CapeDorset has more artists per capita than any other Canadian municipality. It’s likely you’ve never seen a painting of it though, as these folks aren’t landscape painters. This particular scene hasn’t been ‘done to death’ as seems to happen in other artists’ enclaves like, say, Banff or the GulfIslands. The Inuit of Cape Dorset are stone carvers and printmakers – creators of iconic Canadian images of the far north, and they’re been doing it for fifty years. Probably the most famous Inuit printmaker of all, Kenojuak Ashevak, who designed The Enchanted Owl was from CapeDorset.
I’ve been up north a few times, though not recently, and I’d like to go back sometime – there are lots of wonderful sights that need to be painted up there. But for now, I think I’ll just continue painting the Rockies and Vancouver Island, again and again...
Charlene is a graduate of the University of Alberta (BSc) and the University of Colorado (MBA), now retired from a career in the Canadian Public Service.
During the ten years her husband was with Emirates Airline, Charlene travelled extensively, served as Administrator of the Dubai Arts Centre, and wrote about painting, archaeology and future studies for the Khaleej Times and the Gulf News.
She has written 1150 Words by Charlene Brown since 2009.
