Local artist proves perseverance is important

They say music soothes even the most savage beast, but if that is true, then art must be its therapist. For Liz Kletzel, an artist from early in life, who expresses a deep well of emotions through colours and landscapes, it is an intricate part of her art and one she uses to unleash her personal demons upon.

“I’ve pretty much done art for most of my life,” Kletzel said, and added that most of her earliest support stemmed from a creative mother. “My siblings and I would express our creativity in school through art class and enhance other projects by including drawings in other subjects like social, English and even in science, but I learned very early in life that my love of art came from my mother, not my father.”

According to Kletzel, although her mother encouraged her to love art, her father wanted them to approach their futures in a more logical way.

“To him, education and work were more important than wasting time painting,” she said, adding that he deemed the pursuit to be useless and admitted that she was devastated by that.“Someone that should encourage and nurture you, he hated something that I loved to do, something that was so much a part of me, and it was many years before I began painting again,” Kletzel said, adding that she both loves and respects her father.

Two years ago, a chance conversation with Barrhead Art Club President JoAnn Nanninga inspired Kletzel to join the club and she is glad that she did.

“JoAnn noticed a painting that I had done above the old pool mechanical room and commented on it to me as I was guarding a regular noon lane swim,” Kletzel said. “I had seen her on a regular basis swimming laps and we had talked many times before, but I will always remember how she loved the painting and wanted to know who did it.”

When Kletzel told her she had done it, Nanninga was apparently surprised and wondered why Kletzel was not part of the Barrhead Art Club.

“I didn’t even know there was an art club in Barrhead, but she told me about it and that she was the president,” Kletzel said, and added that it is funny to know someone but not really know them at the same time. “We were both shocked to find out this side of each other.”

Kletzel, encouraged by Nanninga, took several classes with noted painter Trish Acre and fell in love with art all over again. “I felt alive again, it was the best feeling,” she said, adding that she eventually joined the club and is now its vice president.

“My main love is acrylic painting but I have done work with pastels and I’ve entered my work in a few shows, which is kind of a big deal for me,” she said.

According to Kletzel, there is no one particular person that influences her art, though she does enjoy Van Gogh’s style and his ability to express movement in his paintings. “I really enjoy that, but really, it’s just my fellow artists in the club that inspire me to be better.”

“I’ve always been fascinated by colours and with trees,” she said, adding that landscapes in particular feel like the perfect expression of life. “I hate doing details though, I’ll tell you that right now. I’ve always been more abstract and express myself through colours. I’ve tried to do people too, but it never works out, and it isn’t for me.”

Kletzel said she tends to get emotionally involved with her work and that sometimes it is necessary to take a step back, to accept the way things look and not get overly fustrated with the results.

“My favourite piece is one that I am currently showing,” she said. “It’s a 36 x 36 called ‘A Cross Upon’, and it is a landscape featuring mountains and trees with the northern lights in prominence.”

According to Kletzel, the piece began as one she had done for her father as a Father’s Day gift that he barely looked at. “I took it back this year and made some changes, added some things, so now it’s become something where I’ve taken something from my past and created something new,” she said.

Art, Kletzel said, is a really hard career to do something in. “I enjoy it though, and it is a huge part of me, and you know if you enjoy something, you’re going to do it even if you don’t make any money.”

“To be the featured artist of the month of September kind of scares me a little bit, but I am also excited to show off my work even if there’s a part of me that is that kid who was told their art wasn’t worth it,” Kletzel said.