Joe Enns Art Show “Ecology” Sept 28-Oct 11/2018

Joe Enns is a Fisheries Biologist and oil painter based out of Penticton, BC. As a Fisheries Biologist, he has worked on salmon habitat monitoring and stream restoration projects. This work, combined with his growing interest in oil painting, has led to the creation of paintings represented on his website (www.ennsjoe.com) and shown in a number of galleries in the Okanagan. While Joe’s process for painting is constantly developing, he mainly paints with oil on canvas board. Joe makes his own canvas board by stretching canvas over birch panel. This allows for a firm surface to paint on that won’t warp over time. The paintings will often have many layers including a grisaille layer (black and white) to get the values right, with the colour applied in additional layers. Many of the streams represented in Joe’s paintings have serious problems with habitat loss due to human encroachment and water extraction. The overall goal of the pieces is to connect people to rivers and streams and the fish that live in them by showing the beauty of these areas and highlighting the pressures they face. Hopefully, this effort can encourage us all to protect and restore the natural world around us.