Jenna D. Robinson " Wild Woods"

Jenna Robinson's solo art exhibition at the West End Gallery in Victoria, skillfully merges the unexpected combination of coastal arbutus and mountainous larch trees. Arbutus trees take us to the edge of land, where rock meets water, and larch trees stroll along the loftiest mountain slopes, where rock meets sky. Arbutus trees, with their contorted forms and tough wood, paradoxically posses bark as soft and smooth as paper. Conversely, larch trees bear the marks of time in their battered, gnarled, and twisted trunks, yet their needles offer a tactile elegance akin to cashmere among tree foliage. In spring, arbutus trees burst forth with vibrantly coloured bark, transitioning from deep crimson to radiant orange hues before shedding to reveal their pale yellow trunks. Throughout the spring and summer, larch trees are resplendent in green, though in autumn larch needles momentarily transform into a brilliant gold before falling to the forest floor for winter. Despite inhabiting seemingly contrasting worlds, larch and arbutus trees share profound similarities. Not only do they thrive in these seemingly inhospitable environments, but their most striking features are born of their enduring struggle and ultimate success.

This exhibition holds personal significance for Robinson as it reflects her upbringing spent exploring the larch-draped mountains of the Rockies during the initial chapter of her life and her more recent years living seaside in Squamish, BC. Robinson's art is a bold testament to her realistic style, which flirts with elements of abstraction, amplifying contrast and saturating colours to create mesmerizing scenes where light weaves a tapestry of brilliant highlights and deep shadows.

When she isn't painting or playing in the mountains, you can find her teaching elementary school part-time or exploring with her adventure buddy Wren.