The paintings are like multiple windows, pulling viewers into a dreamscape.
There are creatures all around … turtles, grizzlies, blue herons, dogs, squirrels, deer.
Some scenes are rugged, shimmering with creeks and vivid flora, or bordered by magnificent mountains and covered in snow. Some show man’s presence in nature, such as a cabin in a field or neatly planted vines. Some are as placid as your living room: flowers in a vase, perhaps, or bottles by a bedspread.
Then there are images that tell stories, like the Mad Trapper of Rat River, the fugitive who triggered a massive manhunt in the Northwest Territories and Yukon and died in a shootout with RCMP officers in 1932.
There were 119 exhibits at the Northern Alberta Juried Art Show, and each one illuminated the Seniors Drop-in Centre and testified to the talent of artists from all over the area. Barrhead was well represented, with members of the town’s art club scooping six of the seven awards.
Scores of people turned up for the Alberta Community Art Clubs Association (ACACA) event, which ran from Friday to Sunday.
Hosted by Barrhead Art Club, the exhibition featured art in six categories: beginner, intermediate, advanced, masters, signature and digital.
Three Edmonton jurors and members of the ACAC executive – Jim Davies, Brian McArthur and Lori Lukasewich – selected winners for each category. Some paintings will now go to the Alberta Wide Show in Edmonton between June 27 and Sept. 7.
Among local winners were Marilynn Jeffery, whose painting “Frozen Field” captured the Masters zone award, and Lorna Hamilton-Schafer, who picked up the Signature zone award for her mixed media work, “Majestic Mountains.”
Also celebrating was Sangudo’s Hilde Keller, the Juror’s Choice Award winner and a member of Barrhead Art Club and Sangudo Art Club. Her acrylic painting, “Through The Trees,” captured the judges’ eyes.
“I did not expect that,” said German-born Keller, who has been painting around 13 years.
“It is the first time I have won anything or entered the ACACA show. That is why it is so surprising.”
Keller said she loves to paint mountains, trees and the sky. Her award-winning work is based on a photograph she took of the Rocky Mountains.
“The photograph gives me an idea of what I want to paint,” she said.
Other Barrhead Art Club winners were: Advanced – Donna Mast, “Into the Depths;” Beginners – Charis Ng, “Wild Alberta: The Grizzly;” and Digital – Karen Pickering, “The Oracle.”
The only winner not a member of the club was Carol Mervyn Keon; she won the Intermediate Award for her painting “Old Blue.”
Barrhead Art Club president Jo Anne Nanninga, who had submitted three works for the exhibition, was thrilled with the way the event had gone.
“It has been a great success,” she said.
The show also featured live music, a cake-cutting ceremony and a silent auction, which raised money to cover costs for organizing the event.
