A wonderful Saturday afternoon turnout of artists and art lovers were on hand at the Members Art Show and Sale Reception at the Humboldt Gallery. The works were as varied as the artists and their interests with something for everyone.
Cultural programmer Geneva Grest greeted those in attendance, inviting them to meet the artists and talk about the work over refreshments.
Leanne Harasymchuk was one of the artists whose work caught viewers’ eyes right away. The warm pastel tones and familiar prairie themes prompted recognition and response. Leanne talked about her process.
“I do a sketch, usually in pencil loosely, and then I’ll add an outline in ink, then I’ll put down some water colour, and after that I use toned ink pens to bring out shadows and tone.” One of the pieces was immediately recognizable to Humboldt residents – the Good Neighbour store prior to its recent renovations, a work that harkens back to the time of the community lumber yard.
For the floral minded, Karen Fleishhacker’s sunflower designs were a literal sellout. Her colourful pieces had all found buyers by the time of the opening reception.
“I’ve always loved sunflowers, my favourite flower, so that’s my inspiration. If you go to Van Gogh’s sunflowers, I’ve looked at those paintings and wondered if I could ever get to that point. Sunflowers are just bright and shiny and make people happy.”
For Wayne Schidlowsky, the exploration of art is a bit of a moving target. On display at this year’s Members’ Show and Sale were a pair of detailed and attentive photographs and a pair of acrylic pours.
“It’s not so much a matter of inspired, it’s just that you get tired of what you’re doing and you look for something else to do – that's the stage where I'm at right now. My latest ventures are acrylic pours where you mix your liquid acrylics, and you dump them onto a background and you control the acrylic flow by either blowing on it or using a straw. As these get bigger, you can use a hair dryer or an industrial blower. It’s kind of a random thing, but you do have control of the colour and details.”
The Members’ Show and Sale is always a testament to the creativity and vision of local artists. The event is on at the Humboldt and District Gallery until November 3.