Acrylic painter Bea Gonzalez and precious metal artisan Martin Vseticka present their work at The Foyer Gallery during an opening reception Thursday (Aug. 12) from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Gonzalez's Adventures in Paradise is a vibrant and dramatic collection that draws the viewer into the scene. An avid traveller, Gonzalez describes her creative stimulation.
"This series is inspired by adventures that I have had in our local mountains, the 小蓝视频 Coast, the Grand Canyon, and most recently the Andes mountain villages of Peru. All these places are very picturesque and require some level of adventure to appreciate them more."
Gonzalez, an impressionistic representational artist with a passion for adventure, takes lots of natural environment photos while enjoying and exploring these places and then uses these images to paint from.
Her acrylics have recognizable subject matter painted in what looks like effortless blended strokes without too much detail, creating an easy, casual feel.
Having lived in Sea to Sky country since 1986, Gonzalez acknowledges that she has always been impressed with the local scenery and, still, is very inspired by the beautiful surrounding landscapes.
Gonzalez started practicing art in 2001 when she took lessons in watercolour painting from Lyle MacDonald in Whistler, since then evolving from watercolour to acrylics because she discovered that she was able to get stronger colour and develop more depth in her paintings.
"My drawing has improved over time especially since taking up life drawing practice. I am starting to broaden my subject matter as my drawing improves. I find that adding 'characters' in my paintings brings life to the story."
Some of Gonzalez's paintings might feature thought provoking people, animals or even buildings with distinctive qualities.
"I would like to explore more figure work and also more built-up surfaces. Acrylics offer so many possibilities in textures and layering. It really is a wonderful medium," she said.
Her vivid use of colour and contrast match her vivacious personality vigour for life. Gonzalez feels lucky to live in such a great country and to have so much choice in her destiny.
For more information contact [email protected].
In the cases, this series, The Bait is inspired by Vseticka's passion for fishing and his guiding experiences on beautiful West Coast waters and mountains combined with his love of creating beautiful things with his hands - his passion for shaping precious metals.
His shimmering pieces of art seek to lure a person into being hooked, caught, a visual entrapment.
Vseticka describes his passion for working with nature's purest creations, elements such as gold and silver, to minerals' final evolution like a diamonds.
"We humans are just like fish; our eye is drawn to sparkly, pretty things. We are drawn to the sparkle of light on metal and jewels, to take in their beauty and allure, transforming our draw from the jewelry to the wearer, baiting our desire and adoration."
When Vseticka first began his jewelry apprenticeship eight years ago his goldsmithing master insisted that he specifically work on becoming highly skilled on methods and procedures.
Only after he had mastered these techniques was he supposed to start to create art.
Vseticka admits that it was a good thing that his master went away a lot because that left him in the studio alone, allowing him the freedom to start creating art immediately. One of his first creations was a halibut hook. From there, Vseticka has gone on to create many types of pieces but he is most passionate about engagement and wedding rings including meeting couples to help them design the rings that they will wear for the rest of their lives.
Goldsmithing has been in Vseticka's family for several generations and he says that a beautiful thing about his career is that it makes people happy.
"I love meeting a stranger and right away becoming an intimate part of their secret plan to engage with the person they have decided to spend the rest of their life with; my job being to create the perfect bait to accomplish this secret mission. Becoming engaged is one of those moments in one's life that you never forget. That my creations are a part of this moment is a privilege."
Contact. www.vseticka.com or 604-218-3492.
