Storm at Sea- The Art of Shelley Vanderbyl

By Hannah Slomp

I am a recent import to the Comox Valley by way of the Rocky Mountains. Moving can leave one feeling uprooted and unsettled. However, it also comes with exciting opportunities to meet people you did’t know were out there and adventure in a vastly different ecosystem.

To settle in to my new surroundings, I sought out local comforts that would make me feel at home. I did a morning yoga class on Goose Spit beach. I ordered coffee from the Local Refillery Cafe. Next, I sought out a piece of the local art scene.

I had been following one woman, Shelley Vanderbyl, on Instagram who is a Courtenay-based artist. I was first intrigued by her tiny paintings in old aspirin-style tins. I was happily able to make an appointment to visit her atelier. I passed the 40-Knots winery on a forested road outside of Comox and pulled in to a steep driveway that led to a quaint home surrounded by earnest Douglas firs. My art caddy, my 6-year-old son, came along for the journey. We may have innocently trespassed into the back garden while announcing our arrival. Our sights caught a busy chicken coop. Before long, Shelley greeted us with a smile and introduced us to her runt chick who was first assumed for dead. Fowl cuddling commenced complete with fawning and cooing.

Moments later, with my son climbing a tree somewhere else, I was led to a brightly lit studio abutting the house with large windows overlooking the yard. Inside, large abstract paintings leaned against the wall. There were low wooden side tables which held tins of brushes, and a harvest table that displayed more canvases. One eye-catching abstract painting was beautifully textured in varying layers of whites and creams surrounding darker swaths of blue juxtaposing flames of orange and yellow. The painting welcomed themes of warmth amidst moments of upheaval. Shelley informed me that her work had recently been part of an exhibit at the Comox Valley Art Gallery as part of a show entitled Under One Sky. Ms. Vanderbyl soon led me to understand that her most recent work deals largely with concepts surrounding post-traumatic stress disorder, search and rescue themes, and feelings of loss and loneliness- all of which could be relayed from the canvas before me.

Other large canvases were propped up along her studio walls. One large abstract work in hues of light blue, white, and pale orange had a patina of fire damage in the bottom right hand corner. Ms. Vanderbyl shared that this piece had been part of a performance piece. She had sewn the word rejection into the canvas and had lit the stitching on fire over the surface of the painting. The charring left evocative residue on the work leaving the markings up to the interpretation of the viewer. What was remarkable was that the damage left by the fire had not effaced the painting but had added depth and dimension to the work.

On her website Shelley is quoted as saying, “This is my life’s work, to heal and inspire.” The artist informed me that her work often leads people to open up about struggles they are facing in their own lives. Upon seeing her work, people are invited to reflect on their own lived traumas, near-death experiences, and existing feelings of despair or loss.

On a wooden bureau near the window a beautiful tin painting captivated me. Shelley explained that the top half was a depiction of a forested area near Winnipeg, where the artist is from. The base of the tin held a painting of a nearby shore- gentle waves alit by the morning sun. A lot of her smaller, hand-held tin paintings have a market in Scandinavian countries I was informed. When asked to reflect on why that might be Ms. Vanderbyl related that in that society there is a great appreciation for art. The arts there are supported by governments and individuals alike. Where art in North American may be acquired for prestige or irony, there is a more genuine, reciprocal relationship with art in Scandinavia- at least that is what is being reflected in the sale of these pieces. There is a certain whimsy behind the idea of carrying a hand-crafted painting in one’s jean pocket that the Scandinavians may have caught on to. Imagine a stressful deadline is coming up at work. Your inbox has countless unanswered emails. You take out your vintage tin, open it up and see the shining shoreline of Seal Bay painted in tiny acrylic brushstrokes. You gaze at it for just for a few moments. Perhaps it will be a moments release, a chance to take a breath. And then you can get back to it.

Shelley Vanderbyl’s work is multifaceted and unforeseen. It may make you reflect on your own day at sea-cold, and wet. Or it may cock your head and provoke you to squeeze the hand you’re holding.

Check out her latest work here.