Black, white and all the greys in between celebrated in multi-artist show this month
The Gwen Fox Gallery is hosting a black and white art show this month which is sure to inspire.
The show which has work from 40 different artists started on March 4 and will be up until March 29.
The idea for the show came from the previous themed show which saw the gallery filled with large format works.
“Most of us in this show have never painted in black and white. We took up the challenge and have made so much art here in black and white. Now, absolutely, some of us have obviously worked with black and white before, and you can tell by the quality of the pieces, they’re just wonderful. There’s those of us who really had to struggle with it, but it was a lot of fun. So, in the future, we’re going to be doing more shows that are different,” said Gwen Fox Gallery Volunteer Coordinator Brenda Hedberg.
She explained that though inspired by the previous show the gallery has a whole new look this month.
“It’s quite a different look from the large format show we just came out of, because those were so huge, it’s a totally different look. You might think that just the black and white and grey you get for mixing black and white might be kind of dull, but it’s not. The pieces really pop. So, it really is interesting,” she explained.
Also, because there are so many different artists in this show, which is open to all members, there are a range of mediums from pottery to paintings, drawings, photography, and beadwork for visitors to enjoy.
The Selkirk Record caught up with some of these artists who agreed to share more about their work.
Rommy Bukoski
Bukoski is a 13-year-old artist who is new to the Gwen Fox Gallery. She is an acrylic artist who so far has been painting scenes, drawings, and nature.
For this month’s exhibition, Bukoski has created a fun mandala-style dot art piece that she’s called ‘Mandala in Greys’.
“I always start with just one dot, right in the middle of the canvas, and I build around it. I usually sketch out what I’m going to do with a pencil before I do it so it’s not lopsided,” said Bukoski of her method of making this piece.
Bukoski’s inspirations come from taking things that she’s seen and making them in her own unique style.
“(I like to look at) a lot of other artists, I like seeing other’s art and being able to build off what I’ve seen to make something similar or kind of like a sibling,” she explained.
Bukoski says that she’s always enjoyed making art but it was a gift for her mother that made her want to focus on it.
“I’ve always liked drawing. The first painting I did was for (my mom) for Christmas. It was another dot one. It was reds, yellows and oranges. That was really when I first started really liking art, taking it more seriously,” she said.
She decided that she wanted to be part of the Gwen Fox Gallery and take part in this month’s black and white show also as a way of taking her art more seriously.
Bukoski’s advice for other people who want to make art is to go for it.
“Just start without thinking about what other people will think about it. As long as you like it, just keep going,” she said.
She also encourages residents to come and see the beauty that is in the gallery this month.
Heather Dopson
Dopson is a photographer who likes to capture those special one-time moments that pass us by in life.
“I do photography, so (enjoy) capturing something that the average person wouldn’t be able to see. I catch things that may be a fleeting moment more or less or what I like to see. I catch those things, and I like to capture them and share them,” she explained.
The inspiration for her work is the world around her and she finds beauty in the things that are unique.
“Lighting or just capturing shadows. Different things, like, I wouldn’t say trickery with the lighting, but just sort of like effervescence, I would call it. Things you wouldn’t normally see, like a sparkle or shadow,” she said.
As a St. Clements artist, she has plenty of opportunities to find beautiful things to take photos of.
Her journey as an artist started when she was very young as she always had a camera around.
“I had a Pentax point and click 35-millimeter camera. That was, my favourite little toy when I was younger. I was just like a kid in the candy store. You’d take a picture and back then I waited for the picture. I would sit there and wait for something cool to happen because you didn’t want to waste the shot, right? Literally, it was 24 pictures on the roll, and you didn’t want to waste it. Now it’s a lot different,” she said.
She has two pieces in the gallery this month. The first one is of a hawk with its wings spread. She was heading home from Victoria Beach at the time and saw two deer down a sideroad that called to her. Once she got there the deer had left but after feeling like she should walk down the road a bit more she came upon the hawk who had hurt itself and was in the road. After calling for help, she snapped the photo of the hawk.
The second photograph that she’s put in the gallery this month is of the trunk of a maple tree.
She was enticed to take the photo as the leaves were growing right out of the trunk and she found that interesting. Once she changed the photo into black and white she knew that that was how it was meant to be presented.
She wanted to be a part of the show this month as she found it to be a great opportunity.
“Just to be a part of the culture of art and collective art. I gave myself the gift of a membership here this year as I wanted to be a part of a collective of like-minded individuals,” said Dopson.
Her advice for new artists who want to start creating is to get to it.
“Just go outside and look for something that brings you joy. Look for the thing that makes you smile. Find that little thing, even the tiniest little thing on the ground that makes you giggle, or up in the sky, that makes you smile. Find just any little sparkle, and go and examine it. Find your curiosities and go after your curiosities,” she said.
Dopson also encourages residents, whether they are artists or not, to check out the gallery.
“There’s absolutely brilliant art here. It’s magnificent. There are incredible artists here in the area. It’s wonderful to come and see this,” she said.
Morgan Hoffmann
Hoffman is an artist who is very expressive with his work.
“Quite a bit of my art comes from fantasy and some sci-fi and some superhero kind of esthetics and the two pieces in this show are a fairy and a wizard waving a wand. And so, it’s a sort of a mix of nerdy niches,” he said.
Though Hoffmann typically gravitates toward graphite sketching and photography, he’s changed it up this month with an ink-on-canvas piece and an ink sketch.
Though not directly recreating the characters in the stories that he enjoys, he nevertheless brings the fantastical to his creations.
“(My influences are) Lord of the Rings, The Legend of Zelda, Spiderman sometimes, and those classic pop culture things that most people know,” he said.
The fairy piece that he’s created for this month’s show is called ‘Say Hello to My Little Friend’. The idea for the piece came from the Great Fairy in The Legend of Zelda video games but he thought it would be much cuter if the fairy was sitting on someone’s outstretched hand like it was being presented to someone.
“The one with the hand holding the wand is called ‘Magic Spark’. That one is a sketch of my hand holding my wand,” he said.
Hoffmann comes from a creative family and so has been creating for some time.
“I have been sketching since I was about probably two or three, and I didn’t really practice consistently until I was about 16, and I’m fairly good at sketching with a reference,” he explained.
He’s been a member of the Gwen Fox Gallery for a few years now as the gallery is a great way to meet other artists and has a great relaxed atmosphere.
“I figured a community art center would be the best place to meet other artists and find a place to learn about art, and then also, it’s a nice place to volunteer,” he explained.
Hoffmann encourages others to join the gallery.
“If there’s something about a type of art that you’re wondering about, either Google it or just, come in and ask the volunteers, ‘Do you know about this? Do you know someone who would know about this?’ Garth teaches watercolour classes. My mom taught sketching classes and there’re many classes going on. The pottery room downstairs has been a big hit,” he said.
The Gwen Fox Gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. It’s free for residents to check out.
