Exhibit features nature photographs, paintings, and urban garden displays
By Cheryl Minns, Contributor
Greenlinks 2016: Celebrating the Urban Garden explores the beauty of flora and fauna. The Amelia Douglas Gallery exhibit features nature photography by Wendy Schmidt, semi-abstract floral paintings by Lauren Morris, and educational displays by Douglas College’s Institute of Urban Ecology’s UNIBUG (User Network for Insect Biology in the Urban Garden).
Morris’s colourful bouquet paintings made of acrylic on canvas adorn the gallery wall shared with the Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre. The semi-abstract paintings feature bright, blended colours and textured surfaces.
“There’s lots of movement and texture and stuff. It’s kind of like a symphony,” Morris said. “Believe it or not, I have more control painting that way than doing the realistic kind of thing. I can do realism, but I prefer the looseness of this.”
Morris’s paintings in the exhibit are available for sale, ranging in price from $850 for a 30” x 30” painting to $1500 for a 48” x 48”. To see more of Morris’s work, check out her website at LMDesignsStudio.com
Schmidt’s nature photographs feature a variety of wild animals, from tiny creatures like butterflies to larger animals like bears. The photos capture insects, birds, and mammals in their natural habitats finding food, spending time with their young, and enjoying their surroundings.
Schmidt’s 13” x 17” framed photographs in the exhibit are for sale for $80 each. To see more of Schmidt’s work, including her wildlife paintings, check out her website at WendySchmidt.ca
The exhibit’s educational displays by UNIBUG feature information about the Institute of Urban Ecology (IUE), the Sustainable Outreach and Learning Garden at the Douglas College David Lam campus, pollinators, and biological control. The displays include white boards filled with UNIBUG and IUE information and research, photographs of local projects, and more.
UNIBUG will be holding a free forum on March 12 at 10 a.m. in room 2201 at the Douglas College New Westminster campus. The event will feature a panel of urban gardening experts, hands-on activities such as making seed paper, and a reception to celebrate UNIBUG’s fifth birthday in the Amelia Douglas Gallery at 11:30 a.m.
To learn more about UNIBUG and IUE, check out UNIBUG.ca and DouglasCollege.ca/IUE
Greenlinks 2016: Celebrating the Urban Garden will be on display until April 16 in the Amelia Douglas Gallery, located on the fourth floor of the Douglas College New Westminster campus.
