Image by Judith Copland
Life drawing exhibit at Amelia Douglas Gallery
By Cheryl Minns, Arts Editor
A selection of artwork from New Westminster’s Heritage Life Drawing Society will be on display in the latest Amelia Douglas Gallery show, Gestures. From August 8 to September 5, the show features a variety of works that showcase the human form from seven local artists: Judith Copland, Dale Costanzo, Dorothy Doherty, Ted Mason, Terry Rammell, and Gillian Wright.
Rammell describes Gestures as a way for viewers to explore the process that artists go through in creating a life drawing, including artwork in the show that varies from basic sketches to finished masterpieces.
“We have all different levels, all different mediums. People come from every walk of life to it with all different experiences. It’s kind of our little journey on the way to do something wonderful and exciting,” she told the Other Press.
Copland admits that life drawing can be more difficult than other art forms but also more rewarding.
“Figure work is one of the most challenging. I am exhausted after a three-hour session of seeing, thinking, and executing the poses,” she wrote to the Other Press.
Nonetheless, “the world would be a less interesting place if we did not have the scores of portraits and figurative works to look back on. It shows us a bit more of ourselves,” wrote Copland, who has artwork in the show from her early watercolour works in 1997 to her latest oil painting done this spring.
As part of the New West Cultural Crawl, Gestures will feature a live model on August 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for guests to try their hand at figure drawing. Art supplies are available for guests’ use, provided by Opus Framing and Art Supplies.
Join the artists for a free talk on the works featured in Gestures and the show’s closing reception on September 5 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Amelia Douglas Gallery at the Douglas College New Westminster campus.
The Heritage Life Drawing Society meets every Thursday evening from 5:45 to 8:45 p.m. at CG Masters Animation School in the 8th Street SkyTrain building (320-800 Carnarvon Street). The group offers a variety of models and poses for artists to draw, and no previous art experience is required to participate in a session. Check out the website for more information at heritagelifedrawing.com
