A solo exhibition of works by Langdale-based painter Eva Taylor that will close this week at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery offers fresh perspectives on iconic coastal locales. Taylor’s works — arrayed in the Joe’s Lounge gallery — are linked by their depiction of potent lighting effects in natural settings.
“What draws me to everything I paint is usually some kind of sunrise or sunset,” said Taylor, “and pressing the colours a little bit forward.” In her Golden Hour, shafts of aureate luminescence cross the waters between Gambier Island and the Grace Islets. North Shore mountain peaks collapse into the crepuscular blaze. Forested foreshores in inky silhouette heighten the sense of drama.
And just when it seems that supernal beauty is her solitary subject, subtle messages emerge. Above the misty forest scene of Like a Good Neighbour, a red-and-white bomber soars, emblazoned with the words “Never 51.” “My newer pieces aren’t necessarily political, but there’s a little bit more messaging in the landscapes,” she admitted.
The water bomber study (with its high-flying patriotism) is part of a fundraiser that Taylor has launched for wildfire relief in Canada. Her limited series of 100 giclée prints will be sold with a percentage donated to the United Way’s fire relief fund. It’s part of a pattern for Taylor (who herself works in the field of corporate philanthropy); proceeds from her Chapman Creek fine arts prints were donated to nature conservation groups.
Inspiration for her paintings comes from first-hand observation. After two years of driving through Davis Bay, depicting Chapman Creek on canvas felt both necessary — and inevitable. While traveling with her husband near Whistler, she leaped from the automobile to capture an ephemeral vista. “I ran back because we knew the light was going to change,” she recollected, “the colours of the leaves were never going to be the exact same scene again.” Fittingly, the image of tilting firs and golden larches is titled Stop the Car.
As her reputation grows, neighbours have urged her to paint specific subject matter, like the pier at Hopkins Landing. Meanwhile, wildlife also clamours for attention throughout her works: sea lions crane their heads heavenward in Stellar Sunset, and gulls circle a feeding whale in From the Beautiful Deep. In She’s on Fire, flames lick at a pile of driftwood as the setting sun illuminates a brine-wreathed islet.
Taylor — who is largely self-taught — was influenced by impresario (and prodigious painter himself) Ed Hill. Hill was also the host for her guest appearance on the Artist in the House series on Eastlink TV. Workshops with professional landscape artists Mike Svob and David Langevin helped hone her craft.
She is working on a new series that will feature interior forest perspectives, shot through with branch-filtered beams of light. “I think I have this repertoire of places that I know I want to paint at some point,” she said. “My choices are fairly conscious.”
Even after the closure of Taylor’s show at Joe’s Lounge, patrons can browse her work online at evataylorart.com and via Instagram at @evataylorart.com.
