Artist Patricia Carroll doesn’t do fruit.
So when she was tasked with painting pears at a recent art workshop she wasn’t too thrilled. But in the end she was happy with the exercise and the outcome.
“So I made this pear and it was actually quite good, but I don’t do fruit,” she said, explaining that abstract and nature are her first loves. But then she got an idea.
“I thought birds, oh my God, birds look like pears! So I did this whole series of birds and they come from a pear-shape,” she said.
Carroll added her signature hand-crafted stamps to the pieces, along with some complementary colours and shapes, and the result is a playful series of abstract and colourful birds.
These are just some of the pieces that will be on display in her studio during the Nanoose Bay Thanksgiving Studio Tour, happening October 12-14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour includes a studio guide that leads people on a self-guided journey through Nanoose Bay stopping off at a number of artist studios in that area.
Carroll hails from Ontario where she first fell in love with art and nature. She was a teacher for 30 years in that province, and during the early days of her career, she began night classes at the Ontario College of Art in weaving and photography. She continued to hone her craft in painting and other artistic endeavours throughout her teaching career.
After she retired from teaching, she moved to this area in 2001 and she has been studying art and painting ever since. She said there’s something pretty special about this area.
“I find that the whole place hums with creativity, it just vibrates. And there’s no egos, everyone’s willing to help and everyone wants to learn more,” she said. “It’s quite refreshing.”
These days, Carroll works with transparent acrylic paints, doing a lot of abstract expressionism and often makes use of her extensive collection of hand-carved stamps.
“They’re really fabulous and you get some really interesting patterns and designs,” she said.
Her paintings will be for sale at her studio during the Nanoose Bay Studio Tour, along with her $20 original miniature paintings.
A variety of other artists will have their studios open for the tour where people can check out handcrafted metal and wood designs, steel sculptures, pottery, jewelry, wood-turned creations, crafts and more.
Pick up a Studio Tour guide at Fairwinds Centre, located on Fairwinds Drive, or download a Studio Tour map from the website: www.nanoosebaystudiotour.com. The group is also on Facebook.
For more on Carroll, visit: www.patriciacarroll.ca.