The Denman Art Gallery’s second show of the season opened June 30, and runs until July 9.
It features two artists and two venues: Rosemarie Schafer at the Denman Seniors’ Gallery, and Rodney Devenish at the Arts Centre.
Schafer is presenting an exhibit of watercolours titled New Wave, inspired by the play of light on incoming water. She is a resident of Calgary and Denman, drawn to the west coast by her love of the ocean in all its moods.
These paintings recreate the designs she sees in the intricate lines created by moving water, both on the surface and beneath it. Images under the surface are seen as through a watery-looking glass. Rosemarie also creates images of her own, inspired by these designs, which she superimposes on rocks and found objects along the shoreline.
Across the road at the Arts Centre, Devenish reveals his talent as an artist with a series of oil paintings titled, simply, Paintings. Rodney is better known to Denman Islanders as a meditation teacher and the founder of The Hermitage, and this is his inaugural show. The series goes back as far as the 1980s, and the artist refers to his body of work as a “strange scattering”.
The landscapes, seascapes, beach scenes, and gardens are inspired by places he has been or where he has lived. He paints according to the feeling of each place rather than trying to recreate an exact appearance.
A Mexican beach scene painted in bright colours conveys the feel of the plastic furniture where a couple are seated, and the artificial feel of the place to the painter.
Rodney’s work is influenced by Group of Seven artist, Arthur Lismer, who was also his teacher, and B.C. artist Arnold Burrell. He has a love of the post-Impressionist period, and is particularly inspired by the work of Cezanne.
This wide range of influence in style, colour, and subject is evident in his work, from the dark outline of a Denman shoreline tree, to the brilliance and fluid lines of a sun-drenched California landscape, or the basic form and pure colour of the Mexican scenes.
The shows run until July 9.
