Central Alberta is lucky to have so many talented and artistic residents that bring new perspectives, light and interest to the region.
One such talented artist is Carina Moran, a Lacombe resident who paints solely for her own pleasure, but creates amazing pieces inspired by the world around her.
She has been a life-long artist, beginning at a fine arts school as a child and working in her free time to generate art of various mediums.
Currently, she dedicates her talents to painting, using a variety of textures and mixed media to create vivid and interesting works.
“My absolute passion right now is working with mixed media. I love stuff that’s raised up off the canvas, and often times I’ll just explore through my house to see what I can utilize in my painting,” she said happily.
One of her favourite paintings, Comet Tail, utilized various beans, lentils and rice grains between numerous layers to create a texture and trail within the comet. She said it created the exact effect she was looking for.
Currently, Moran does not have her art displayed in public galleries, but she does share her work through her facebook page, Carina Moran – Artist, as well as her Instagram account – ‘artbycarinamoran’.
She says every artist wants to share their work with other people, in hopes of evoking emotion and sharing their passions with others.
“It’s one thing for me to put it onto canvas, and it’s another thing to let other people experience it,” Moran said.
“I know that when I look at art, I tend to get very emotional. I have a very emotional connection to what I see on canvas, or in other kinds of art, such as theatre – it creates such a reaction in me and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Her works tend to range from anatomically-inspired pieces, to galactic aspects such as stars or galaxies. As a career paramedic with her husband, she has studied anatomy and physiology and Moran says these are big inspirations for her work.
She says she knows not everyone will see the appeal in the more mature pieces, especially her husband’s favourites, one with a heart and one with a set of lungs.
“I know what they represent for me. As a paramedic, you tend to pick up a lot of sick patients and people with chronic diseases, who have had surgeries and other challenges in order to prolong their lives,” she explained.
“Those things that prolong your life can only last so long, and that’s heartbreaking. To me, those paintings represent the way people try and try to prolong their lives, but that ultimately we are mortal.”
Her pieces inspired by the galaxies, stars and planets come from her father, who made an effort to share his love and fascination with the universe with his children.
“My dad was so into space and the galaxy. He was awesome about teaching us kids to stay open minded and explore the universe. To this day, I love looking up at the stars. We live on an acreage and every night I get to look up at the sky where there are no lights, just the view of the sky,” Moran explained.
“My universe paintings are all inspired by the skies and my father’s love that he instilled in us. To me, those are the most beautiful, inspiring things.”
Over the years, Moran has become a mother, a business owner and continued to build her career as a paramedic. She said that through this time, she really began to realize how important it was to find a passion that is healthy and helps bring a person peace. She said this is why she paints – to allow herself to have a passion that makes her feel good and allows her to share a part of herself with those around her.
Check out her aforementioned online profiles to explore her many creations.
kmendonsa@lacombeexpress.com
