Every week some two-dozen South Delta Artists Guild members tote their painting gear into the studio at Gallery 1710 on 56th Street thinking with a collective smile, “Thank goodness it’s Friday.”
That was the day allotted to the guild in 1988 when it began renting space in the Phoenix Club, the old fire hall in Beach Grove. Friday became the starting point for the storied drop-in group it is today, the largest and most active of four offered by the guild since it moved to the Kiwanis Longhouse in 2000.
TGIF, an upcoming show at Gallery 1710, features the work of drop-in participants. Subject matter is as varied as the artists’ differing interests and techniques.
The West Coast always inspires varied interpretations from Wynn Dennett, Leah Terpsma, Andrew Wilson, Dolly Taylor and Geof Hacker. This is where they live and what they know. Anita de Vos, a fifth-generation Ladnerite, has developed her own very distinctive style to capture the essence of many local heritage buildings, recognized by an award at the guild’s international Oil and Water 2014 competition.
Painting nature and travel memories offer different artistic challenges. Laurel Johnson’s watercolours include flowers and landscapes, while Margaret Atkinson currently explores nature with both collage technique and pen and ink drawing.
European memories often drive the work of Corinne Bucher and Doris Wright, while Scots-born Maureen Campbell-Taylor lived and worked many years in South Africa in the film industry, and continues to draw on her travels and art experience there.
There is no set theme for TGIF, so a wide range of work can be enjoyed, including several paintings by award-winning artist and teacher Marlene Strain, coordinator of the show for which every member has some responsibility.
A very special art form is presented by Georgia Mongeau, a long-time guild member whose imagination and colour sense led her to design and hand-hook beautiful pure wool rugs, several of which are in the show.
TGIF runs March 24 to 29, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. An opening reception will be held on Wednesday, March 25 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Gallery 1710 is adjacent to the South Delta Recreation Centre in Tsawwassen.
