The South Cariboo Artists Guild (CAG) 31st annual Fine Art Show & Sale opened July 22 at Parkside Art Gallery for a seven-week run that ends Sept. 12.
It gives the public an opportunity to see and appreciate local art and artists, and also offers the opportunity for purchasing pieces.
Traditionally, the show hands out awards to the top entries, but this year, the 18 contributing artists had something different to look forward to.
Each was given a personal critique on one of their submitted pieces, with comments on their style, and suggestions for improvement by Ashcroft artist Jo Petty.
For relatively new artist Kathy Crawshay, the comments from Petty were worth more to her than any trophy.
“It was informative and I loved that she had nice things to say about my work. As a beginning artist, it’s a confidence-builder. You never really know how you are doing otherwise. She was able to pick out people’s strengths.”
Capsulized versions of the critiques are also on display with their respective paintings for the public to see, and Crawshay thinks this is a great idea.
“It’s nicer for the public and they can learn more about our paintings.”
She adds dropping the awards was a good idea.
“I think CAG is a group that works together and supports one another rather than competing against each other.”
However, veteran artist Sharon Isaaks isn’t so sure eliminating the awards was the way to go.
“I think there is room for change. The awards are important to give to artists because it keeps them going.”
She appreciated the critiques, and thought they were helpful for many artists, but would personally like to see it happen just every three or four years.
Parkside Art Gallery president Patsy Granberg says she heard mixed reviews from contributing artists, but thinks the critiques were helpful for most.
The show normally draws the best work from the CAG pool of artists and this year’s show is packed with a variety of fine pieces. Parkside welcomes the public to come in and have a look. There is no official admission charge, but donations are appreciated, as the gallery is not-for-profit, and is run by volunteers.
Parkside is the blue building at 401 Cedar Ave. and operating hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
