The Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives will be well-decorated this month, as it hosts a show of original watercolour paintings by long-time Jasper resident Sandy Robinson. The show will also feature works by well-known, Utah-based watercolour artist Harold Olsen.
Over coffee at his home in Jasper, Robinson explained that he鈥檚 been making art in some form or another for pretty much his entire life. It began as tinkering in his teenage years and later turned into making posters for local events like Halloween dances and bake sales.
It was a course with Olsen, who held watercolour workshops in Jasper for more than 40 years, that sparked Robinson鈥檚 passion for paint. However, it wasn鈥檛 until the 70s that he started getting serious about the craft.
鈥淚t was fun. Then of course you鈥檙e bringing up a family and working, you can鈥檛 paint much,鈥� Robinson said.
Inspired partly by the rich colour and attention to detail in Olsen鈥檚 work, Robinson started experimenting. With a wry smile he admitted that some of his early work was 鈥渁wful stuff.鈥�
As the years went by and Robinson honed his craft, he took classes with several notable artists, including Brian Atyeo, Timothy J. Clark and Tom Lynch. He even took a week-long workshop at MacEwan University in Edmonton, a place he would later teach beginner watercolour classes.
These days Robinson paints a lot鈥攈e said he could have filled the show with work he had already completed鈥攂ut he鈥檚 produced some brand new work especially for this exhibit.
鈥淚 figured I had better paint some new stuff,鈥� he said, laughing.
For an artist as prolific as Robinson, whipping up a batch of new work isn鈥檛 much of a struggle. Last month, for example, he painted close to a dozen new pieces. If the mood really strikes him, he said, he can paint two or three in a single day.
It鈥檚 not hard to believe once you鈥檝e seen Robinson鈥檚 house. Most rooms are crammed full of his work. Some hang in his living room, others lean against the walls. Even his closets are packed full of artwork, sitting in stacks or in portfolios, all of which Robinson shows off with pride.
And those are just the ones he hasn鈥檛 destroyed.
鈥淚鈥檝e torn up thousands of them,鈥� he said matter-of-factly, explaining that he will often throw out work he isn鈥檛 particularity fond of.
Like Olsen, Robinson works almost exclusively in watercolours, a medium he said he enjoys because 鈥測ou can just drop them and run.鈥�
He said he likes their flexibility; he can walk away mid painting and not worry about destroyed brushes or crusting paint. With a hint of pride in his voice he also explains that watercolours are also the hardest medium to work with, because they leave little room for mistakes.
The show will live at the museum for all of January, but the official opening reception is on Jan. 11, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., featuring refreshments and a cash bar.
Trevor Nichols
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