At The Galleries: Colours of summer spring up across Greater Victoria

Madrona Gallery is pleased to present Colours of Summer XII. This annual group exhibition brings together a selection of works from our contemporary and historic collection.

Including a combination of paintings, drawings, and sculpture, the exhibition will continue to change and evolve throughout the summer as new works are hung. Artists in this year’s exhibition include Carollyne Yardley, Megan Dietrich, Luke Ramsey, Shawn O’Keefe, Meghan Hildebrand, Shuvinai Ashoona and many others.

Colours of Summer XII runs now through Aug. 28 at Madrona Gallery. Visit madronagallery.com for more.

The Avenue Gallery highlights a pair of painters and a glass artist this month.

Having always had a love for creating things – for music, for dance – Kimberly Kiel found one of her greatest passions when she applied paintbrush to canvas for the first time.

“For me creating art is a passion. A celebration of the joy and colour to be found in life,” she said.

A full-time artist for almost 20 years, Kiel expresses herself through a wide variety of subject matter –landscapes, treescapes, figure pieces and florals – and finds as much joy in the process as in the end product.

Guy Hollington began his career in glass almost by chance; an offhand comment led to an introductory six-week course that then morphed into a passion for the blown glass medium. Further study at both the Corning Museum of Glass and the Pilchuk School of Glass provided insight into more of the intricacies of glass blowing and further refinement of his technique.

Lavender Vase by Guy Hollington.

“As well as being a visually stimulating medium, glass is also highly tactile. The smoothness of the finished piece encourages the owner to hold the piece and enjoy the curves. I enjoy the fact that the art of this medium is not limited to the visual spectrum,” Hollington said.

Heather Pant has been painting much of her life, and professionally for the past 20 years. Her unique style and use of colour invite viewers into her mountain scenes of rivers, lakes, peaks, and waterfalls in the majestic and inspiring Canadian wilderness.

Living in Calgary, the proximity of the prairies, foothills and mountains provides Pant with a never-ending source of creative inspiration. She is motivated and inspired by the movement and colours of her surroundings. Her use of bold, vivid colours and movement provide the viewer with a truly introspective experience, evoking a distinctive sense of emotion through her creations on canvas.

Visit theavenuegallery.com for more.

Illustrious Wild by Heather Pant.

The West End Gallery brings The Joy of Summer by Claudette Castonguay to Victoria this month.

The work of Castonguay celebrates an enthusiastic love of life. From an afternoon cocktail party to relaxing with friends on the beach, Castonguay’s paintings pull you in and convey a feeling of being light as air and unapologetically happy. Her elegant, painterly style easily conveys the delight she feels while painting and communicates this to the viewer through wonderfully saturated colours and delicate brushwork.

Warm, charming, and cheerful, her paintings entice the viewer to share in a wonderful world of her imagining where painted gardens offer beautiful fragrant bouquets to decorate tables and send to loved ones.

Visit www.westendgalleryltd.com for more.