Art has sprung!

It’s April, the snow is gone, and we’ve already had a daytime temperature of 20C. If you don’t have spring fever by now then the St. Albert Painters’ Guild has just the cure for that.

Spring Fever is the theme for the group’s annual spring show and sale, setting up for a weekend run. Starting Friday, visitors to St. Albert Place will see a veritable cornucopia of visual art delights, all courtesy of the many painters that this city has become famous for.

Sandy Mitchell said this is the best chance to have the best selection from some of the best artists that this city has to offer.

“There are 45 different artists that have 355 paintings that we are showing this time,” she announced, adding that it’s a bigger event than usual, partly because the guild now has even more display panels than ever before.

“The number’s gone up. It’s been awhile since we’ve had this many people showing.”

She’s very much looking forward to the event because it also offers the guild members themselves the chance to connect with the art-going public and show off the skills that they’ve been developing over the long, cold winter, ever since the fall show in October.

“It’s our big thing when you think about it, isn’t it? It’s twice a year that we have our shows and the whole idea is to promote your art and show people what you’re doing and grow in different ways. That’s really what we’re about: just learning to be better artists, enjoying and supporting one another, and letting the public see what we’ve accomplished.”

What they have accomplished, apart from being a really wonderful and supportive group, is also a powerhouse of creativity, mostly due to the educational programs and workshops. A painter signs up to learn and grow when becoming a member of this club.

“We’ve evolved, let me put it that way. I think it’s a delightful collective to belong to.”

With the Art Walk coming up, the guild is also moving toward increasing its exposure to the public as much as possible.