Recent work by Powell River artist Ursula Medley will be on display starting Thursday, July 16, at Artique Artists’ Cooperative on Marine Avenue.
An opening reception from 7 to 9 pm will introduce the public to Medley’s show entitled Garden of Earthly Delights—in My Own Backyard. Her gardenscapes place the subject under a microscope, bringing the Canadian landscape in from the wilds to everyone’s backyard.
“I love painting en plein air in the wilderness around Powell River,” said Medley. “My recent work is done closer to home, in my own backyard where the blooms and trees provide daily delights and inspiration for painting.”
Her show grows from her own direct experience of gardening and watching her garden grow. It also draws upon her experience growing up in Bogota.
She has developed unique techniques in her outdoor scenes for ease of on-location oil painting. She credits precedents set by Emily Carr forests, J.E.H. MacDonald’s The Tangled Garden and Impressionism in general in her craft’s development.
Her landscapes come out of direct doing and seeing and a consciousness of nature’s rhythms that include the weather, the seasons, the creatures and humans, she said. “Are there bugs on the flowers? Will the chickens chow down on the worm-filled mulch forked through the wire fence into my neighbour’s yard today? You bet they will.”
Powell River musicians Bob Drage (guitar) and Lowell Morris (flute) will provide an entertaining mix of light classical, jazz, and popular favourites at the opening reception.
Art crawl
On the same evening that Ursula Medley holds her opening reception at Artique Artists’ Cooperative, another popular Powell River artist opens the doors of Willingdon Gallery.
The venue, at 4624a Willingdon Avenue, will host Goddess Rising, an exhibition of new original paintings by Autumn Skye. Her reception is from 7 to 10 pm Thursday, July 16, and the exhibition will remain on display Friday, July 17, and Saturday, July 18, from 11 am to 5 pm.
