To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.  George Santayana

As we approach a change in season, I like this quote; it reminds me that fall is an exhilarating time of year. The nip in the air, the changing colours, the harvest, all the wonderful changes we associate with the fall. Another change will be to our Art in the Community Gallery.  This September the gallery will be awash with abstract colours and shapes.

Leslie King is a graduate of the Art program at the University of Saskatchewan and Regina Teacher's College. She studied art under Kenneth Lockhead, Art McKay, Douglas Morton and Ronald Bloor. Leslie moved to Belleville in late 2002 and currently enjoys working mainly in water media producing lively abstract work. King works have been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Hamilton; Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Saint Marie; Carmel Gallery, Ottawa along with numerous juried and solo shows.
Candice Gunter is a full-time potter whose work embraces the human form. She sculpts figures that are hand-built out of clay as well as producing of whole line of plates, mugs, bowls, etc. These works are her interpretation of our lives in human form.  Vessels, like our bodies, containing emotions of sadness or joy, as well as containing the movements of tension and release. Candice comments on her work by saying, “I reflect upon the everyday observations of myself and others; my work becomes an extension of this. Recent work is concerned with memories and dreams, vulnerability yet hope.” As an emerging artist, Candice has exhibited her clay and glass sculptural works in Denmark, Australia, Canada and the United States. She is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and holds a Master of Visual Arts degree from the University of Sydney in Australia.
David Drown runs Wellington Pottery and Mosaic with partner Maggie Murdoch.  It is a full-time production pottery studio. They produce mosaic, functional, garden and art pottery and formulate their own glazes at the studio.  David is potter, technician and business manager.  The inspiration comes from many sources, and the organic shapes and free form styles speak for themselves - not necessarily for a specific purpose but for their own sake.

 

At the Bayview Medical Centre, Mary Hughes and Mark Anthony Doney will be featuring their interpretations of the natural world and its inhabitants.  The show at the Bayview Medical Centre runs Sept. 1 to Nov. 25.

Mary Hughes has been painting and drawing since grade school. She works in watercolours for the most part as well as some mixed media. Recently Mary has devoted more time to her painting and is now ready to display her work.

Mark Anthony Doney, has also been painting from a young age and uses mostly acrylics. Mark had the good fortune of receiving instruction from a number of fine artists including Micheal Dumas, the late Oscar Schlinger and Robert Perkins. Mark describes his work in these terms: “In my paintings I depict natural settings from Bancroft and surrounding are. I try to capture the feel of each scene as it appeared at that one particular moment in time. I base all of my paintings on places I have been and things that I have seen.”

The show at the Quinte Arts Council office, 36 Bridge St, E (downtown) Belleville, runs Thursday, Sept. 1 through Friday, Oct. 28. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (613-962-1232).  The opening reception for both exhibits will be here at the office on Thursday, September 8 from 4 to 6 p.m.

For information on Art in the Community, call 613-962-1232 or email sarah@quinteartscouncil.org.