Arid, Wild

A Group exhibition featuring the art of Daniel Audet, Amy Gaulin, Kathryn Randell-Domes and Corinne Thiessen

The title of our exhibition is: “Arid, Wild” and includes portraits and landscapes pertaining to the semi-arid landscape where the prairies meet the rocky mountains, as well as the desert terrain of the southern U.S. and beyond. 

We started with the challenge to paint one landscape and one portrait. We each have variation in our styles and subject matter, but we come together in our love of painting. Portrait subjects are decided upon according to each artists' connection to the image. Some of us utilize photography and arrange an original composition, while others play with dreams and imagination, expanding on sketchbook drawings. 

Our goal as a group is to become better painters, sharing technical tips, while also engaging our intuition. We encourage each other to dig deeper, to ignite the passion in our work and meaning in our community. The spring Fernie show includes current and new works that reflect our love of rich colour and bold compositions, with emotional meaning. 

Daniel Audet

Daniel Audet (b.1982 Canada) is an oil painter interested in the use of colour and image content as a way of cultivating an emotional reaction in the viewer. Through the use of impressionist painting techniques to express form and light he produces paintings of deep introspection and haunting imagery. The paintings hold a space of contemplation; a vessel for the viewers’ mind to explore an unsolvable realm.

Daniel received a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in painting, from the University of Lethbridge and further technical instruction at the New York Academy of Fine Arts. His work has been exhibited and collected throughout North America, including the BMO Centre public art collection in Calgary.

In 2019 Daniel returned to live in the rural Alberta landscape of his youth; a river valley of badlands, hoodoos, and the nightly call of the coyote. It is a sacred place of expansive sky and rich colour where time is felt in the rhythm of the seasons.

Amy Gaulin

Amy Gaulin builds charcoal drawings and oil paintings from elements of her sketchbooks, memories, photos, and imagination. Her visual daydreams meander through small-scale worlds, exploring Southern Alberta landscapes from the perspective of a small creature. She is guided by her curiosities of how animals and plants experience life. In each artwork, she aims to find a balance between the peaceful light and the mysterious dark found in nature and its life cycles.

 Amy graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2012, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with distinction. She was awarded the University’s Alumni Legacy Award in 2015. Amy exhibits in group and solo show throughout Alberta, and currently lives in Lethbridge as an artist, framer, and gallery manager.

Kathryn Randell-Domes

Kathryn Randell-Domes is a painter from Southern Alberta whose work in acrylics captures the beauty and essence of Treaty 7 territory. The landscapes of this region profoundly influence her identity and artistic vision. Much of her inspiration comes from her upbringing, which was deeply rooted in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Kathryn spent much of her childhood at her grandparents’ ranch in Twin Butte and on sketching excursions with her father, Ian Randell. She also shares a profound connection to Writing-On-Stone/Áísínai’pi, a sacred and storied landscape.

Kathryn’s art explores the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of these spaces, capturing fleeting moments steeped in memory and meaning. Her creative process begins outdoors, where she photographs landscapes that resonate with her. These images serve as the foundation for her paintings, which evolve organically as she works. Embracing spontaneity, she allows each piece to grow beyond its initial concept, building layers of underpainting to create depth, light, and emotional resonance. Each painting is an intimate reflection of the landscapes and familial ties that shape her life, inviting viewers to connect with the natural world through her lens.

Kathryn earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2002 and a Bachelor of Education (with distinction) in 2003 from the University of Lethbridge. A dedicated art educator, she has taught junior high students in Lethbridge for many years and now works closely with Indigenous students and their families. Kathryn has been honoured with the Blackfoot name Awootahnahki (Shield Woman).

Corinne Thiessen

Corinne Thiessen is a multidisciplinary artist born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 territory. She holds a Master’s degree in Fine Art from the University of Lethbridge. Her paintings, animations, performances, and installations play on human behaviour and social control, questioning success and productivity under capitalism. Comedy and failure are recurring themes in her practice. 

Thiessen has exhibited at Galeria Enrique Guerrero, Mexico City; The Penticton Art Gallery, B.C.; Esker Foundation and Stride Gallery in Calgary, Soo Visual Arts in Minneapolis, and a solo exhibition at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery in Lethbridge, Alberta. 

Residencies and collaborative projects at the Banff Centre, ZK/U, Berlin; Island Mountain Arts, B.C.; Centre Pompadour, France; The Museum of Loss and Renewal, Italy also include published work in MAP Magazine and in the 2019 Printing Plant Art Book Fair in Amsterdam as well as sessional instruction at Lethbridge College and in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Lethbridge.