Being a contemporary visual artist living in New Brunswick, Canada

fall in a blueberry field

As New Brunswick artists, we are privileged to have our artistic identity shaped largely by our location. Unlike large urban centres with soaring populations, we tend to live, for the most part, a rural or semi-rural lifestyle in close proximity to wild places. What does this mean for our work as artists? It means that nature often serves as a source of inspiration or support for what we do. Whether through the materials we use, the methods we undertake or the subjects we address, the voice of the environment is omnipresent.

Our studios are often tucked away in quiet places amongst the rolling hills of the Sussex farmlands, in the seaside retreats of Shediac or Saint Andrews or in the dense forests of Kedgwick or Edmundston. Sure, the larger urban centres of Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John offer a taste of the urban lifestyle in a small, maritime kind of way! New Brunswick is one of the most scenic places to visit in Canada. Proximity to natural spaces is commonplace for us living in a province with an area of 72,908 square kilometres and a population of approximately 757,000. Can you hear the crickets as you read this?

Wilderness, wild spaces and protected areas are constantly in our line of sight. We spend our leisure time in activities that bring us into these natural places. We garden, camp, hike, bike, birdwatch, ski, snowshoe, skate, swim, ride, walk, hunt, fish and paint, enjoying all four seasons in the outdoors. The sights and sounds of these places permeate our lives and create our identity as New Brunswickers. We enjoy the simple pleasures that this leisure way of living offers. Ok, we are not close to the contemporary artistic hubs, drawing importance from the urban culture and its social preoccupations, and this, in some cases, will affect how our work is seen on the national or international scene but the tradeoff is clear! Ask any of us if we would give up our life in New Brunswick. Maybe we would like to think we could but I wager not. It’s not a sacrifice, it’s a choice!

Art is a reflection of our surroundings, the culture and the times. You have probably heard, “you are what you eat” and maybe, just maybe, “we are what we create”. Our art reflects our contemporary lives lived in a place that stays rooted in things that matter, in a place where you can still hear yourself think, and, where a connection to nature flavours and deepens artistic thought and process. The art world should take notice! The richness of life in New Brunswick creates a different kind of art. Art that is not less than nor more but unique and imbued with a strong sense of place and deep-rooted connection.