| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Born and raised in Banff, AB, Irene Pearcy spent much of her childhood in small Southern Alberta towns, which instilled in her a love of the prairies and mountains, and a sense of place. These were the inspirations for much of her later artwork. She moved to Grande Prairie in 1951 to begin a long career in nursing, but also began to study art, first at the Grande Prairie Regional College in 1968. There she was introduced to landscape painting by Robert Guest. Throughout the 1970s and 80s she took further painting seminars and workshops, including at the Banff School of Fine Arts and at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Extension, with instructors such as Harry Savage, John Brodie, Euphemia McNaught and Kevin Sawatsky.
Pearcy’s principal media were acrylics and watercolours. Her subjects were the four seasons, floral studies and landscapes, focusing on light and colour. One of her better-known series is “Northern Lights”, from the 1990s. She produced nine paintings on the theme of the Aurora Borealis in its different stages, based on personal observations and on video footage.
Irene Pearcy’s works appeared in several exhibits over the years at the Grande Prairie Gallery, the Grande Prairie Art Club, at regional art festivals, and at Artists North displays. She was also included in several TREX – travelling exhibitions – sponsored by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, in the 1990s.
She was an enthusiastic member of the local art community, participating with a group of six artists at Grande Prairie’s Upstairs Gallery in the 1970s. She later became a member of the Grande Prairie Art Club, then a founding member of the Artists North Society, promoting art and artists in the Peace Country. She also served as a Board Member of the Grande Prairie Arts and Crafts Centre for Creative Arts, and donated her works to raise funds for charities.
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