The Art Gallery of Golden (AGOG) will be presenting Mother and Daughter exhibit, which will feature the paintings of Donna Mendes and the photography of her daughter, Rachel Darvill.
Mendes, who lived in Golden, passed away in September 2020. Her last series of paintings, titled “At-Risk Birds and their Columbia Wetlands Habitat”, will be displayed at the AGOG.
The inspiration for her painting technique reflects a strong influence of style and textures found in crumbling plaster, frescos, tarnished metals and time worn paints, according to AGOG.
“These are the elements of the style that she incorporated in her decorative arts career in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia for over 25 years,” reads the AGOG website.
“The use of vibrant or faded colors and surreal ambiance reflect the elements of nature with an exotic and striking quality.”
Before she passed away, Donna’s hope was that this collaboration with her daughter Rachel could bring attention to the diversity and importance to the conservation of the Columbia Wetlands habitat.
The series was inspired by her passion for birds and interest in bird watching, which fueled her volunteer work with Darvill as a part of the recent Columbia Wetlands Waterbird Survey and the Columbia Valley Swallow Project.
Darvill is a local biologist who has been studying local bird populations and most recently won the inaugural Ellen Zimmerman award from Wildsight Golden for her passion for biodiversity conservation.
Darvill is the principle consultant at Goldeneye Ecological Services and, given her work for several agencies such as Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada, multiple universities, Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners, and Wildsight, she has had extraordinary opportunities to study and help conserve the wildlife and ecosystems that she loves and photographs.
She has been a photographer since chilhood and to this day remains an avid photographer of wildlife and wild landscapes.
Darvill currently works on habitat enhancement projects for at-risk species and lives with her family in Parson, BC.
Before she passed away, Mendes hope was that this collaboration with her daughter could bring attention to the diversity and importance to the conservation of the Columbia Wetlands habitat.
Due to COVID-19, there will not be a reception for the exhibit. The works will be on display all month.
