Smithers Events

The opening reception for Jess Olsen 'Round Trip' and Sonya Kinsey 'H is for Horse' is Friday, April 4, from 7-9 pm at the Art Gallery. These exhibits are in the gallery until May 3rd. Come out for a chance to meet the artists and have some refreshments.

Jess Olsen

Artist Statement

Round Trip is a travel journal via watercolour landscapes documenting the journey between the artist’s current home of West Kelowna and her hometown of Smithers.

As the viewer enters the gallery, they begin in the Okanagan and traverse north towards the Bulkley Valley along the peaks of the Rockies then return, cutting through the fields and rivers of the Caribou back to the south. It is an invitation to let themselves be the passenger on the long drive, and to let themselves be distracted by the beauty of the perpetual two-way homecoming.

Artist Bio

Jess Olsen is a contemporary landscape artist living and working in West Kelowna, British Columbia.

She has been painting with watercolor since 2015, after making the switch from digital animation to traditional medium. Her work bridges the line between the two, choosing saturated colors and graphic white linework to create an abstract window into a place more akin in composition to a matte painting than a classic landscape.

Jess’ work is less a snapshot and more of a time lapse; Shadows shift over the hour that you’re in a spot, the colour of the water changes drastically, wind picks up and moves the leaves above you. People should be able to put themselves into that unreliable, shifting memory of place, and still see the familiar. Watercolour is ideal for this sort of reminiscence, as due to its nature the artist often has to think backwards while painting for greatest effect.

Sonya Kinsey

Artist Statement

With one of my earliest memories of being on a horse, and being an avid rider throughout my life, I have a familiarity with horse anatomy and behavior that many artists lack. Horses are far more than flowing manes and pretty coats, they have a complex and intricate muscle structure that constantly shifts under their skin as they gallop, jump and buck. Horses’ bodies adapt to whatever use humans have for them, and our needs and whims have shaped, blessed and tormented uncountable generations. As an artist and writer who works in the genres of horror and fantasy, horses are both wonderful and dark mirrors to the human experience, to our triumphs and sorrows, to our kindness and cruelty. Artists have been fascinated by horses since we began to make art, and while there are certainly plenty of “how to draw horses” books available, none are aimed at the niche world of comic artists, many of whom struggle with drawing equines. My drawings are not meant to be exact replicas of photographs, but rather to teach drawing technique and anatomical construction. The aim is greater student understanding of horse anatomy, being able to self-correct during practice, and develop a personal style for illustration and comic work. This dovetails with integrating horses into illustrations and sequential art as dynamic and expressive characters in their own right. In the process of creating this book, I engage in the same cycle of practice, self-correction and refinement of style that deepens familiarity with horse anatomy and unfolds an artistic practice.

Artist Bio

I grew up in rural Alberta surrounded by grassy plains and herds of livestock. In pursuit of expanding my skills I graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2007, and then spent three years teaching English in South Korea before moving to Germany to pursue my Master’s and Ph.D. in English Linguistics. I returned to Canada in 2024, to live in Smithers. Over ten years ago, I began my webcomics You are the Reason for the End of the World, Under Sagittarius and The Unicorn Coat. I have also been published as both a writer and artist in several comics anthologies and other independent comics projects.