Heart and soul often describe the paintings hung in the new Limitless show for May at Tsawwassen’s Gallery 1710.
Brilliance of color catches the eye. The warmer weather seems to have been caught on the brush depicting flowers, birds, and landscapes of the sea and shore.
The gallery’s red wall is a coveted spot reserved for a larger work.
Diane Akey, a member of the Canadian Federation of Artists, has a semi abstract painted in acrylic called Tea Time Tray. A complex work with cups and saucers, it evokes memories of tea when company comes to call. Don’t we wish this lovely ceremony could occur in our homes right now?
Gillian Olsen has several pieces – simple shapes of rocks on the seashore. Forms are defined with color, which is one of her specialties.
Olsen has a technique of gluing her watercolors (most of which are painted on 140 pound or 300 pound watercolor paper) to a wooded substrate. This is a process involving painting a sticky medium or glue on the back, which will completely adhere to the surface and leave no bubbles. Heavy weights are placed on top as the glue dries. Cutting the edges is tricky and must be done with a sure hand.
The advantage of this process is to produce a painting which requires no glass and since our houses have so many windows, no glass means no glare. Look carefully at the painting, Shore Crabs and you will see the little creatures hiding in the sand.
There are several glorious watercolor pictures under glass.
Menchu Abel has captured lovely flowers, as well as a glass flower in her work Crystal Light. A delightful still life. There is great contrast in the darks and lights, so the petals seem to glow from back light.
Charlene Long created a lovey abstract as well, which was inspired by a poem by Pauline Johnson entitled In the Shadows. An acrylic, its title is: where the very silence slumbers, waterlilies grow in numbers. A striking piece – and one of many on the walls in the gallery.
Don’t miss a trip to the gallery to see this show throughout the month of May.
Note the new hours: open Friday to Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Gallery 1710 is located beside the curling rink in Tsawwassen on 56th Street.
