There’s a feline frenzy going on at The Gallery at Qualicum Art Supply.
A new show with work from six artists has the four-legged fur babies as the stars, with unique takes from the humorous to the joyful. And a few that are all about capturing the attitude.
The NEWS spoke with two of the artists — Sheena McCorquodale and Rod Corraini —to get a sense of how this unique show came together.
McCorquodale is a graphic designer who’s always kept one paw in the fine arts realm.
A lover of animals, McCorquodale opened a cat kennel (Comfy Cat Boarding Kennel) last year. Her artwork beforehand had focused on life drawings of people, but her new charges have since found their way into her art, she said.
“Cats have definitely taken over the situation,” McCorquodale said with a smile.
Having dabbled in various media, she’s mostly working in conté, oil pastels and wire sculpture for the show.
One white wire work several feet tall — of a cat rather happily holding up a bird feeder and bath — served as the cat-alyst (paw-don the pun) for the show.
After contacting Bonnie Luchtmeijer about showing the work, Luchtmeijer suggested a cat themed show, and other artists like Corraini got in on the action.
A cat lover of many years (dogs too, he notes), the Nanaimo artist grew up on Harewood Road — a dead-end street where folks used to dump unwanted kitties, he said.
So he and his family would take care of the cats, which brought many advantages, said Corraini.
“Harewood had a rat problem and we never had rats,” he said with a smile.
Corraini brings a humorous take on the felines using water-mixeable oils.
One of his larger works is of William of Orange – his cat whose goofy grin and oddly piercing eyes he strove to recreate.
He’s also got some smaller pieces of cats either foiling or befriending aliens (who can tell with felines, anyway?).
Other participating artists are Nancy Korman, Patricia Duthie Nelson, Virginia Moon and Peggy Burkosky.
The show — dubbed Catcetera — goes from realistic portraits to almost cosmically colourful works, more abstract pieces and various other offerings.
The show, at The Gallery at Qualicum Art Supply, will be on display for approximately two months, said Luchtmeijer.