This year's annual Friends of the Gallery (FOG) art exhibition presented by the SC Arts Council at the Doris Crowston Gallery in Sechelt is not as extensive as in previous years with fewer than 60 pieces from local artists, nor does it display a full range of mediums. In past years, a theme has often emerged, but this year the themes wander all over the map. However, there are several participants whose art is growing and developing in a marvellous way, and the show is well worth visiting for the gems among the entries.
One such gem is a portrait in acrylic by Genevieve Lemarchand of her 95-year-old grandmother eating duck in a French restaurant. The ambience of the restaurant, the sparkle in the elderly lady's eyes, the appreciation of fine food and a long life come shining through.
Nina Braathen grasps the essential nature of the bones of the feet in her West Coast Experience. Rather than the usual paean to gorgeous scenery, this intaglio/aquatint by Braathen depicts the skeletal structure of a foot squeezed organically between the pebbles of a beach. It is engrossing even as it makes the viewer wince.
Several examples that were likely born of the weekly life drawing class can be seen: Monica Dealtry Robb shows a face with character, a model posing with her dog, Her Pal, in acrylic. Mudito Drope also paints a weathered character model in Matisse Visited, acrylic on board.Maurice Spira turns his attention to a charming still life: a handful of toonies, a clay jug and an apple. Pauline Hurley, who has a way with fruit, exhibits her rounded, luscious Quinces.
There are very few sculptural exhibits this year, but wearable art designer Tam Harrington reveals a dramatic display of a silver headdress, costume and shoes suitable for a Mardi Gras parade. Conga Chorus Girl features silver accessories recognizable as household items. Fashion designer Paula O'Brien of Pavelka Designs uses acrylic, collage and her design illustration skills to bring Natalie to life.Among the fabric art entries are several gentle and detailed pieces, for example, Judy Ross's Stardancers, in which stylized figures convey life and movement on a textile background. Lois Kennedy features a mandala, while Anneke Pearse's portrayal of a cat, Maggie Dearest, captures a life-like feline in traditional, pictorial rug hooking. Susan Fletcher has channelled her beliefs into her art. The piece, The Vaccination Ritual, is an ink drawing of a crying baby and grim mother at the clinic. The picture has been overlaid by a gauze fabric with jagged edges, not unlike a bandage, and is surrounded by a fabric frame.
Tim Runkle's mixed media, Ash, is striking, while Halfmoon Bay artist Robert R. Moore's Wilderness Spirit deserves a second and third look. The focal point is a grizzly in a mountain scene but closer examination softens the heroic, ursine presence, and the landscape is full of texture rendered in acrylic on canvas.
Very few artists have documented the beauty of the Coast this year, usually a popular theme, but Enid Harrison's colourful Flowers at Davis Bay is a good example.
If you think you have seen the offering by Tella Sametz before, you are right. This is another version of her Pier 17 Meeting, a gathering of seagulls on the wharf. This time, the giclee print has been mounted in a different shape, very horizontal, that captures the flatness of the image, the linear railings and the clouds on the horizon. The image works better than the former rectangular one.
The FOG show runs until Feb. 10. The Arts Centre is located at Trail and Medusa streets in Sechelt. Phone 604-885-5412 for hours.
