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Okanagan artists ‘give voice to paint’ with upcoming Kelowna art show

Six artists will present their Art Warehouse event May 28-29

Between James Postill and five of his fellow Okanagan artists, there’s enough creativity to fill a warehouse. And they’re doing just that.

Postill, along with professional artists Kathy Hale, Barb Hanington, Diana Palmer, Rod McAuley and Karen Rempel, will be hosting the Art Warehouse event in Kelowna at 2600 Acland Road No. 8, from May 28 to 29.

Guests are invited to come browse or purchase original works of art, with a chance to meet the artists and enjoy live music and refreshments.

“It’s an incredible honor to be part of a show with such high caliber artists. I feel like I’ve joined a super-group,” Postill said. “Now that we can have art venues again, I’m really looking forward to seeing what the public response will be to this richly diverse body of artwork that will available for sale.”

The show’s tagline is “professional artists giving voice to paint,” and each artist has their own unique voice to express.

“This event is especially exciting for me as I am showing new work that is more expressionist in style, falling somewhere between representational and abstraction,” said Hale. “I am really pleased to be showing with such a talented group of professional artists.”

Palmer will be bringing her Glass Landscapes series to the event.

The wine glasses she depicts have clear ties to the Okanagan Valley, “but more importantly they symbolize the ‘fragility’ of the landscapes reflected within,” she said. “Everyone knows that a wine glass must be handled with care as it is easy to break. I would like people to think of our environment in the same way so that our fragile landscapes will be respected and preserved for future generations.”

Nearly all of the artists are members of the Federation of Canadian Artists and will be putting decades of painting experience on display.

“I have been painting landscapes for over 30 years and am thrilled to participate in this warehouse event,” said McAuley, an active member of the federation and and a past president of the Central Okanagan Chapter.

Postill, who’s been a member of the federation for 12 years, recently got some exciting news. He was one of very few artists to be promoted from “active artist” status to “senior” status, jumping up two levels within the federation at once.

His most recent series uses an airbrush technique to create scenes abstracted by water-like patterns — the kind of light distortions seen when looking through a window on a rainy day.

He remembers driving around backcountry roads looking for subject matter during rainfall, and suddenly seeing the view through his windshield afresh.

“Suddenly I really saw it for the first time. I saw rivulets of water coming down and splitting colours in the background into different slices of colour — a pine tree became abstract rivers of greens and oranges, and I just saw how it affected objects and light. Suddenly a light turned on.”

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Guests will be able to enter a free draw to win an original painting.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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