2013
MAY 14th - 26th
"PAINTING PALS"
SHARON LENNOX
&
BEV JOHNSTON
"SHOW & SALE"
Meet and Greet
- Saturday, May 18th (1 - 4pm)
Paintings by Bev Johnston
The long awaited
annual show featuring the work of Sharon Lennox and Bev Johnston
will have its opening on May 14 at the Pearl Ellis Gallery.
The show, “Painting Pals”, runs from May 14th to the
26th with a reception on Saturday May 18th
from 1 to 4 pm. The duo missed having a show in 2012, so
this one has been avidly anticipated.
There will be several new pieces of work by both artists, and
some cards of the paintings will be available for sale as well.
The pair is offering a gift basket which will be drawn for on
the last day of the show and the general public will be
encouraged to enter for this each time they visit. Both of the
artists are quite busy at the moment, and will not be in daily
attendance, but will be scheduled to host at some point during
the show. Those wishing to speak personally with Sharon or Bev
can check with the gallery to find out when they will be in
attendance.
Last year during the People’s Choice Show at the Pearl Ellis
Gallery, both Sharon and Bev received awards. They are regular
participants in the Originals Only show and sale; both paint
with the Monday Bunch in the Lions Den. Sharon is also a
member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. The huge
attraction with both artists’ work is their stunning realism and
attention to detail. Bev uses mainly acrylics in her work,
while Sharon prefers working with oils.
Both artists have sold pieces to collectors, with Bev having
several of her paintings gracing homes in Alberta, Sointula
(where she lived) and even Palm Springs. She concentrates on
scenes and situations she is familiar with and especially likes
painting fishing boats. Bev was born in Delta, B.C. and has
lived in Sooke, Sointula and most recently the Comox Valley.
She always drew and painted, but in the last ten years she
became much more serious about her artwork. Her grounding is in
oils, but over time she has gravitated to acrylics and now
prefers working in that medium. She takes commissions and
works mostly from photographs she has taken, or has been given,
of various subjects which capture her imagination. Anyone
seeing a Courtenay street scene, or Mexican vases baking in the
sun knows immediately what they are looking at. Bev’s fishing
boats, which can be a difficult subject to the uninitiated, come
beautifully to life under her brushstrokes as living, breathing
entities just waiting to set sail. She has a matchless way with
lighting and uses its subtleties to enhance her evocative
scenes.
Sharon was born in Maple Ridge, BC and has lived on Vancouver
Island since 1974, currently residing in Royston. Her specialty
is birds, which she photographs for reference and spends
countless hours studying them in intricate detail which comes
through in her work when she puts brush to canvas. Sharon likes
to combine various styles to make her paintings uniquely her
own. She uses total realism when producing her main subject
and subtly complements that subject with a background that is
more impressionistic, so the viewer’s eye is focused on the bird
or animal instead of its surroundings.
Sharon works hard to develop a personal style on everything she
paints and as a result has won numerous awards. A donation
piece given recently to MARS sold for $2000.00. She has
patrons which collect her work across Canada and has sold pieces
as far away as Switzerland. Small wonder this duo is always a
popular exhibition at the Pearl Ellis Gallery.
The Gallery is located in Comox at 1729 Comox Avenue, the site
of the Old Library, and is open from 10 to 4 Tuesday through
Saturday and from 1 to 4 on Sunday. Admission is free. For
further information, call the Gallery at (250) 339-2822 or visit
our website at
www.pearlellisgallery.com
Back to Top
Back to Home Page
