Thanks to a contest hosted by the South Okanagan-Similkameen Chapter of the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA), Veronica Davies is hosting her first solo art show at The Bench Market.
“(Davies) won the prize which was offered through the federation last year at their exhibition at the Shatford Centre,” said Prema Harris, a member of the local chapter and owner of Tumbleweed Gallery and Picture Framing. “So instead of offering a cash reward or picture framing award, I offered the opportunity for the winning artist to have a show somewhere in Penticton. Then I would help with receiving their bio, hanging their artwork, and advertising the show.”
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Harris said she and Davies hung the show over the Dec. 1 weekend and it will remain at the establishment, located at 368 Vancouver Ave., until the end of December. It features 25 works by Davies and “reveals the diversity of the skills that (Davies) has - in portraiture, illustrative work, landscape and even abstract painting,” according to Harris.
Davies originally grew up in Summerland and is also a member of the federation, stating that she’s participated in other shows that included a number of artists. She appreciated the opportunity to have her artwork featured within Bench, an establishment she frequents when she visits the city.
“It’s a really unusual prize, I haven’t seen this offered before. So it’s really great because it’s an opportunity to show your work, get more exposure and I just thought it was such a great idea,” said Davies.
Davies said she’s been working with art for a number of years, beginning when she was going through school and then channeling it into a career with graphic design. She decided to return to her roots and “get (her) hands dirty” with painting about five years ago.
“I’m primarily a representational painter, I like to focus on portraits. So for portraits, I use oils, but I also enjoy watercolours. So when I do watercolours I do more outdoor paintings and landscape scenes,” said Davies. “It’s a nice balance between the two mediums, portraits and oils are very complex and time-consuming whereas watercolours are a little more loose and freer. But either way, I like representational so I paint things as I see them.”
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Davies selected works she’s done featuring areas in the Okanagan while trying to include a variety of her other works.
“There’s five specific Okanagan pieces that I worked on from photos that I had taken, especially around the KVR because I really enjoy cycling on that trail and all the wineries between Naramata and Penticton,” said Davies. “So there’s an Okanagan-theme and a variety of other things that I’ve been working on.”
All of the works on display are available for purchase, those interested can contact Harris through the Tumbleweed Gallery and Picture Framing. Davies would like to thank the FCA for hosting the contest and Harris for her help in setting up the show.
“It’s a really big learning experience in a way, just to pull together that many pieces. There’s a lot that goes into it as far as creating pieces for a show, which is a great motivation to paint,” said Davies. “And then framing everything and how to hang it, so having Prema there as a gallery owner helping to make some of those decisions of what would show nicely, it’s been really educational. It motivates you to paint more and having a show and opportunity where their going to be shown is really valuable because you really push yourself to create new pieces.”
To learn more about Veronica Davies and her work, visit www.veronicadavies.ca.
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
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