07 Feb, 2021
The current COVID-19 pandemic, while it is a bad situation, has caused many, even painters; to shift their focus. One such painter, Brandy Saturley is one of such painters who decided to look inward for inspiration. Her style is pop realism, however, her focus has shifted to places and memories of home, which include the Salish Sea. If you look inside her North Saanich studio, you'll see small animal skulls, shells, a wall with a seal's face painted on it, and easels where her latest work is sitting, reflective of the pandemic. The artist grew up in Sooke and is known for her Canadiana-inspired acrylic art. Her bold art collection includes landscapes, a hockey with Shania Twain on it, and a Tim Horton’s cup. Another painting is an image of a Mi’kmaq performer, and an RCMP officer at the Vimy Ridge 100th anniversary, while yet another is of a Canadian veteran above a bed of red poppies. Saturley has coined the hashtag #IconicCanuck, which she developed for her first public gallery exhibit, it is a name that she has had since she took on the Canadiana alter ego. Her interest in the Canadian identity is derived from growing up on Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island is separated from the rest of the country by the ocean and different weather conditions from the rest of Victoria. Although still in Canada, at times, Saturley felt far removed from the hallmarks of Canadian culture. She eventually began to get curious and set out to travel the country, gathering inspiration from the people she met along the way and landscapes. She admits that she didn’t feel as though living on Vancouver Island gave her a true image of the whole Canadiana stereotypical view. She said that she feels as they are their biosphere. She felt that it would be interesting to travel across Canada to see how much of the stereotypical Canadian things that people could relate to. However, in 2020, the art world became a little smaller. The pandemic took hold and she began to distance herself from friends and family, like everyone else. During that time, she admits allowing herself to paint whatever she felt like painting. She said that she is influenced by what is around her, everything that she can see, hear and touch. One of her paintings during the pandemic include Time in a Bubble. It focuses on landscape, and its picturesque beauty, and sunset hues. She painted this at the beginning of the pandemic and says that it is a depiction of her perfect Vancouver Island life. In it, she's paddling off into the sunset, but now it's a bubble of a memory. She says that she is now preserving it, as it gives us something to meditate on for those times when she feels stressed or that she can’t connect with people. The artist believed that it was very important for her art to respond to society and culture during this trying and difficult pandemic.