Like many others, Kirsten Bollen turned the pandemic into finding her artistic voice. Inspired by the Rocky Mountains, she creates modern landscape art with her colorful limited palette. Oh, and you’ll see her art in the lobby of the Moxy hotel in Banff.
Can you describe your work?
I create modern landscape art using matte acrylic paint primarily on circular birch round panels. My goal is to capture a landscape’s essence, using simplified line and colour. Mixing precise colour is foundational to my art, as I work in an extremely limited palette that is inspired by those that are found in nature. I almost exclusively work in round forms, as I find this shape lends well to my flowing landscapes and it’s challenging for me to get away from them at this point!
What led you to landscapes?
Shortly after I moved to Calgary from northern Alberta, my partner and I started hiking and backcountry camping together. For me, it was an instant obsession with the Rocky Mountains. The intense teal colour of the glacier lakes, the white capped peaks on a balmy day, the magnetic golden yellow larches in the fall – I couldn’t get enough. I strongly believe we all have a connection to nature and there is something about the Rockies in particular that fills the soul.
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How did you find yourself on an artist’s path?
I’ve been always been attracted to art. As early as I can remember, I drew and painted for fun. My mom noticed my passion at an early age and helped foster my skills. I think we realized I had a real talent as a child, as I often entered art contests and one of the organizers accused me of getting help from an adult for the drawing I did. Falsely accused I might add! I’d also like to think art is part of my blood, coming from an artistic family.
How has your art evolved over the years?
I’ve tried many different mediums over the years; painting, glass blowing, ceramics, watercolour. But acrylic painting was the one that seemed to stick. After I graduated from university, I took a long break from art to focus on my career in the public sector. And it wasn’t until the global pandemic where I had dedicated time to reflect and sit with what I wanted do with my time. I quickly found my way back to painting, with an inner fire to create and experiment, which ultimately led to a vision for my body of work as you see it today. I started sharing my artwork online just for fun and this is when things really took off!
How does your formal art education help your work develop?
I have a Bachelors of Visual Communication Design from the University of Alberta where I took a broad mix of painting, drawing, and graphic design courses. All of which absolutely influence my work. Similar to designing a logo, I transpose landscapes into their most basic form. A few crisp, flowing lines in bold colours found in nature come together to create familiar landforms.
My educational background has also helped me grow my online following and reach corporate clients. In university, I majored in business marketing, so I have tools in my back pocket when doing activities like branding, website development, and social media management.
What really makes your work stand out as your own?
Of course, my unique colour palette and large circular panels make my work recognizable. But what really sets my work apart is the overlapping circle design. My last large project was for the new Moxy hotel in Banff where this style was sought out by the client. The large paintings take over the lobby bar play perfectly into the mid-century modern design of the hotel. I keep seeing people using my paintings as a backdrop to share their visit to the unique hotel online, which has been fun to see.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and process behind your Moxy hotel project?
An art agency from California approached me with a short brief: create eight overlapping paintings over sixteen 36” rounds of iconic landscapes in the Banff area. This was a dream project. I had complete autonomy over the colour palette and design. I started off by thinking of my own time spent in Banff and compiled a shortlist of my favourite locations – narrowing it down was actually one of the most challenging parts! From there, I sketched out the paintings and it was quickly given the green light from the client. This was a BIG project for me and I had to take over a month off from my full-time day job and get a painting assistant to complete it in time. I can’t still believe I how big this commission was, and also how perfect they look in this stunning hotel.
Do you use a sketchbook or journal?
I would like to think the photo albums on my phone and iPad act as my journal. They document places I’ve been that inspired me and are often the starting points of my work. I often flip through the photos and when one catches my eye, I can instantly see it transposed and begin the creative process. While I enjoy the intuitive process of working directly off a painting, often for larger panels, I will digitally sketch the painting on my iPad first. Changing your mind about large blocks of colour after the fact can be very frustrating!
Describe your creative space.
Given my limited capacity for painting, I’m fortunate to have a dedicated space in my home to create in. My home studio is in an airy, second story loft, filled with natural daylight, plants, and things that inspire me. In order to work in there, I need it to be clean and decluttered as much as possible. I require a lot of light for precise linework and to create completely solid blocks of colour. I primarily work seated at my desk or on the floor – the easel is just purely for looks.
What is your most prized possession in your workspace?
After my artwork started taking off, I wanted to purchase a piece of art to treat myself, while also supporting another Canadian artist. I chose a realistic painting of a retro yellow phone by the talented, Jacinthe Rivard. It reminds me of my grandparents and warm memories of my childhood days going over to their home.
How do you balance your personal life, work and creative endeavors?
Finding a balance has always been a struggle. Please let me know if you’ve cracked the code! I somehow make it all work, but I find relationships, work, exercise, and now a new baby at home are constantly competing for my time. Over the years I have found scheduling creative time allows me to stay on top of it. But I’ve also had to more recently learn to let things go. Sometimes I don’t find time to paint for weeks, and that’s okay!
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?
Connecting with community is really important to me and one of my biggest motivators. I’ve found Instagram such a positive space with a strong artistic community. It’s an amazing thing to be able to create something that another person connects with so deeply. I find it especially meaningful to hear stories of what my paintings remind them of, be it memories, people, occasions. The mountains mean a lot to many people.
How have you engaged with the creative community?
I’ve had a few local creators reach out over the years who were inspired by my designs, who asked to translate them to a new medium. I’ve now had my designs on stained glass by Ted Schneider, embroidery by Naked & Frayed, and Indigenous beadwork by Proud Wednesday. I also did a collaboration with Canadian fashion brand, Simons, where they designed a t-shirt with my Lake Louise painting on it. They invited me to choose a charity for some of the sale proceeds to go and naturally, I selected CPAWS.
Which part of the creative process is your favorite?
It’s hard to pick a favourite! There are so many things I enjoy. Of course, I love mixing the perfect colour and painting, but next to that would be photographing my work. I find in photography I can be very creative and strive to create an aesthetic that matches the final product, using my body, lighting, and props. I’m in love with my Fujifilm X-Pro2 camera – the colour is so realistic I rarely need to do any editing.
Which part is a challenge for you?
Like going to the gym or doing a deep clean, I can find getting started the most challenging. I don’t particularly enjoy prepping panels and planning. But once I get started, I am obsessive about a project until it’s finished. I can complete a large painting in a day sometimes, working from the early morning until the late hours of night without stopping.
Where can people see your work?
There are a few public places where my work exists in person: I have a back-alley garage mural in Sunnyside, a painting at the Southcentre Calgary Earls restaurant, and as mentioned, the newly opened Moxy hotel in Banff has 16 large rounds.
Online you can find me on Instagram @kirst.makes.art and my website at KirstenBollen.com.
What’s the best piece of advice you would give someone starting out?
For myself, I think I found early success in committing to the creative process. It takes a lot of time and effort to find your artistic direction, and I poured all of my waking energy into my passion. In the first year I was all in. I fearlessly shared my work online, sought out like-minded people in my community, invested in building a website. I also had a “say yes” mentality and wanted to do it all! I think this open mind led me to some really wonderful people and opportunities that if I had shied away, I don’t think I would be where I am today.
Interview posted June 2024
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