Musings
Any travel from Pender begins with a cruise, a chance to slip into holiday mode. We left home Wednesday, August 3rd, getting only as far as the mainland - a leisurely/lazy start to a cross-Canada trip.
Thursday we found ourselves in Manning Provincial Park - BC parks don't disappoint. Besides privacy and a sturdy picnic table, our campsite came with a "pet" hare, almost as cute as the resident chipmunks. And there were other curious rodents around too.
The park visitor center staff recommended an alpine meadow walk. We discovered a profusion of wildflowers normally at their peak in mid-July, delayed this year by the unusually wet and cool spring, now displaying their best against magnificent mountain vistas.
We learned that these delightful 'bad-hair day' Western Anemonies began as bright yellow blossoms and morphed into what you see here. Other meadow flowers included Fireweed, Columbine, Scarlet Paintbrush and more.
Friday we travelled through to the Okanagan, seeing and smelling smoke as we approached and drove through Keremeos. Fortunately Oliver, our destination, wasn't badly affected though we heard rotor blades constantly as helicopters flew from the Keremeos Lake Fire to a small lake near Oliver where they dipped down to fill their buckets with lake water.
The vineyards are - of course - green and lush and lovely. Below is Burrowing Owl - just one example of the countless wineries in the valley; the vines below that belong to Jackson Triggs.
This morning we drove through picture-perfect Osoyoos, leaving the Okanagan for the Kootenays.
We stopped for coffee at The Board Room in Grand Forks. The interior walls on one side were lined with board games for sale, on the opposite wall were board games for rent, and outside was a "life size" Connect Four game. Best of all, the coffee and treats were gourmet and the mural on the outside wall worth the visit itself.
Not sure just where I'll be writing from next. The adventure continues...
Ecstatic after so much uncertainty to announce that Art off the Fence 2021 is a go - live and in person on South Pender Island 12 days from now.
The outdoor show will feature paintings, woodwork, pottery, wire sculpture, mixed media and photography. Below are examples of some of the work I will have on display.
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And, another show...
I am delighted to have had two photographs juried into the Sooke Fine Arts Show. Sadly, for the second year in a row, the show will be online, but I have to say Sooke offers an amazing website -
https://sookefinearts.com/
Visiting the show from the comfort of your home, you will feel as though you are in the gallery, first viewing the work from a distance and then 'walking' forward for a close-up view. In addition the viewer is able to 'virtually' hang each artwork above a couch or a bed, providing an accurate and easy-to-grasp idea of the size/scale of the piece. Visit the online gallery starting Friday, July 23rd.
Please feel free to pass this newsletter along to friends.
It's been a long time. I hope this finds you well and anticipating the return to some semblance of normal wherever you are.
With pandemic restrictions loosening and summer art shows opening, there is more impetus to return to writing Musings. I am prompted now, in this first 'issue' in months, by the opening of an art show in Sidney running from now through July 3rd.
The New Photographers Gallery is open five days a week, closed Thursday and Sunday. With fifteen photographers participating Birds on the Wild Side promises to be a colourful and eclectic show; I hope you'll be able to drop in.
It is unusual for me to post "Musings" twice in quick succession but timing makes it unavoidable this time. Please be assured that I will not be filling your mailbox every couple of days!
There is an exciting event taking place this weekend and I hope you will plan to visit some Pender Island studios on Saturday and Sunday. Sandy Shreve has kindly invited me to show with her at Ridgeview Studio (#10 on the map; maps available on the Ptarmigan Arts website as well as at Ptarmigan Art Gallery and Talisman Books). Sandy has ample outdoor space, and much of what we show will be outdoors. Measures are being taken at each studio to ensure this a well-distanced and safe event.
"Torn", acrylic on canvas by Sandy Shreve
"Horizon Line", photograph by Diane MacDonald
In addition I'd like to highlight the current show at The Gallery at Ptarmigan Arts - "Forest Life and Flights of Fantasy". "Because I Love You" (below) is my image in the show.
Wishing readers a happy, safe, artistic autumn.
On the road again! Two weeks ago we left the coast heading - well, anywhere to escape the smoke. Our plans changed on a daily basis as we evaluated our options. Initially we headed north and west, choosing the Chilcotin route towards Bella Coola, novel to us. Even that far north there was ample evidence of smoke; turns out "you can run but you can't hide". Not overwhelming smoke, but plenty of evidence of the fires of 2015 and 2017, reminding us of the 2020 fires just to the south.
Choosing RV sites, we were lured into Puntzi Lake with the promise of a bakery at the campsite - a little unexpected 'in the middle of nowhere'! A second surprise was the discovery that white pelicans call Puntzi Lake home in July and August before migration to more hospitable climes.
One of the pleasures of travel in the province is seeing changes in the vegetation. The "trembling aspens" and pine forests offer a beauty distinct from coastal cedar, oak, and arbutus.
We found the winding, ice-turquoise Chilcotin River spell-binding, softening as it does the stark sculpted desert walls and dunes that descend sharply to the water's edge.
Smoke obscured the glacier-covered mountains that line the route to the remote coast. Forty kilometres from Mt. Waddington, the highest peak in British Columbia, we were unable to discern even an outline. As we u-turned east and back-tracked to Williams Lake, we vowed to return to Chilcotin country someday.
It was illuminating to post-process images taken through smoke. I discovered that we could all use a personal 'dehaze filter'! Magically the processing filter allowed us to "see what we couldn't see". Below is what we 'really' saw followed by the same image processed using Lightroom's dehaze filter. Unfortunately the filter did not remove debris from the windscreen, 'dehazng' rendering both distant mountains and spots on the windshield more visible.
Hopscotching as we were around the province, we sometimes found fall before we found summer.
From Williams Lake we headed east towards Revelstoke, the route lined with lake after lake after lake. Among them, Bridge Lake, above, where a couch invited visitors to the end of the boardwalk, and, below, Shuswap Lake where, ironically, smoke be damned, we made our own fire!
Many of the lakes were obscured almost totally by smoke; others, like this one, allowed us a peek at their magnetic and majestic beauty.
Fortunately the distance across the Arrow Lakes is not far; the captain of the Galena Bay ferry was able to navigate safely through dense smoke. Maybe she uses a dehaze filter!
We camped 16 miles south of Nakusp on Arrow Lake, its capricious moods changing with the weather. Smoke was beginning to dissipate and the sight of fog and clouds was welcome.
West along southern BC route 3 the change to undulating desert brought sure signs of fall including beautiful grasses, pine trees, and more trembling aspens.
The Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) Trail and the Columbia & Western Rail Trail extends from Hope to Castlegar. The trestle mirrored in the Kettle River below is part of the decommissioned track, now home to an extensive recreational trail providing almost 650 km (400 mi) of connected hiking and biking pathways.
From there we chose to head north and west towards home: along the way, a dramatic peak, a climber's magnet, seen from Marble Canyon Provincial Park.
Along Duffy Lake road yesterday we were granted glimpses of snow-capped peaks through the cloud-laden valley of Cayoosh Creek. The highway's a rewarding winding, hilly route; the prize once through to Pemberton is the thundering drama of Nairn Falls.
And then, Whistler. In contrast to the natural architecture of the river, the Audain Museum - an architectural beauty befitting the marvellous Canadian artwork collection housed within. Emily Carr and EJ Hughes, along with wonderful Northwest Coast masks are highlights.
(Below top: EJ Hughes, bottom Robert Davidson)
Satiated and feeling fortunate, we return home this weekend having managed to avoid considerable smoke and the first significant storm of the season!
Art off the Fence in the 2020 showcase format will launch for a final three weeks at the Driftwood Centre this Wednesday, August 5th. My image, Confluence, represents a toast to better times ahead.
There's a wonderful new show, Islands Wild, at Ptarmigan Arts Gallery at Hope Bay:
Three of my photographs are currently on the walls at Ptarmigan Arts. Two mystical images, Enchanted Isle and Aurora are photographs of shadows cast by sunlight through wavy glass. The sun created magic!
Sunlight once again casts its magic, this time through rain, in a third more traditional image, Rainbow Route.
Last but not least, I am delighted that my Sooke Fine Arts entries have gone to new homes! Printed in limited editions of five, Flying Solo and Deep Dive remain available framed or unframed.
So, a toast to better times ahead, to staying safe, to staying calm, and to being kind...
Creativity abounds and even thrives in this discombobulated age; no surprise that it's clearly evident in the online 2020 Sooke Fine Arts Show. The organizers have worked tirelessly to reinvent this premier Vancouver Island summer event. You attend from your very own home: no crowds, and lots of time to browse and ponder. I have just had my first peek at the show and, WOW. The presentation is exceptional. View the show at http://sookefinearts.com
I am delighted that two of my images were selected for SFAS 2020 and thrilled that Flying Solo sold during the Purchasers' Preview last night. (Limited edition of 5)
Flying Solo
Deep Dive
Art off the Fence 2020 officially opens in the glass showcase at the Driftwood Centre this Saturday, June 27th. Three weeks of rotating art in July will be followed (after a short break) by three more in August. Even within the limited space we plan to showcase a wide variety of work so please check the space often this summer.
At Oak Bay Avenue's Gage Gallery (Victoria), some of the work submitted to "Challenge Crisis with Creativity" (previously shown online) will be displayed when the gallery reopens on Tuesday, June 23rd, for the first time since the shutdown - five days only. My piece Connecting While Physically Distanced (shown below the Gage Gallery poster) will be among the works on display.
Connecting While Physically Distanced
Welcome to The Social Distancing Festival.
This is a site for celebrating art from all over the world, showcasing amazing talent, and coming together as a community at a time when we need it more than ever.
Our Pender Island Art off the Fence Bee Project is featured on the Social Distancing Festival Website:
https://www.socialdistancingfestival.com/visual-art
My piece Upside Down Yoga, Upside Down World is part of our festival display.
The Social Distancing Festival website is worth exploring; showcased is an extensive
collection of inspiring artwork in multiple genres.
Stay tuned for more!
Art off the Fence is an annual premier summer art show on Pender Island. To mark it's 24th anniversary this July, the show will go on, reimagined for these discombobulated times.
We have moved from our usual one acre site on South Pender Island to the twenty-four square foot
display case at the Driftwood Centre, as well as online.
Starting Wednesday, May 27th with the Bee Project, you'll find a rotating exhibit of our artists' work in the display case in front of Talisman Books - and on Facebook and Instagram at
Art Off the Fence on Pender Island.
About the Bee Project
There are 20,000 species of bees in the world; they pollinate one third of the crops we eat; a few species are thriving, others are endangered by habitat loss, pollution and climate change. This exhibition and sale of work by Art off the Fence artists is a celebration of the importance of bees.
Shown below are my photographic contributions to the bee project:
Just Cruisin' Upside Down Yoga, Upside Down World
Stay tuned - Art off the Fence will reappear in late June, again in the Driftwood showcase, with the usual eclectic variety of work that has been a feature of the outdoor show for twenty-four years.
Watch for posts on Facebook and Instagram
Art off the Fence on Pender Island
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