Peachland Art Gallery hosting Art in the Park exhibition
Last August, 12 artists from B.C. and Alberta spent four days in the Rogers Pass area of Glacier National Park, exploring the breathtaking landscape and photographing, sketching and in some cases producing final works of art.
The results of their time in Glacier National Park are almost 50 works of art currently on display at the Peachland Art Gallery as part of the Art in the Park Exhibition.
Although the themes of the works are familiar, such as the Illecillewaet Glacier, the results from each of the 12 artists are distinct in their style and media from block prints to acrylics.
Parks Canada and the Revelstoke Visual Arts Society have been hosting the Art in the Park Program for eight years to inspire people to come enjoy the parks.
Each artist submitted samples of their work for review by the Revelstoke Visual Arts Society and Parks Canada.
“This program really helps inspire people to appreciate our beautiful spaces that we have in Canada. We’ve got these artists who come out, they experience nature first-hand and they portray that to the public in their own style,” said Amy Clarke, public outreach and education ofÀcer for Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks.
Lake country artist Leanne Spanza, who was at the exhibition opening Saturday, has been fortunate to return to the Art in the Park program a second time following her Àrst experience in 2011.
“I got the phone call that I was in and I screamed like I won the lottery, “she admitted.
For Spanza, Art in the Park was a great opportunity to connect with the park as well as with the other artists and learn about their styles.
“We spent every day hiking for about 10 hours or so and got to see some unreal mountain peaks and glaciers,” she said.
Spanza uses bold lines for her simplistic landscape art style.
For Spanza, Art in the Park is about bringing awareness about the stunning beauty of Canada’s National Parks and encouraging people to get out there.
“I love seeing it when the kids come up and ask all the questions and then they bug their parents to go take them there,” she laughed.
Vancouver artist Jaymie Johnson was excited about her Àrst experience with Art in the Park. Johnson graduated from Emily Carr in 2015 where she focused on printmaking.
Her prints, made with blocks painstakingly carved out of Baltic birch plywood, have a vintage feel.
While Johnson has done a lot of hiking, she had never gone into the wilderness with a group of artists with the goal of experiencing the landscape and taking time to sketch and paint.
“It was honestly one of the best experiences I’ve had,” she said.
Along with taking in the artwork gallery guests can also thumb through the artists’ journals from their experience.
The Art in the Park exhibition has already been to Rosebud, Alberta and Port Moody, B.C. and will remain on display at the Peachland Art Gallery until Aug. 30.
In September, the exhibition will be at the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna. All the pieces are for sale. Art in the Park is a two-year event, with the artists hosted in Mount Revelstoke or Glacier National parks in the Àrst year and the travelling exhibit in the second year.
Applications for Art in the Park 2018 will be accepted in December.