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The world of Ramona Nordal’s female portrait

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The world of Ramona Nordal’s female portrait

Photo credit: Ramona Nordal

Text: Kate Max

04/02/23

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Photo credit: Ramona Nordal

Text: Kate Max

04/02/23

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Ramona Nordal,  Canadian-born artist who studied art at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The central theme in her art is the mixture of the traditional with the unconventional, not only in her subject matter and color palette but also in her approach to materials and technique. She focuses mainly on female subjects and tries to capture their strength and uniqueness. The subjects of her work are a mixture of the female form with references as early as the late 1800’s to the 1970’s.

Her work has been collected in Canada,

the United States, Mexico, Australia,

Singapore and Europe.

January 13th was your 10th anniversary of moving to Toronto. That's quite a long time. How exactly has this city influenced you, your life and your creative style?

Just before I made the decision to move to Toronto I had to ask myself if I was ready to take my art career seriously and it was a now or never moment for me. After I moved to Toronto I scrambled to learn about the art scene here. Over the years the city has become my base. I have a great studio where I feel comfortable working and I would say that is key to creating new work.

Your whole family is creative. Do your family members praise you or criticize you more often?

My family is very supportive. They have always let me do my thing.

When art surrounds you since childhood, it leaves an imprint on the rest of your life. Do you remember your first art memory?

My first memory of art was when I was about 5. I lived on a farm and there was always lots of things to get into outside. I remember one day outside behind the farmhouse I discovered a bunch of old rusted cans of outdoor paint. I remember prying open the lids and smelling the oil that had formed at the top of the can. I found old plywood pieces and began to make a mess with an old brush I found. To this day I remember the muddy browns and the smell. It was fabulous.

Is education a necessity for an artist? What can be learned and what can't be learned?

I think educating yourself is more important than education in general. School is great but it depends if you are the type of person who needs that structure. First and foremost if you want to be an artist of any kind you need to learn everything you can about the art world, the artists that inspire you, materials, etc. It’s one thing to be an artist but if you want to make this your career you need to figure out what you want and then learn everything you can about that.

Acrylic and pen are not the most standard combination in artwork. Why this choice and have you ever thought of changing your style?

I have always drawn. I draw because it relaxes me and I love the look of it. Combining drawing and painting brings depth to my figures. I like the look. I’m quite sure my style will change. I believe with every new piece you complete you are one step closer to something different

Someone draws inspiration from darkness, someone from light, someone from color. And what do you draw inspiration from?

Memories both good and bad are part of my inspiration. I think when you have gone through traumatic life changing experiences it either sucks you dry or allows you to blossom into something stronger. My paintings are my pillars of strength. Music is a huge part of my process. I catch myself listening to certain songs on repeat. It’s kind of like you get licked into a zone or a feeling and you run with that. Those are the moments when you are really at one with your work. It’s almost trance like.

Does art follow trends or does it prefer to be unique? Do you follow trends in your art?

I think there are two sides to that. I think Art follows trends but I also think that art creates trends. Through history artist have always been creating and following. Part of being an artist is discovering something new but also noticing what is currently happening. Some artists copy these trends. Some artists explore. There is no wrong or right here. The main thing it to create and allow the process to transform your work into something unique. With each new piece that I create I try to stay as authentic as possible. I try to push my boundaries a bit with each piece. By doing this I think my work over the years has developed into its own specific thing.

Some artists need comfort to create, others prefer a little stress. What kind of atmosphere and environment do you prefer to create in?

I think stress is part of life and as an artist you just do what you can with those feelings. I am a creature of habit so comfort is part of my process. I have to feel comfortable in order to create. Like I said, the stress is always there but my surroundings need to be comfortable in order for me to get anything done.

The characters in your paintings look alive, they are almost tangible people. When you create them, do you give them a personality? Or do you merge with the characters of your paintings, as an actor merges with a character?

I combine many different features into a painting. I love combining different eras. The late 1800’s all the way up to the 1970’s. Sometimes I take a person from the late 1800’s and add a dash of 1970’s and through this combination I create a new character. As I work on them they transform. They begin to create their own character as if they were someone real. I love this part of the process.

At the beginning of the year, many people set goals, make wishes. Do you have any grandiose plans related to painting?

I would like to do more collaborations. I think there is something bold that comes out of combining two or three artists work together in a piece. The different styles really push boundaries.

What do you think people, even those who are far from art, can learn from an artist?

Art is a feeling. What artists bring to the table is the ability to see something for the first time that somehow moves you or makes you see something you hadn’t thought of before. It allows the viewer to go on a journey they hadn’t expected.

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