Emerging Artists | Angela Bandurka - Southwest Art Magazine

Steeped in family tradition

Angela Bandurka, Pinky, acrylic, 12 x 24.

This story was featured in the July 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

ANGELA BANDURKA’S family often jokes that, when Angela was a toddler, she’d try to sneak crayons into her diapers and draw on the wall behind her crib. Making art has always been “a compulsion,” says the Canada native. “It’s my go-to, my mental space, my getaway. To create something from nothing is such a good feeling.”

: Angela Bandurka, Three for Tea, acrylic, 24 x 12.

: Angela Bandurka, Be the Change, oil, 18 x 24.

: Angela Bandurka, Cleaning Up, Green, acrylic, 20 x 16.

Growing up in British Columbia, Bandurka had numerous role models to look up to. In one form or another, she says, “Everyone in my family creates art.” One of her greatest influences was her grandmother, a portrait and plein-air painter. When her grandmother passed away, Bandurka inherited her palette knives, and today, she is starting to use knives in her own work. “I don’t want my paintings to be photographic, and maybe that’s why I’ve been using knives more, to mess up the backgrounds,” she notes. “The knife takes away control from me a bit.”

: Angela Bandurka, Dogwood Tea, acrylic, 12 x 12.

: Angela Bandurka, Evening Stroll, oil, 20 x 24.

: Angela Bandurka, Fall Warmth, acrylic, 12 x 12.

Painting has received Bandurka’s full-time attention since she left her graphic-arts career 11 years ago. These days, says the oil and acrylic painter, “I tend to work in series. I’ll do a bunch of teacups, then cityscapes, and then figures.” Having lived in the Seattle area for many years now, the artist views her teacup paintings as a way of connecting to her Canadian roots and honoring her family’s tea-drinking tradition. “The teacups are, in a way, portraits of me,” says Bandurka, who started the series several years ago, when she began painting pieces from her grandmother’s fine-china collection. Over time, her own collection grew as people gave her cups and saucers from their china sets. Cups with intricate patterning, particularly on the interiors, especially appeal to her, and lately, she’s becoming more selective about which teacups she’ll paint. “I don’t just want any cup,” chuckles the artist.

: Angela Bandurka, Hydrangea Tea, acrylic, 12 x 12.

: Angela Bandurka, One Sharp Suit, oil, 14 x 11.

: Angela Bandurka, Love, acrylic, 12 x 12.

When she’s out and about town, Bandurka snaps photographs that inspire her cityscapes and figurative works. “I’m just looking at everything in day-to-day life,” she says. Often, the artist observes the way people interact. In BE THE CHANGE, she portrays a mother and daughter holding hands in front of an elaborate shop window at night. Perhaps it’s about connection, ponders Bandurka. “I try to have a message in my work, but not a political message,” she says. “I might paint a picture of what I’d like society to look like instead.” —Kim Agricola

representation
Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA; Lagerquist Gallery, Atlanta, GA; www.angelabandurka.com.