Derek Neary
Northern News Services

NNSL (July 02/99) - Randy Sibbeston is coming to terms with his immense talent locally, but he imagines himself someday creating something that will make an impression worldwide.

On June 18, the Fort Simpson Visitor Information Centre (VIC) was the site of Sibbeston's first solo exhibition. With help from his wife, Stephanie, he placed 20 works of art on display, representing about a year's worth of work. The ones that haven't been sold remain for viewing.

Many of the pieces from Sibbeston's recent show are watercolours done from photographs -- some from the South Nahanni River, others portraits of local people. There is a demand for that type of work, he has discovered. It has also introduced him to a more selfless sense of artistry. Once, he worked almost exclusively from his imagination and designed images that pleased him. Now, others are seeking out his talents to immortalize on canvas people and places they cherish.

"I get a lot of good feedback from it. People enjoy it. It has to be a skill that's useful to other people, otherwise it's not as enjoyable," Sibbeston said. "It's a good way of making a living. I can work at my own pace, I can work at home and it makes me feel productive."

He said art has always come naturally to him. He actually sold his first piece -- a pencil-crayon picture of a nesting loon -- while in Grade 8 in Yellowknife. A school staff member requested the picture and, after working diligently on it all day, Sibbeston was paid a paltry $20. Pencil-crayon artwork is very labour-intensive and leaves behind scars of sorts.

"My poor fingers have taken terrible abuse from that kind of work," said Sibbeston, displaying a crooked digit. Fortunately, his work also includes acrylic on canvas paintings, such as the mural that hangs just below the ceiling at the VIC. Lately, however, watercolours on paper have become his primary passion. It's a medium that he took up only last spring.

"It was like a revelation to me to be able to work without a mess. The paints dry so quickly," he said, adding that he still considers himself a novice and desires to achieve greater efficiency in his strokes.

"I can work on it and come back to it whenever I want. It's a very convenient medium."

The drawback to watercolours is that they're relatively unforgiving when a mistake is made, he noted.

"Once it soaks into the paper, that's it. It requires a lot of planning," he said, noting that with acrylic one can simply paint over an error.

Sibbeston also had a few carvings on hand for the show. They tend to be more abstract than his paintings, with people in contorted positions. He said the innovative carvings -- which are most time consuming -- are more of a subconscious expression. A "spiritual undertaking" from another realm.

"It's like sticking your head above the clouds and telling people what you see..." he explained.

Sibbeston, who is also a passionate songwriter and performer, has a busy summer mapped out. He plans to spend some time on the river, participate in the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik and he's one of the select few invited to take part in the Nunavut Sculpture Symposium in Iqaluit in August.

As for the long-term, he said he aspires to create something more universally meaningful, a painting pure enough to be understood and appreciated by anyone from any culture.

"I'm building a foundation here and trying to give something back to the community," he said. "But I also belong to a larger community..."