Lauren Pelc-McArthur, Artist – Yellowknife

Lauren Pelc-McArthur is a painter from Toronto currently living in Yellowknife. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from the Ontario College of Art and Design, and a Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University. She has participated in residencies and exhibitions in the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. She was nominated for the 2018 RBC Canadian Painting Competition and was the 2019 recipient of the Nancy Petry Award. Her work has been acquired by major collections such as Desjardins Bank and Equitable Bank. Her two-person show with Derek Simmers titled New Address is up at the Visitor’s Centre Art Gallery in Yellowknife until October 25.

1. Laser Cutters
Laser cutters are one of my art-making obsessions. These machines are pretty versatile. What can’t they do?! I mostly make jewelry with them, though I use them with my paintings sometimes too.

2. Synthesizers
Synthesizers remind me of painting with sound. I’ve been really interested in them for a long time now and finally purchased the Korg Minilogue because it seemed like the best one for a beginner. Synthesis is so cool. I’m still learning a lot about these instruments. I can get in the zone for hours just mucking around with sequences, and fooling around with the knobs.

3. Yellow, black, and blue
Yellow, black, and blue are my colour fixations right now. I love the greens you can get with various yellows and black. I go through phases with colour where I kind of focus on one palette for a long time and do it to death in some ways. Anyway, I am doing that now with this palette. I was making a green and yellow painting, and I mixed way too much oil, so I decided I was going to try painting with just those colours for a while and it’s been going well.

4. Skyrim
It’s starting to get cold, which usually means I want to find a video game to sink my teeth into for the winter. I played Skyrim when it first came out in 2011, and I’m replaying it now. I’m surprised by how much it still holds up, and how different this playthrough is compared to my last one. There is so much to do in this world! All the dungeons totally freak me out though, especially with the Falmer.

5. Samurai Hee-Haw
I heard this song by Bass Desires (specifically the live version available on YouTube) at the art supply co-op in Montreal a few years ago. I swear I still listen to it at least once a day. The guitar is magical.