Question: where can you go to check out — and purchase — dozens of paintings by 45 local artists? The way I see it, it’s not a matter of where but when.
The foyer of St. Albert Place gets taken over every year around this time for the St. Albert Painters’ Guild’s Fall Show and Sale. The theme of this show is The Way I See It, a look ahead to the city’s major anniversary celebrations in 2011. The exhibit will feature various interpretations of St. Albert’s cityscapes.
“We think people will be amazed at all the ways in which artists can each view a similar scene,” said guild president Karen Blanchet. “Everyone has a unique way in which they perceive what is before them. Creative interpretation is at the soul of art and is what makes it so fascinating.”
The guild is one of the city’s underappreciated gems, an incubator of talent and culture with its still-growing membership. Blanchet said that there are now 70 painters under its banner, up from 50 just this spring. She is understandably enthusiastic about the trend.
“We’re growing. It’s amazing!” she said, adding that the quality of the output is improving also. “Profiles Art Gallery mentioned that the calibre of artwork submitted this year (for the guild’s group exhibit last month Guilded) was way above what it has been in the past. There’s a lot of our members that are not just hobbyists. We’re getting more professional people.”
Blanchet modestly added the submissions for the fall show and sale are also notable.
“Everything looks pretty good. We’ve got a lot of enthusiasm this time … a lot of submissions.”
That includes works from Gina Bazarelli, the high school student who was sponsored by the guild to attend Red Deer College’s SummerScapes program this year. She was also nominated for the youth artist award at last month’s St. Albert Cultivate the Arts Awards ceremony.
There will be opportunities throughout the weekend to meet artists and view painting demonstrations. Friday evening’s opening reception will have food and entertainment.
An annual membership to the St. Albert Painters’ Guild is $35 and meetings are generally held the second Wednesday of every month in the studios in St. Albert Place. Members have regular painting sessions every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon in the same location.
For more information about the show or the guild, email [email protected] or stop by St. Albert Place this weekend.
