LISSA ALEXANDER
reporter@pqbnews.com
A vibrant abstract city scene, a mixed media interpretation of inner fire, and a calm still life painting of tomatoes and wine, these are a few of paintings hanging at a Federation of Canadian Artists exhibition on Resort Drive.
It’s the Arrowmsith Chapter of the FCA’s annual Spring Juried Exhibition where a variety of compelling paintings can be seen hanging at Oceanside Village Resort until June 27.
Barbara Ann Scott from Nanaimo took first place for The Fire Within #2, which is meant to reveal the fire within everyone, she said.
“Its all these energies that move around within you and then come out,” she said.
Circles seen in the fiery piece represent energy that goes around, mixes and then comes out in other areas, she said. She said this is the second one in this series and the mixed media piece has some acrylic, inks, pen and some webbing to create texture.
Nanaimo’s Eunmi Conacher took second place in the juried show for Montreal #2. She said she has historically painted representational pieces with many colours but she has challenged herself with this piece using a limited palette and painting abstract. Although she’s never been to Montreal the piece felt romantic and that’s the feeling she gets from the city, she said. It’s the second in a series.
Tom Shardlow from Nanaimo took third in the show with his piece, Wine Glass with Tomato. The piece was an exersise in still life he said, interpreting light and how it affects simple objects. This was his first still life piece as he’s primarily a landscape painter.
Parksville’s Faye St. Marie won an award of excellence with her piece, A Crisp Morning, which is based on a snowy visit to Waterton National Park a few years ago. St. Marie completed an extensive Ukrainian series that she exhibited at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada in Saskatoon a couple of years ago and she wanted to get back into some landscape work, she said.
Babara Regamey McDonald from Qualicum Beach also won an award of excellence for her piece Balloon Man. Her inspiration came from a man selling balloons at the Granville Island Market. She said it was the contrast that struck her.
“He was selling balloons, these happy things and he had a solemn look on his face, I thought that was interesting,” she said. It got her thinking about his life and how he ended up in that role, she added.
Patricia Carroll from Nanoose Bay also won an award of excellence for her painting, Frog on a Mission. Carroll is quite taken by animals and nature and for this piece tries to capture the world through their eyes. Carroll likes to incorporate shapes to enhance this idea.
The Arrowsmith Chapter is one of several FCA chapters on Vancouver Island and has been in existence since the mid ‘90s. It represents approximately 50 emerging and professional artists dedicated to promoting the understanding, appreciation and excellence in the visual arts within the community.
All work displayed in this show has been juried by signature members of the FCA. The exhibition is located at 1080 Resort Drive, #101F and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more on the organization visit www.arrowsmithfca.ca or find them on facebook.