PMP About
Phyllis M. Palmer 1926 - 2008
Edmonton Alberta
Art Education
Palo Alto, California Community Extension classes 1954 – 1957
University of Alberta, Fine Arts Department, 1958 - 1962
Banff School of Fine Arts 1953 & 1959
Emily Carr College, Vancouver 1980 - 1984. Diploma in Painting
Exhibitions
Hillcrest Country Club, Edmonton, Alberta, 1959
Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton Alberta, 1967
Citadel Theatre, Edmonton Alberta, 1969
Concourse Gallery, Emily Carr College, Vancouver BC, 1983
Holden Theatre, Holden, Alberta 1984-1986
Ryley Arts Club, Ryley Alberta, 1985 & 1986
Frontline Gallery, Edmonton Alberta 1985
Manulife Place, Edmonton Alberta, 1987
Boardwalk, Edmonton Alberta, 1988
Oppertshauser House, Stony Plain Alberta, 1989
Winnington Building, Edmonton Alberta 1990
Edmonton Art Gallery, Free for All, 2007
Commission
Wall painting for Catacombs Restaurant, Edmonton Alberta, 1973
Book Cover
"Prairie Power" in a private collection was used on the cover of “Alberta's Revolutionary Leaders” by Dr. T. C. Byrne 1991 Detselig Enterprises Calgary.
Collections
PMP’s works are found in private collections in Canada, United States, England and Belgium.
Influences
My travels abroad have contributed greatly to my knowledge and enthusiasm for painting, having visited galleries and museums in Mexico, USA, England, France, Belgium and Holland. I have resided in Washington D.C., Palo Alto California, Vancouver British Columbia, Bruce Alberta and Edmonton Alberta. To have the necessary space for a studio in 1984 I purchased an old school and renovated it to serve for both living and studio. It was an important part of my Homestead paintings. After five years in Bruce I moved my studio to Edmonton where my grandchildren inspired my Circles, my garden influenced my Flower Portraits and world events inspired a few Catastrophes . I retired from painting in 2002.
Medium
My first years of painting were primarily portrait and abstract oils on canvas. At Emily Carr College of Art and Design I began to work with acrylic on board. I have also produced mosaics, ceramics, and fabric arts.
Autobiography of Phyllis M. Palmer
My story began in Edmonton where I was born, May 9th, 1926. At that time our home was in Picardville where my parents Alfred and Mabel Sampson owned a general store. From Picardville we moved to Boyle, Alberta, where I started school and spent a very happy childhood. My grandmother was teaching school nearby and she is the person that prompted my interest in painting by giving me my first set of oil paints - that and Friday afternoon Art classes.
There was an absence of any interest in painting on my part from age 12 to 23 when an architect friend, Batoni, presented me with an easel, pastels and a sketch pad. From that time on, art classes and painting became an essential part of my life. In 1949 I married and subsequently had two sons. In 1954 we moved to Palo Alto, California; my first introduction to Art Galleries and San Francisco, an active centre for the arts. Here I continued with classes in painting, pottery and mosaics.
Upon our return to Edmonton in 1957, both my sons were in school, so I became a full-time student at University of Alberta, Fine Arts Department. Four years were completed with Professor Glyde, Jack Taylor and Norman Yates as my instructors. My interests were portrait painting, figure drawing and abstract painting in oil. In 1967 an Art Show was held at the Jubilee Auditorium. Two of my paintings were chosen and one was sold.
My life changed again and it became necessary to go to work but somehow I managed to find time for evening classes and to continue painting. My first commission was for a wall painting for the Catacombs 'Restaurant, and I had a show in the old Citadel Theatre on 102nd St. During this time several of my paintings were sold.
In 1979, I left the Edmonton Journal after 17 years, to work for the Vancouver Province for one year. The years 1980 - 1984 were spent at the Emily Carr College of Art where for the first time I was able to devote my full time and energies to painting. I had a show, October 17 - 30, 1983 in the Concourse Gallery at the College which met with favourable response with also a mention in the Vancouver Sun. While at Emily Carr, my work became more abstract, changing from oil to acrylic, using collage and working on plywood using an electric router.
After graduating, I returned to Alberta and set up my home and studio in an old renovated school in Bruce, Alberta which affords me lots of space and freedom to carry on with my painting.
PMP Life/Time Line
1926 – 1938 I was born May 9th in Edmonton to parents Alfred and Mabel Sampson. Resided in Picardville, Alberta where my father was a general merchant. We moved to Boyle, Alberta where I attended school and first became aware of drawing and painting in Friday afternoon art classes. My grandmother gave me my first set of oil paints.
1939 – 1943 Family moved to Cherhill, Alberta. I attended Alberta College for Grade IX then returned to Cherhill for Grades X and XI. The next years were in Edmonton at McDougall Commercial and McTavish Business College.
1944 – 1949 My first employment was with a Real Estate company in Edmonton. then in May, 1945 for the British Admiralty in Washington, D. C., as a statistical typist. I returned to Edmonton and was employed by the Hudson's Bay Fur Trade Department as a secretary and then with Rio Bravo Oil as a secretary.
1949 – 1957 Married - two sons. Lived in Calgary, Alberta, Palo Alto, California, Vancouver B. C. Took evening Art classes, pottery, mosaics.
1958 – 1962 Returned to Edmonton. Attended University of Alberta; Fine Arts, as a special student majoring in figure drawing and oil painting.
1962 - 1979 Divorced in 1962. Returned to work and was employed by the Edmonton Journal as a Sales Representative, Retail Advertising. Two paintings were chosen for 1967 Art Show at the Jubilee Auditorium and I had a show at Citadel Theatre on 102nd St. during the run of “In White America”. Wall painting commissioned for the Catacombs restaurant. I sold several paintings to private parties.
1979 1980 Moved to Vancouver B. C. Worked for the Vancouver Province for one year as Sales Representative, Retail Advertising.
1980 – 1984 Attended Emily Carr College, graduating in 1984. I had a show of my paintings in Concourse Gallery at the College, October 17, 1983 to October 30, 1983.
1985 – 1991 Returned to Alberta where I made my home and studio in a school which I had renovated in Bruce, Alberta. Painted the HOMESTEAD Series.
1991 -2002 Returned to Edmonton where I continued to paint until 2002. Painted the FLOWER Portraits, CIRCLES and a few catastrophes.
2003 -2008 I enjoyed my garden.