iconTechnique: Acrylic
Anita McComas was born in Westminster, Maryland in 1962. She currently lives in Kelowna, British Columbia.
McComas holds a certificate in digital marketing from the Center for Arts and Technology in British Columbia. She is currently studying remotely to earn a master's degree in Arts Leadership and Cultural Development from the University of Colorado.
Art first appeared in her life as a therapeutic activity to counteract the hectic pace she faced in the workplace. It was painting that allowed him to refocus and express his creativity. His first experiments were in oil in a more classic style marked by a palette of colors reminiscent of Rembrandt's yellow ochres, burgundy reds and umbers. It was shortly after his move from Montreal to Kelowna that a turning point appeared in his pictorial practice. She replaced oil with acrylic then earth colors with dark mauves, bright yellows, and light blues. The animals and landscapes she depicts are now marked with a vibrant palette.
Anita McComas works intuitively and puts a lot of energy into creating each of her works. She feels a sense of urgency to make the gestures appear on the canvas. A duality is established between his very energetic and expressive brushwork and then his subjects well anchored in the natural world.
Through her painting, she feels the need to reflect the world in which we live and to show all its complexity. She does this by multiplying the brushstrokes visible on the canvas and also presenting certain imperfections which are an integral part of the world around us.
Deeply inspired by the Group of Seven and particularly by Tom Thompson, she sees in the work of these painters their audacity in using raw materials and strong colors. Anita's pictorial practice is, according to her, most relevant today with the disappearance of several animal species and the destruction of natural territories.
Anita exhibits in several galleries in Canada and her works can be found in several public and private collections.