Invasive Weeds of Southern Alberta – Christine Petty

Invasive Weeds of Southern Alberta – Christine Petty

Invasive Weeds of Southern Alberta – Christine Petty

“Invasive Weeds of Southern Alberta” is the title for my recent series of watercolours. These paintings focus attention on plants that are typically viewed with disdain, yet posses an overlooked beauty and utility. I hope to expand this body of work to other regions of the world and explore the impact different invasive pants and animals have on other regions of the world. My works aim to inspire and open discussions surrounding nature and why these plants are thought of as weeds and how they came to be in the locations they are now. Isolated on a large, otherwise stark, empty sheet of paper, my paintings draw the eye closer, inviting us to contemplate, see, and appreciate each subject for their unique features and form.

Due to the nature of watercolour, the painted weeds distend the paper that holds them, as though the painted plant sucks the nutrients from their surroundings, similar to what actual weeds do within their environment.
To see, and appreciate the varied forms of nature, especially the overlooked, and the actively destroyed life forms and habitats altered by humans is, for me, an opportunity to consider these plants anew, to marvel in their diversity, resiliency, formal variation and intricacy. My art attempts to celebrate and understand nature, especially living subjects that others may see as undesirable, but nevertheless, demonstrate a quiet strength and occupy a place in our world.

Many invasive weeds were brought from afar for their medicinal or culinary properties, their ornamental value, and sometimes by accident. Unlike native plants, these foreign plants do not have pathogens or insects to keep them in check. Therefore, they proliferate and can have destructive impacts on environments and agriculture. They compete with desirable plants for water, light, nutrients, and space, grow in a variety of soils and are resistant to control measures. In a kind of soft rebellion, I aim to give aesthetic space to these unwanted plants.

Bio:

Christine Petty is an emerging Canadian artist born in Montreal, Quebec. She is currently based in Lethbridge, Alberta. and will be graduating from the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelors Degree of Fine Arts in June 2022. Currently she uses detailed brushwork in her watercolour paintings to represent overlooked and unappreciated subjects drawn from the natural world around her. Christine’s astute eye for form andrefined skill for creating beautiful, highly detailed paintings allows her to render  subjects with accuracy, sensitivity and . To date Christine’s art has been shown in the Concourse Gallery at the University of Lethbridge and is set to be shown at PLATFORM Gallery at Casa in Lethbridge, Alberta from June 18 through August 20, 2022.

Date:June 25th, 2022  -  August 20th, 2022

Location:Casa - Platform

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