– O'er the Western Hills - AMANDA RHODENIZER

Hannah at the burn house

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas

30 x 36 in
2020

Nandita leading me to the river

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
26 x 36 in

2020

Jody and Courtney with Phragmites australis (invasive grass)

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
48 x 72 in
2020

Parshati in observatory basement

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
30 x 40 in
2020

Kim in her front hall

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
30 x 40 in
2020

Lauren, Nicole, Emily and Alina in the lab

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
28 x 22 in
2020

Colleen at her sister’s house

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
24 x 30 in
2020

Thea, Dana, and Monika with total station

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
36 x 48 in
2020

Nicola and her daughter in a university garden they planted

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
20 x 24 in
2020

Cheri clearing room in the van

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
24 x 18 in
2020

Roopali preparing for a demonstration in the park

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
16 x 1 8 in
2020

Emma and their bike

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
20 x 24 in
2020

Katrina setting up Powerpoint

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas
16 x 20 in
2020

This series was inspired by urgent work being done by individuals in STEM fields such as wetland conservation, fire safety, water quality, and landscape architecture (just to name a few) but it also draws on outdated representations of women in the Canadian landscape that appeared in early settler paintings of life “on the frontier”. The title is borrowed from a Homer Watson drawing from the 1870s/80s depicting pioneers heading toward their destiny.

Thank you to the Waterloo Region Arts Fund for the generous support of this project. And to all of the participants – thank you for sharing your work and experiences with me, I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned from you.

Two separate exhibitions of this work were cancelled or rescheduled due to COVID-19, so for now the paintings will live online.