A young artist who grew up in Port Alberni is making waves at the Blue Fish Gallery throughout the month of September.
Brianna Harvey is “young and talented and works in a variety of mediums,” gallery owner Cheryl Iwanowsky said.
Harvey started taking a serious interest in art when she was 11 years old.
Inspired by the beautiful scenery and wildlife of Vancouver Island, she started with pencil and paper and developed her own sketching style.
Her love of natural surroundings is still evident in the work that she does: sweeping seascapes and more intimate treescapes are drawn out of her memory, spilling onto canvas in a variety of styles.
Harvey works in pencil, charcoal, ink, watercolour and acrylic. She credits “amazing art teachers” in middle and high school who encouraged her to leave her comfort zone with art and try new things. She continues to do so: some of the artwork featured at the Blue Fish Gallery includes watercolour on canvas, where vibrant colours have deliberately dripped onto the frame, creating a three-dimensional look to some of her unframed work.
Another Port Alberni artist, Walter Collins, introduced Harvey to the medium of lampblack, a black pigment similar to charcoal. Few artists on Vancouver Island use this medium, she explained.
Harvey’s work can also be seen at the Blue Marlin Inn—formerly the Arlington Inn—where she painted a mural during renovations of the century-old hotel. She has also done other commissioned art pieces.
Harvey currently lives in Nanaimo attending Vancouver Island University. Her love of art and passion for working with children with special needs has led her to the decision to become an art therapist.
Blue Fish Gallery is located at 2907 Second Ave., Port Alberni. Phone 778-419-FISH (3474) or find it on Facebook.
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