Local artist, Jim Carlson’s work is being appreciated across the Canadain Prairies as part of a travelling exhibition.
Carlson specializes in folk art. A collection of his work was selected to be part of an exhibition called A Prairie Vernacular: Folk & Contemporary Art Narratives of Life on the Canadian Prairies. This gallery features about 200 works produced in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba from about 75 artists.
Carlson is a long time member of the Badlands Artists Association and came to his art later in life. His work often portrays nostalgic images in his signature folk art style.
“My work usually tells a story drawn from day to day life,” he notes. “I get great joy from my painting.”
A booklet on the exhibition notes the genre of vernacular art is largely defined as being made by individuals untrained in the visual arts, who may not even identify as artists.
“Artists represented in the exhibition include historic and contemporary untrained artists, as well as academically trained artists whose work speaks to the vernacular, in terms of the locality and history of the properties,” it notes.
Along with displaying his works at the Badlands Gallery, his works have been viewed throughout Alberta in the Alberta Foundation of The Arts Travelling Exhibition program. This is where his work was noticed.
“They became familiar with my work, so when they were putting this show together, they thought of me because of my type of art,” he tells the Mail.
Carlson was born in Stettler. He spent much of his professional life in the construction field and lived throughout British Columbia. He settled in Drumheller in 1988, where he began to paint seriously.
“I’m 80 and I have never been more passionate about art,” he said.
Prairie Vernacular has spent time in Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, Swift Current, and Manitoba.
