Lakeside: Graphite Blue

About Lakeside: Graphite Blue

This minimalist abstract painting of a lake at night is by Pat Service.

The decades-long career of Pat Service has garnered her an international reputation as one of Canada’s finest landscape artists. Over the years, her oeuvre has expanded to include a variety of genres from more traditional or classic works to a more minimalist aesthetic. This is one of a series of abstract paintings she created from a series she called “Still Lake Paintings,” which began in 2005. Inspired, as always, by the beauty of the natural world, these paintings expressed her interpretation of the lake—this time at twilight. A deep blue background achieved by carefully layering glazes produces a peaceful setting for both lake and sky. The canvas is divided with a simple band of black representing land. Bright dabs of paint in sky blue, red, and white pop from the neutral background to illuminate a few objects. The overall effect accomplishes a serene mood.

“They were all evening paintings with the hazy colours as day turns into evening and then into night. The paint blends similarly as the evening light blends, and small dabs of colour give hints of what was more distinct in the daytime.” Pat Service

“Like Cezanne, she is able to describe an object with one simple brush stroke, and her strokes are some of the most intriguing: soft but rough, energetic yet still.” Anya Georgijevic, artist and curator

Pat Service acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of B.C. and later studied art at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. Service’s work is held in private collections in North America, Britain, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Pat Service is represented exclusively by the Oeno Gallery.