The It’s Summer art exhibition opened on June 15, 2023 in the Promenade Arteast exhibition space at the Shenkman Arts Centre and had a well-attended vernissage on June 21. It showcases a stunning collection of artworks, ranging from landscapes and other nature-related works to portraiture and figurative art and includes a cityscape and a still life. Variety is the spice of life!
The exhibition has skillfully crafted realistic portraits and figurative works, some almost hyper-realistic, such as my own Joy Of Water—a pastel depicting a girl with water dripping down her face. Other beautifully rendered oil portraits are Darina Boldizar’s Amo Libros, showing a little girl holding a book, and Carole Ince’s Curiosité infini, a little boy holding a magnifying glass. For a more abstracted figurative style, there is Rashmi Rekha’s We, Together, three standing figures shown from a profile view.
The beauty of nature during the summertime, with its vibrantly green hills and valleys, and clear blue waters is perfectly captured in Doreen Dyet’s Path By The Sea, Denise Lachance’s La lumière de juillet, Monique Huneault’s White Waters, Lucie Olson’s Lake Louise In Summer, and Andrée Marchessault’s Réflections de Bretagne.
More nature-inspired pieces are Rachel Lapalme’s Persevering Fisher—a stunning fisher bird on a branch looking over the water—and Diane Bertrand’s To The Belvedere depicting a procession of turtles on a tree trunk, an artwork created with wool, silk and wood.
For those preferring a more abstracted interpretation of the natural world, there is Lise Guindon’s Trois soeurs au jardin, with three figures standing in a garden. Richard Pell’s adorable That Was Lunch, depicts two birds standing in front of a feeding bowl. Christine Lenoir Godin’s Summer Heat perfectly captures the feeling and mood of a hot summer day.
Adding even more variety to the exhibit, there is Mary Ann Varley’s cityscape, Flat Iron Collage, NYC, and Sue Daugherty’s still life, Four Cups. Something for every taste and flavour, as it should be!
The exhibition will be on until September 13. If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you do. You will step into a world of artistic expression where vibrant colours and intricate details came together to create awe-inspiring art by 16 Arteast artists, including yours truly.
