We are so excited about our May showings. We have our front and back galleries and in each one of them, there is an amazing sight to behold. Please join us in welcoming Laurie Rae Baxter and Dianne Ostoich.
Laurie Rae Baxter has her photography series called Havana Angels. The sepia photographs of the stone statuary are absolutely stunning. It is the first time she is showing her Havana Angels series and we are so privileged.
All prints are sold unframed. They are digital inkjet prints made on archivel German Rag Paper. And a book is in the gallery for your convenience and information. Sit down in the Venus Sophia Tea Room Gallery area, enjoy a nice pot of tea and enjoy gazing into this exquisite work of art.
Laurie Rae Baxter is a professor at the University of Victoria and lives in North Saanich, BC where her Dolphin Road Studio is located.
Dianne Ostoich has her show in the back gallery which we call The Forests of Light. All pieces are for sale and take you to a place that allows you to experience the true spirit of the West Coast rainforests.
Dianne was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, in the lap of those rainforests. Her beginning years were spent exploring the myriad paths winding through the woods where she developed a strong love of trees. That love radiates from her work. Dianne, who studied at Langara College, Vancouver School of Art and University of BC, works with oil paints on canvas and with oil pastels on rag paper. She likes to paint large canvases reflecting the size of her subject matter, but she also paints vignettes which are still able to evoke the majesty of the forest. Dianne paints the serenity and peacefulness that nature offers us. She invites the viewer into the canvas to walk down the pathways. She likes especially the play of light and dark, sunlight and shadow. As you stroll down the paths of her work you feel the heat of the sun and the coolness of the shadows. Shafts of sunlight filter through dense groves of evergreens. The dance of dappled light and deep shadows creates an almost abstract pattern.
Dianne has been involved with the art world for the past thirty years. In the mid seventies, she co-founded Crown Lithographic Printers in Vancouver which was a custom printing house dedicated to producing high quality hand-pulled original lithographs. Working in close collaboration with such artists as Jack Shadbolt, Leslie Poole, Takao Tanabe and the Haida artist Bill Reid, to name but a few, was a wonderful experience giving insight as to how each individual artist approached their art.
In the mid-eighties, she opened a gallery in conjunction with the print shop featuring local artists as well as her own work. After running the gallery for 15 years, he demand of her work made it difficult to manage both. Now, she happily concentrates solely on her painting.
Her works are in many private and corporate collections as well as permanent collections in universities and public museums.
We look forward to seeing you in the Gallery and Tea Room.
