Photo by Vince Fedoroff
THE BIG MOMENT – Gabrielle Watts’ Mount Lorne From Above is the new cover the Northwestel Inc.’s phone directory for the Yukon and northern B.C. Here, Watts and Northwestel president Curtis Shaw unveil the painting last Thursday evening at Arts Underground.
Gabriele Watts’ inspired tribute to Mount Lorne has landed her a second win in Northwestel Inc.’s annual Directory Cover Art competition.
Gabriele Watts’ inspired tribute to Mount Lorne has landed her a second win in Northwestel Inc.’s annual Directory Cover Art competition.
The Whitehorse artist’s painting, Mount Lorne From Above, was unveiled last Thursday evening as the official cover image of Northwestel’s 2018/19 phone directory for the Yukon and northern British Columbia.
A Whitehorse resident for more than 20 years, Watts is a member of the Yukon Art Society and submits her artwork in local shows.
Painting Yukon landscapes is what she enjoys most, but the famous local mountain specifically holds a special place for her heart – and her paintbrush.
“Mount Lorne speaks to me,” Watts said.
“Whenever I’m driving, and I get a glimpse of it – I’m just fascinated by it. At sunset, you get all these amazing shadows and colours, and it’s just beautiful. I’m always drawn to it.”
Watts said she felt a strong urge just prior to the deadline to create a new artwork for the contest and pushed herself to work beyond her usual comfort zone.
“Something told me to just give it a try, so I worked hard to get my painting done in time,” she said.
“I still can’t believe I’d be lucky enough to have my art picked again to win this contest.”
Northwestel president Curtis Shaw said the company is proud to support the northern arts community and to help promote locally-produced artwork that captures the spirit of the North.
“Gabriele’s painting is a great example of what makes the North so magical,” said Shaw.
“Her beautiful depiction of the landscape around Whitehorse as seen from the air recreates the same feeling I imagine many visitors have when they fly over Yukon the first time.
“Northwestel is proud to showcase her wonderful artwork on our directory cover once again.”
Northwestel has invited northern artists to submit their work for a chance to appear on the covers of its regional phone directories for more than 30 years.
Winners are selected by a special committee at Northwestel, in consultation with the local arts community. Each winning entry is awarded $3,000.
The new books are available from directory pick-up locations throughout the Yukon.
Outdated phone directories can be recycled to support local students through the Northwestel Directory Recycling Program until May 23.
Each year, Yukon students can collect outdated telephone directories for recycling to earn cash rewards from Northwestel to help fund school activities and purchases.
Details about the Northwestel Directory Recycling Program, including a list of participating schools, are available at http://nwtel.leafsolutions.ca
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Comments (1)
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sr on May 7, 2018 at 6:44 pm
Gabrielle spends an enormous amount of time on these paintings once she becomes inspired by something she sees. The results show both her talent and how much work she puts into it. I've heard that other artists are able to bang off a painting in several hours or a few days and the results I see are very good, but there is a quality to Gabrielle's work that comes from a long relationship with each canvas.
Thank you again, Gabrielle!