Wildling Things is the title given to an art show at Malaspina Exhibition Centre during the month of April.
The foyer at Vancouver Island University will display art by Katrina Craig. Craig was inspired to paint and create what she sees every day from her apartment: the gorgeous coastal islands.
“I have portrayed them as if in a dream rather than as a photographic document of this physical plane,” she explained. “Along with many abstractions and dreamscapes from the World of Wildling, this is an alternate reality peopled by animals, fairies, elves and many more Wildlings of all kinds.”
Her influences include the Group of Seven and more heavily the French Impressionists. The nature of paint and how it moves was one of her earliest fascinations from before she was five years old when her mother would give her the leftover paint on her own palette.
She said she is amazed by the beauty of the West Coast landscape and thinks about painting it constantly. The world of Wildling is not just about landscapes, but about all of the amazing creatures that exist within hearts and minds, she added.
Powell River is home to her now but she was born in New Westminster, then spent a number of years in Sointula on Malcolm Island, Montreal, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Now she loves the vast expanses that BC has to offer and the fleeting impressions of wild things that might people all areas.
Craig described her exhibit as an interdisciplinary show of multimedia art including paintings in acrylic and oil. There will be prints, both digital and lino cut. There will also be multimedia art dolls. The show will hang from Thursday, April 2, until Tuesday, May 5.
An opening reception will take place from 7 to 9 pm on Thursday, April 2, at the university. Everyone is invited to attend and meet the artist while enjoying the colourful depiction of Wildling Things.
