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Local landscapes inspire Gallery Painting Group

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They are places you see every day — a street, a house, a landscape, a river or a creek — that you might take for granted.

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But what’s old is new when it comes to inspiring the 70 members of the Gallery Painting Group, which will hold its 66th annual Art Show and Sale at First-St. Andrews United Church Thursday through Sunday.

The group’s 70 members who eschew the studio for en plain air — painting outdoors — have more than 300 works up for sale, much of it their interpretations of the places, things, and sights we see every day.

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“What is unique about The Gallery Painting Group is that all of its subjects are found locally,” said Marilyn Kidd, the group’s spokesperson. “Not only is it healthier than painting in a studio, it often produces paintings that are more vibrant because the artist is living the experience as he or she paints it. The changes of light and shadow, the sounds, the smells, the colours all form part of the artist’s reaction to nature and become infused into the painting.”

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Senor, by artist Margaret Thornicroft
Senor, by artist Margaret Thornicroft jpg, LD

The paintings come in a variety of styles, mediums, sizes and prices, Kidd said. There are landscapes or buildings, animals or flowers, mostly representational but a few abstract or expressionistic.

Kidd said the public will recognize many of the locations depicted, since the group’s locations over the summer included the Woodfield district, east London, Gibbons Park, Reservoir Park, Westminster Ponds, Covent Garden Market, the Hunt Club, Westhaven, Circle R Ranch, Sparta, St. Marys, St. Thomas, Thorndale, Mount Brydges, Dorchester, and Port Stanley, as well as a horse ranch and an alpaca farm.

“Seeing something familiar through the eyes of an artist can often cast it in a new light and foster a new appreciation of its beauty,” Kidd said. “Even though those present are all at the same location, each artist finds something unique to paint or paints it in a unique way. This and the fact that the locations change every week create a great diversity in the work produced.”

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Lavender Field, Sparta by artist Roxanne Jervis
Lavender Field, Sparta by artist Roxanne Jervis jpg, LD

Painting together, Kidd said, allows the artists to support and critique each other.

“We bond over our battle with the elements of rain, wind, insects, etc.,” she said. “It all makes for a great environment in which to work and evolve as artists.”

The club organizes guest speakers and workshops throughout the year to expose members to new approaches and to motivate them to try new things, Kidd said.

The artists will be on hand to answer questions and give advice, if needed and purchased paintings may be taken away.

“A visit to the show is a wonderful way to rediscover the many attractions of life in Southwestern Ontario as well as the wealth of talent that exists here,” Kidd said.

jbelanger@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/JoeBatLFPress


IF YOU GO

What: The Gallery Painting Group’s 66th Annual Art Show and Sale

When: Thursday, 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: First-St. Andrews United Church, 350 Queens Ave. at Waterloo Street.

Admission: Free.

More info: gallerypaintinggroup.com

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