking up large physical space is increasingly at a premium. “ Loraine Stephanson