FEATURE ARTIST
Liza Gareau Tosh
Painter Liza Gareau Tosh recently joined the Fernie Arts Co-op to share her work with a wider audience . Selected pieces can also be found at Studio 562 . Growing up in St . Isidore-de-Bellevue , Saskatchewan , the artist was motivated from an early age to develop her skills . As a teenager she took commissions for portraits of classmates and landscapes , and was mentored by the artist Aurore Houle , ( 1931-2015 ) who was engaged in the town ’ s cultural centre as artist-inresidence .
In 2006 , Gareau Tosh received her BFA from the University of Saskatchewan , following a BEd from University of Regina . Her studies included a year at University of Université Laval , Quebec . Later , she purchased a decommissioned church for $ 1 and moved it to the nearest village , turning it into an arts centre called Routes Gallery . She regularly hosted visiting musicians at her home who would perform at the gallery . Her murals can be seen in towns including Harris , Rosetown , and Bellevue , and her work is part of many private collections including Saskatchewan Government Insurance .
Gareau Tosh lived with her husband Jim on their grain farm , splitting their time between Saskatchewan and Fernie until moving to BC with their family permanently in 2012 . She teaches at the Fernie Academy and has exhibited at the Arts Station . Working in watercolour , pen + ink , graphite , and acrylics - both in studio and en plein air - she enjoys the social aspect of painting with others , getting to know Fernie on a more intimate level and sharing in conversations about the trails that she loves to explore .
Gareau Tosh recently received funding from Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance to produce a series of largescale portraits of weeds named ‘ Making Relations .’ The work will explore the relationships between plants that grow organically beside each other , based on Metis themes of sisterhood . The artist lives in Fernie with her husband Jim , sons Amos and Remi , and dog Avy , her companion female presence .
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