About the Artist
Lyse Deselliers was born in Quebec City and obtained her DVM from the University of Montreal in 1989. While pursuing her career as a veterinarian in Ottawa and then in Calgary, she continued to develop her artistic skills as a painter, taking night classes at the Alberta College of Art and studying under Karen Swearengen’s guidance. Her body of work mainly consists of Acrylic landscape and cityscape paintings along with public art murals. Deselliers has shown her work in Calgary, Okotoks, Canmore and Waterton National Park, Alberta as well as Penticton, Osoyoos and Kelowna, BC. She has been involved in numerous fundraising events where the sale of her artwork benefited various organizations such as Amnesty International and World Wildlife Fund. Deselliers has been a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists since 2007 and in 2019 won first price with "Spring in Osoyoos", in 2017 won the FCA People Choice Award as well as second price for her painting “Time stamped and sealed”. She has paintings now residing in collections throughout North America and London, UK. Currently, she is focusing on creating larger pieces in an attempt to better capture the monumental beauty of the Okanagan, using aerial photographs of the area surrounding her hometown of Penticton.
Galleries
Gallery 421, Kelowna
Hillside Winery, Penticton
Ex Nihilo, Lake Country
Solo Shows
The Food we Grow, Osoyoos Art Gallery, April 2023
From a bird's eye-view, Penticton Art Gallery, May 2022
Our lakes: Connecting the dots, Osoyoos Art Gallery, April 2021
International Avenue BRZ Mural on 4710 17th Avenue, Calgary
Blue Ice Red Fire and the Gold Seal, Framed on Fifth, Calgary, May 2016
Take the Next Detour, Swirl Fine Art and Design, Calgary, April 2012
Two-women Shows (in collaboration with Mary Leigh Doyle)
Art in My Park, Calgary, Reader Rock Garden Park, October 2010 and Ralph Klein Park, June 2011
A Necessary Vision, Okotoks Art Gallery, 2010
A Necessary Vision, Canmore, Alberta, 2009
Group Shows
The Beautiful Okanagan 4 women show Gallery 421, 2022
Federation of Canadian Artists – 2007 -2021
Art Horizon - 2010 - 2016
Leighton's Centre - July 2008, 2009 (painting chosen for invitation), June 2012
Willow Studio Calgary and Regina, 2008
Calgary Sketch Club at Elveden Centre, 2008, 2009, 2010
Awards
FCA First prize and chosen to cover the FCA 2020 calendar, "Spring in Osoyoos"
FCA Second place prize 2018, 2017 and People choice Award 2017
FCA Choice Award 2016
McAra Printing Award 2010
FCA Choice Award November 2007
Artist statement
My artwork attempts to engage the viewer’s own imagination in a moment of visual joy. I use elements of design and colour to create movement and rhythms in an effort to stimulate the neuro pathways which are responsible for the pleasure found in viewing art. I am interested in using either non local colours or remodeling shapes to pry a moment of insight from the viewer and thus creating a pleasant bond between the artwork and the viewing public. Often going back to the tradition of the Group of Seven as a guiding model while allowing my search for esthetic to guide my brush, I want to celebrate my surroundings. Creating art is an act of gratitude for me and at the same time it gives me an outlet using imagery to point to what I believe is worthy of protecting and preserving. That it be the demise of glaciers or the loss of nostalgic urban elements, from the concern over forest fire, decrease in outdoor pursuits to the protection of the Okanagan Water Basin and hillside environment, my daily preoccupations lead to the next series I work on. Although my subject matter may vary, the palette and the material I use (mainly acrylic on cradle wood or canvas) lends to a stylistic signature that is recognizable. My constant curiosity toward scientific and social developments gives rise to my next body of work. Hoping that the simple pleasure of connecting with an artwork may open the door to the why and how of the subject represented.
