Vanessa McKernan / Body of Water Series IV
Vanessa McKernan is an oil painter living and working in Ottawa, Canada. Vanessa views the act of painting as a dynamic practice, where the unconscious intermingles with ideas and imagery taken from dreams, observations, historical works of art, and personal experiences. Often drawing on the inherent symbology of the garden, her paintings explore cycles of death and rebirth, impermanence, intimacy, mothering and the intricacies of the feminine psyche.
The “bather” is a ubiquitous figure in art history, carrying associations of baptism, ritual, desire, and renewal. In her Body of Water Series, Vanessa is drawn to the art historical weight of this motif and all the associations it carries.
"In my late twenties I dreamed I was standing naked and alone at the edge of a wide river on a sunny day. I was completely at peace. As I entered the water, I looked down and saw the body of an eighty-year-old woman. I stepped carefully into the river and swam out. This image has remained with me—a vision of my future self, alone but unafraid, moving quietly into the unknown. In my paintings and drawings over the last decade, the woman in the river has become a recurring figure: a vessel for exploring the psychic and physical transformation a woman’s body can undergo, and the possibility of finding peace in metamorphosis." — Vanessa McKernan
- Artwork Dimensions: 12" x 9"
- Frame Dimensions: 18" x 14"
Original; 1 of 1.
If purchased framed, this work will be framed in a custom maple frame, with UV-resistant plexiglass.
Oil pastel on 100% cotton rag oil paper.
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Vanessa McKernan
Vanessa McKernan is an oil painter originally from Toronto, now living in the Ottawa Valley with her family. Her intuitive practice blends dream imagery, personal experience, and art historical references, often centered around the symbolic space of the garden. Her work explores themes such as impermanence, rebirth, intimacy, mothering, and the feminine psyche.
Vanessa holds a BFA from Concordia University and is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award. She has upcoming solo exhibitions at Wallspace Gallery (Ottawa, September 2025) and Abbozzo Gallery (Toronto, Fall 2025), and her work is supported by the Ontario Arts Council.
