The McMillan Arts Centre is presenting three exhibitions for the month. The exhibitions are Emerging Artists, a show featuring people following their dreams of painting, photography from Randy Hall and oil/acrylic artist Roger Jackson.
Emerging Artists
This is an art show by people who are following their dream of painting. Some are beginners, others have taken classes with Lloyd Major and Elissa Anthony for years. A variety of styles and media will be featured in this exciting exhibit of more than 20 emerging artists from the local area.
Lloyd Major is an international-selling artist. He is a self-taught painter of oils, and has had several galleries in Parksville, and Moose Jaw, Sask. Major is now semi-retired and still teaching at Nanoose Place and the MAC. His landscapes, totems, old-growth forests, and seascapes are well known in the area and beyond.
Elissa Anthony, member of the FCA, is a well-known Vancouver Island artist whose medium is oil and acrylic. Her work can be seen at Englishman River Gallery, Nanaimo Art Gallery, The Mark Penney Gallery, Tofino and at Comox Airport. She has been teaching for many years out of her gallery in Bowser.
Randy Hall
Randy Hall is a Vancouver Island photographer specializing in nature photography, whether it is capturing natural settings such as seascapes or forest landscapes or the plants and animals that inhabit this part of British Columbia.
Hall considers himself a landscape photographer first, but also an opportunistic wildlife photographer.
“My photos are my interpretation of works by a true master, Mother Nature,” Hall said.
Hall has developed a style that shows enhanced colours and contrast. When many people think of contrast, they think colours and tones. There can also be contrast in content.
An example of this can be seen in some of Hall’s early morning images of Parksville bay. Towering or threatening clouds can instil the feeling of unrest, while the calm waters of the bay say serenity.
“It’s this type of scene, and the incorporation of weather, that interests me the most,” he said.
Hall’s exhibit will feature large-format photographic prints on various media. He will be displaying canvas and brushed aluminium prints. Subjects will include Vancouver Island landscapes, forest scenes and wildlife. All pieces are being displayed at the MAC for the first time.
Images of some of Hall’s work are available online through his website www.randyhallphotography.com.
Roger Jackson
Originally from the U.K., Roger Jackson’s family immigrated to Canada while he was a child and settled in Stratford, Ont.
Jackson was constantly drawing and painting through his elementary school years, art being his favourite subject. By the time he was ready to enter high school, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in art.
His serious pursuit of painting began in Toronto in 1992 where he took continuing education courses where he was able to explore various drawing and painting materials. In 1998, after being transferred to Calgary, he met his most influential guide and mentor, Marija Petricevic. She pushed and challenged him, then encouraged him to apply for membership in the Federation of Canadian Artists.
“I survived the jury process and am still an active status member,” said Jackson, who now lives in Mill Bay in the Cowichan Valley.
He said he is surrounded by inspiring natural beauty, combining this with his travel experiences, there is no end of subject matter to paint. Using oil or acrylic, Jackson said he paints en plein air or in studio.
“Painting is a solitary pursuit. It’s always fresh and exciting; every new canvas is a new challenge. My subjects are eclectic: landscapes, urban, marine,” Jackson said. “I have a strong interest in working boats, whether at the dock or in open water, and marine scenes so I’m fortunate to be able to wander around our Island’s many marinas and boatyards – such as Cowichan Bay, Ladysmith harbour, Maple Bay, Victoria’s Fisherman’s Wharf – looking for subjects for brush and canvas. My paintings are intended to pay homage to the hard-working crews, their boats and way of life.”
Jackson also said Europe provides much inspiration for his artwork, including the way of life, the mixture of old and new, the life as it was then and is now.
For more information on Jackson, visit www.rogerjackson.ca.
— Submitted by the MAC