Moon over Mahoney's

This oil painting was created in 2024.

Artist Statement

"Jack Chambers (Canadian artist- 1931-1978) once said “Realism is not a technique. It is a self-effacing celebration of the Universe.” This show is just about that. I am responding, in the way that is most natural to me, to the beauty (dare I say it) that I see all around me where I live.

I enjoy working in different media, and painting is much freer than etching, which takes much thought and preplanning to work with, or get around, the technical limitations and challenges. But painting, to me, almost plans itself as I sit on location. So much happens as I sit there, with weather, bugs, things growing, shadows moving, that I feel that I am working with the subject that I’m painting. Even with oils that are too big to paint on location, I draw a detailed sketch that helps me get the feel of what it was like being there.

Much of what I paint is just around my house – looking out the window at breakfast, or something I see on the way into town. Sometimes, I’m hit over the head with an image that I just must paint, or sometimes I see the same thing over and over and then suddenly I’m seeing it in a different way, and what I see is full of meaning, significance and beauty. I try to recreate that “seeing”, revealing the truth, unity and coherence of everyday life."

-    Anna Syperek, 2024