Artist Sirkka McKerral is a tiny but mighty woman with a unique view of the Cariboo.
Presently a series of her paintings is on display in the upper gallery at the Station House Gallery.
“I’ve painted local scenes, seasons and landscapes of the Cariboo,” McKerral said during the show’s opening this month.
Up until recently, she would get a ride out to an area she wanted to paint, tackling a scene first with watercolours.
“Then I paint them with acrylics,” she explained, adding the way she paints with acrylic does look more like a watercolour painting.
Once in awhile she paints something very vibrant and then will repeat a scene using softer hues to tone it down just to see what differences she can create and find different ways to interpret a scene.
Born in Finland, she began drawing at a very young age.
When her family moved to Sudbury, Ont. she embarked on painting northern landscapes and by the time she was 10 years old she was selling her art.
“In selling her art and producing more art she quickly began to excel in her classroom and won many awards and scholarships that enabled her to study art in Canada,” gallery co-ordinator Liliana Dragowska said.
Eventually her art was being exhibited all over Canada, in Kingston, Jamaica where she lived for three years, Inuvit in the North West Territories, Gibsons, B.C., Alberta, in Europe and the U.S.
Golf Canada has her collection of paintings of the NWT in Edmonton and in Tuktoyaktuk.
“We were thrilled when she moved to Williams Lake to showcase her art and be an active community member,” Dragowska said. “We are honoured to have her art exhibited at the gallery.”
McKerral moved to McLeese Lake in 1994, staying there until 1998. She spent two years living on Chimney Valley Road, and then moved into Williams Lake where she worked at an electrical office and then at 7-l1 full-time for eight years.
Her exhibit is made possible by Pinnacle Renewable Energy in Williams Lake who the gallery approached as a sponsor.