October 26 – December 11, 2006

MEMBER ARTIST’S EXHIBITION 2006

The year was wrapped up with an exhibition that was open to every GPAG member artist. Our Member Artists’ exhibitions have proven to be wonderfully diverse and engaging. Gallery visitors appreciate this opportunity to view works by both well-known and emerging artists on the Sunshine Coast.

September 7 – October 23, 2006

LAURIE ROLLAND & SUSAN HUBELE | A Natural Progression

Rolland’s clay vessels and Hubele’s mixed media paintings have to do with the order of nature, in both inspiration and progression. The artists and their art are connected by ties of consanguinity: ‘a relationship having natural origin and exhibiting common characteristics.

“We share influences of nature around us. We share the attitude of seeking excellence. We share the attitude of discovery. Our creative ideas often come from the work itself, from ‘thinking through hands’. Susan Hubele

A natural progression evolves from the steady application of creative focus: working towards a goal – not necessarily reaching an end, but a point along a journey, a continuum, a progression. A natural progression, then, is multilevel, with a commonality between the two artists and their art, and a natural progression of their friendship.

Laurie Rolland’s studio is in Davis Bay.

July 20 – September 4, 2006

WATER IS THE BEST OF ALL THINGS

An exhibition with a theme that drew a gloriously disparate range of images from
 photographers, painters, glass and fibre artists.

Maciej Tomczak: Rice Paddies

June 1 – July 17, 2006

SHERRY COOPER & UNA BACHINSKI | Terra Incognita

Sherry Cooper is a landscape painter inspired by the natural world. This exhibition takes her away from her usual approaches to landscape to explore more abstract interpretations – allusions rather than replications of nature. Working with mixed media on wood panel, illustration board and yuppo plastic paper, Cooper begins with freely applied water based gouache. The surface is altered with water after it has dried and the paint is removed by blotting. Removing the paint is done with a variety of tools. When the initial composition is established, layers of glazes are applied with acrylic paint.

Una Bachinski is a mixed media artist working on paper, panels, and recycled objects such as bike seats and cupboard doors. Her work ranges in size from very tiny (3″ x 4″) to quite large (3′ x 6′). There are three basic veins to her practice: figurative , portrait/self-portrait, and in more recent years, the landscape of the soul. Bachinski incorporates her own photography as well, using older cameras such as Polaroid and Yashica twin lens.

This exhibition was made possible by Members of the Gallery and the generous financial support of an anonymous donor.

April 13 – May 30, 2006

HELEN BROADFOOT | A Show Of Respect

“A Show Of Respect” is a body of work comprising ten large oil paintings by Helen Broadfoot from Madiera Park with accompanying articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each painting depicts a child from a different country and chronicles ways that war affects them: children die, children are forced to become soldiers, children are captured and sold into brothels and children are displaced and spend their young lives (often their whole lives) as refugees.

This exhibition was made possible by GPAG members and the generous financial support of the Doctors of Gibsons Medical Clinic.

February 23 – April 10, 2006

MELISSA DIPIETRO | An Exhibition & A Work in Progress

Dipietro’s impressively large abstracts are created with vibrant enamels. 
A work in progress: Saturday afternoons in the Gallery, Dipietro worked on Spirit of the Game – a 60×40” abstract & form work celebrating soccer.

The artist
: “I began painting by accident,” says Melissa Dipietro. Twenty years ago Dipietro was working as a model in Florence, Italy. As she ran down a path in a Tuscan vineyard she twisted and tore the ligaments in her ankle. Apartment-bound, Dipietro found herself unable to escape watching her artist roommate paint abstracts. To her surprise, she had found her passion and so enchanted was she with the colourful enamels that Dipietro still uses the vibrant enamels in her own abstracts.

In 1986 Dipietro returned to Canada. She enrolled in the Alberta College of Art. Four years later, back in B.C. she enrolled in Emily Carr leaving a short time later with the blessing of her counsellor who said, “Go home and paint. You have your style!” Painting, and raising her two children, is exactly what Melissa Dipietro has been doing since 1992 when she made herself at home in Roberts Creek.

This exhibition was made possible by GPAG members and the generous financial support of Dakota Window Corporation, Harbour Self Storage and Sunshine Container Rentals & Sales.

January 5 – February 20, 2006

MARION LEA JAMIESON | Becoming/Unbecoming

Jamieson uses vivid paintings and the patient process of shaping concrete to express ideas in ways that are “satisfying and illuminating for myself and for others. I brainstorm through drawings and paintings to develop compelling motifs then translate them into three dimensions, using whatever materials and techniques will best realize the idea and create the artwork in its most appropriate scale. My current interest is in exploring the almost limitless potential of concrete to construct durable yet evocative forms that can withstand the rigors of the public realm. I like to produce artwork that can be appreciated by anyone.”

Marion Lea Jamieson‘s works have been exhibited across Canada and the U.S.

This exhibition was made possible by Members of the Gallery and the generous financial support of Teryl Mulloch Architect Ltd.