Derek Davidson and Bess Forestall are in residence this week at the Barrack’s casements.
Derek Davidson is a mostly self-taught artist. He paints with acrylics and creates pen and watercolour sketches, often painting in the open-air. He also produces portraits and paintings about people, activities, and sports. Derek will be in residence for one week, during which he will paint in the studio with acrylic paints and connect with the community by painting outdoors in the Barracks area. The public will be able to witness open-air art being created on canvas and in the painter’s sketchbook. He has some travel sketches which depict buildings and nature. Throughout the years, and through art, Davidson has noticed that people are basically the same, and he believes that people are the ones to bring buildings and nature to life.
Bess Forrestall returns to the Barracks for a second week to continue painting with the theme of New Ground. Forrestall’s practice explores the idea of ‘place’ as the intersection between memory and space, or the association of past memories with physical places that she has been to. She plans to engage the public by asking about their experiences of this intersection. While in residence, Bess will be drawing in graphite and painting in oil. She has recently returned to Fredericton after living away for three years, and has spent the last six months in Jaipur, India, so she understands what it’s like to be away from home. She will be furthering the progress on her current body of work which explores experiences of living in an unfamiliar place and the experience of returning home, which tie in perfectly with this summer’s theme, New Ground.
The Artist in Residence program is run by the Fredericton Arts Alliance and continues until September 5, 2016. The public can find the FAA’s casemate, open 7 days a week, in downtown Fredericton’s Barracks Square.
