Laura Power
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 30, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Graeme Shaw's artwork may be well-known already in Yellowknife, but Birchwood Gallery is about to display some of the artist's newest paintings during an exhibit that starts this weekend.

Winter Symphony is one of visiting artist Graeme Shaw's oil paintings coming to Yellowknife this weekend. - photo courtesy of Birchwood Gallery

Shaw, who currently resides in B.C., will be travelling to Yellowknife later in the week for a reception on Thursday evening. Coming North is nothing new for the artist, who taught elementary students in Behchoko for several years in the 1970s. Since 1980, he has been back up North to Yellowknife on numerous occasions to display his paintings.

"There'll be a variety of works, a lot of it depicting our Northern landscapes around here," said Tony Watier of Birchwood Gallery.

He said though Shaw is mostly known for his Canadian landscape paintings, there will be a selection of his work to appeal to different tastes.

"A lot of people think that's all I do... my work is quite varied if you look at the full body of what I do," said Shaw. "I also paint in every kind of medium and every kind of style that strikes my fancy."

However, the Northern landscape does inspire the artist, and it is easy to see when looking at his paintings.

He said during some time spent travelling in Europe, he realized how little wilderness that part of the world has compared to Canada.

"It's almost like God made this country for artists," he said.

Watier, who called the artist "prolific," said this will be Shaw's 42nd exhibit in the city in the past 22 years.

The exhibit will feature approximately 30 of his new paintings and will run from Sunday, Dec. 3 until Saturday, Dec. 8.

Shaw will be present for a reception at Birchwood Gallery on Thursday evening between 6 and 9 p.m., and Sandy Pringle will provide some live entertainment.