HAYLEY CHARNOCK
NEWS Contributor
The 20th anniversary of the Nanoose Bay Art Group happens this month and with it, the 20th annual Art Show and Sale.
Formerly known as the Nanoose Watercolour Group, the members have evolved from using solely watercolours to using acrylic, collage, pastel and mixed media in their paintings.
The Art Show and Sale takes place April 27-28 at Nanoose Place.
Started in 1992, this group only had eight members. Now, with 16 accomplished and talented painters, the Nanoose Bay Art Group has doubled in size. Only three of the original members remain in the group presently, and among them is Doreen Warren.
“I’ve tried everything,” said Warren. “I tried basket making, and furniture making, and stained glass, and on and on… and then I thought, ‘okay so I’ll try painting.’ I always liked to paint when I was younger, so I went to evening classes, and from there it just blossomed. I couldn’t think of doing anything else now.”
Warren’s paintings are mainly inspired by nature, and though she started out mainly using watercolours, nowadays she has branched out, using many different types of paint.
“We started off, literally all painting in watercolours because that’s what we’d been learning in. Now we paint in everything but not oils,” she said.
Many of the members have taken lessons with Pauline Pike (a local artist) and were encouraged to attend the Nanoose Bay Art Show, where they were inspired to join the art group. The art show and sale displays 160 original paintings by the group (10 paintings from each artist) on the last weekend of April every year. Each year features a themed section, and this year, the artists painted their interpretations of ‘Cityscapes’. Walker said the members of the art club like to give some of the proceeds they make from their show to local causes.
“Nanoose and the local area has been very good to us, as painters,” said Warren. “They always come in droves to our art shows, they buy a lot from us, so we felt over the years that maybe we should give back a little something, as a means of thanks.
“We’ve had one or two of our members pass away, and so we’ve given money in their memory to the SPCA if they were very keen on dogs. One of our members died last year, so we gave a donation to Moorecroft because she loved to walk her dogs there. Over the years, we’ve given to a lot of things.”
The art group holds fundraisers each year for things like cancer, the food bank and keeping the daycare next to Nanoose Place open.
“If we have a little cash to spare, we give it to someone who is needy,” said Warren.
The Art Show and Sale runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Apr. 27 and 28. There is no entrance fee, and there are free refreshments available. Nanoose Place is located at 2925 Northwest Bay Road.
HAYLEY CHARNOCK PHOTO
From left, Doreen Walker, Ruth Barker and Joanne Smithwick hold up three of their paintings that will be up at the Nanoose Bay Art Group’s 20th annual Art Show and Sale April 27 and 28.
