Brynne Steele

“Art is a way to express myself both consciously and subconsciously. I explore surrealism in my work and combine several different elements or sources of inspiration in my paintings. My work never has one specific meaning. Through use of colour, I try to evoke a range of emotions with my art so that my viewer can create their own meaning; one that is their own, or in other words, use my art as a way to identify something in themselves.”

Exploring Text

“I chose to paint an upside down figure for this piece”

The Hanged man / 14.5”x16” / Acrylic on canvas

Mark Making

"For this piece I used warm and cool colours to contrast each other. I liked to experiment with different painting methods on the unique surface, and it is interesting how the texture of the surface affected my artwork.”

Untitled / 14”x 4” / Gesso, soil, acrylic and cardboard

Collage

"For my collage I used two of my paintings and took pieces of ads and other things from newspapers and used them in my piece (mostly for background). I liked finding new and interesting things to add because everything I chose was different and unique. I tried to incorporate everything in a way so that certain parts went together but also contrasted each other, I also wanted to have good composition in this piece.”

Mind Grind / 12”x10”/ Acrylic, newspaper, bottle caps

“This room is my sanctuary, a palace of my own. My idols and inspirations hang from the walls, looking beyond from a place frozen in time. A deep, calming blue surrounds me so that I am not in a room, I am engulfed in the sea. Books fill the shelves, stacked and crammed together, each containing a universe where I can come and go from as I please. Vines tumble down, and leaves grow up from soil in pots. Although they are contained, my plants grow as if they were free. Clothes pop out of drawers and seem to scatter themselves. They tumble out of the closet and find a clear space to lay down and rest, making a once-perfect space crowded and untidy, but also more of my own. When I breathe in, the air smells sweet. But the comfort soon leaves. There is so much noise. Cars rushing, roaring, screeching, skidding, stopping, going, interrupting. Despite this, the peace drifts back in. I look out my window to the warm sun shining through the thick oak trees, turning everything a fresh healthy green.”

Composition

"First I did the painting in acrylic and started to finish it in oil to add more richness and depth. I tried to have multiple aspects/layers to this drawing. I used a palette of mostly cool colours, and had some warm colours as well in order to have contrast and allow the different aspects to stand out from each other. I tried to portray a sense of balance.”

Altering Viscosity

"This was an experimental piece. I attempted to create a face from thick paint with different layers of colour on each layer. I built my surface with layers of different materials, then applied the paint with a palette brush.”

Untitled / 6”x 9” / Gesso, cardboard, and acrylic