Tatianna M Odonnell Sca Asa

My passion for art has been a part of me ever since I can remember. I was drawing and painting at quite a young age and when I was old enough, I started art classes at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. At that time Arthur Lismer was the director of the school. I have lived in the mountains and in the forest. I feel at home amongst the trees. I love the shadowy interplay of the branches and leaves; the shapes and forms created by trunks and limbs. And so, it is natural for me to paint trees in their various textures and spaces. The trees in this series are painted with the branches and/or foliage above ground and the roots below or just above ground. I like to depict the roots the way they hang on to the rocks of the mountains or twist above the soil. These are symbolic of the roots by which we are all connected to our past and to each other. My paintings make reference to the cycle of birth, death and re-birth in life; to the connections between the spiritual and the earthly, the ephemeral quality of our lives and the fragility of our environment.
I started with abstract art originally and have returned to abstraction now after years of experimenting with many genres of art.
Artistic expression can be seen as a personal search for...

My art education began at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art when I was a teenager. Arthur Lismer, one of the Group of Seven, was the director of the school at the time. I attended these Saturday morning art classes for 2 years. These sessions were fundamental in my development and this was when I fell in love with painting and the process of creating. From there I took art education classes at university, I attended workshops and lectures given by various professional artists. Part of my own education is teaching others, which I find fulfilling and inspirational. My students help me realize the deprth and breadth of what art is about and keep me on track.

Solo Exhibitions:
2024 Artists in Canada – on-line Exhibition
2022 Art Gallery of St. Albert November 8, 2022 – February 2023
2016 Work from the Banff Centre @ Courtyard Gallery, Enderby, B.C.
2013 Armstrong Spallumcheen Art Gallery, STILL LIFE: SCRIPT -, Armstrong, B.C.
2011 EPCOR CENTRE, Calgary – October 2 – Dec. 30, 2011, Trees and Roots
2010 The Works Art & Design Festival, Edmonton, “Roots and Trees” June – July 2010
2009 Summerland Public Art Gallery – “Roots and Trees” Feb. – March, 2009
2008 SAGA Public Art Gallery “The Sacred Tree” – April 2008, Salmon Arm. B.C.
2003 “ Ice and Snow” Infuso Coffee House, Canmore, Alberta
1999 “Women in Their Landscape” Bowman Arts Centre, Lethbridge, Alberta
1996 Ukrainian Cultural and Ed. Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1995 Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Saskatoon, Sask.
1993 Station Cultural Centre, Okotoks, Alberta