When Cher Van Overbeke and Estée Sylvester are out wandering in the natural world, they take watercolours and pencils.
Sometimes the sketches they bring home turn into paintings, some are saved for later.
The duo’s show Wonder Wander is in the main gallery at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre until July 30. Some they created together, others they did on their own, but the room is full of their brightly coloured interpretations of the surrounding environment.
“We don’t like things to look perfect,” said Van Overbeke in the artist video. Their style is more gestural, and wild, the peaks and animals do not look like photographs.
LAST MONTH: Art for everyone: Variety of artists currently at Revelstoke gallery show
Their work is a striking contrast to the three photographers who are featured in the adjoining galleries.
Bill Fell’s exhibition called Water… An Essential Element features black and white photographs of water and the objects, such as driftwood and shells, it manipulates.
“By observing and incorporating the different qualities of the available light, as well as the shadows and visible contrasts, a ‘light drawing’ can be created that best illustrates the ‘essential elements’ of the selected subject,” said Fell in his Artist statement.
Fell produced each of the photos using traditional film/darkroom processing techniques. He then framed them himself.
Maja Swannie Jacob’s project, Inner Light, is a series of portraits printed on transparent film. She said she chose the subjects very specifically, having shared important moments with each of the women.
The transparent film is more forgiving and was intended to create a sense of connection and community.
Swannie Jacob is a self-described “people photographer” and her goal is always to capture the spark of aliveness that everyone has. Each photograph was made using a shallow depth of field, with the focus on the eyes.
“It feels like you are in the room with these people,” she said.
The fourth exhibition is by Matt Timmins, called Kootenay Civil Twilight.
Each of the photographs were made during the fleeting moments of Civil Twilight, which is when the sun is six degrees below the horizon in the morning or evening. It lasts only a few minutes twice a day.
“It’s a combination of trial and error and planning,” Timmins said in an email. “I’m often making notes when I see a nice scene but don’t have my camera ready. Sometimes I’m able to come back the next day, other times I make a note and come back the same date the next year when it’s things like a full moon setting or a sunrise, and I know it’s got to be in that exact spot. Other times I just keep an eye on the sun and moon rise and set times and head out hoping for the best.”
The Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre is open Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
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