Ramona Nordal

Canadian-born artist Ramona Nordal studied art at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied lithography, color theory, painting and drawing with a focus on anatomy drawing and painting. Color theory has always been a huge part of Nordal’s process and she is quickly becoming known for her richly evocative color palette.

The central theme that unites all of her work 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 in her work in an attempt to capture their strength and uniqueness. At first glance, her figures appear bold yet offer almost ethereal characteristics. Nordal pushes artistic boundaries by incorporating drawing within her work. This is evident in the intricate detailed pen work of her subjects’ faces. The softness of the drawing mixed with the boldness of the bodies and background create an incredible fusion that offers just the right amount of tension.

Her subjects are a mixture of the female form with references as early as the late 1800’s to the 1970’s. By combining several decades she somehow creates figures that are uniquely Nordal. She is hyper aware of art’s relationship with human emotion and her subjects reflect this as they captivate and entice the viewers into their world.

Nordal works on several pieces at once in her studio in Toronto stating, “I find I get bored easily and by working on three or four paintings at a time it keeps things fresh for me. I work on one then switch half way through the day and start working on another one. This allows me the freedom to work on several different collections at once. I like the randomness of the process.”

Nordal has exhibited in the United States, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Kuwait and Australia. Her work has been collected worldwide. Ramona Nordal currently lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

“The random collaboration of old and new is important to me because this is how I see the new generation. It is the mixture of traditional and unconventional that attracts us.”