Watercolours don't have an easy-going temperament.
They need a plan, careful forethought, before spreading themselves thin on paper, Squamish graphic designer Rich Rawling says.
"Watercolour has a tendency to get out of control, so the initial phases of my work involves careful planning," he said in a statement issued for the latest exhibit on display by the arts group Visuals. "Subject selection, the accentuation of geometric pattern and the sensitive arrangement of light and dark, I think, are the keys to a solid painting."
Three layers of the soft paint is all it takes. A fourth and you've gone too far, Rawling says.
"The light-and-airy feeling that I strive for has emerged from years of muddy mistakes."
The Fine Arts graduate from the University of Waterloo focuses on landscapes throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor. He draws from scenery along Vancouver's waterfront and bike tours in Europe, Asia and Africa. Having shared his work with West Vancouver in an exhibit at the Ferry Building Gallery, Rawling is putting his pieces on display at the Squamish Adventure Centre until April 7.
Rawling's paintings are accompanied by wire-and-paper creations from illustrator Kim Smerek and oil and acrylic pieces by painter Barbara Stover. Besides writing and illustrating three children's books, Smerek's mural paintings can been seen in at the Brennan Park Recreation Centre.
"I always see the blank page, the materials as a puzzle it allow the medium and the stories that are generated by the medium to take the piece where it needs to go," she says.
Stover's interest in art piqued as a teenager when she helped paint scenery for her high school play. She's been a part of the Juan de Fuca Guild and various art organizations in West Vancouver and the Sea to Sky Corridor.
