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January 5th to February 20th, 2006

Jamieson uses vivid paintings and the patient process of shaping concrete to express ideas in ways that are "satisfying and illuminating for myself and for others. I brainstorm through drawings and paintings to develop compelling motifs then translate them into three dimensions, using whatever materials and techniques will best realize the idea and create the artwork in its most appropriate scale. My current interest is in exploring the almost limitless potential of concrete to construct durable yet evocative forms that can withstand the rigors of the public realm. I like to produce artwork that can be appreciated by anyone.”
Marion Lea Jamieson's works have been exhibited across Canada and the U.S.

This exhibition was made possible by Members of the Gallery and the generous financial support of Teryl Mullock Architect Ltd.

Melissa Dipietro: An Exhibiton and Work in Progress
February 23rd to April 10th, 2006

A work in progress
Saturday afternoons between 2 and 4 pm during the exhibition you're invited to come to the Gallery and watch Dipietro as she creates Spirit of the Game – a 60x40” abstract & form work celebrating soccer

The artist
“I began painting by accident,” says Melissa Dipietro.

Twenty years ago Dipietro was working as a model in Florence, Italy.
As she ran down a path in a Tuscan vineyard she twisted and tore the ligaments in her ankle.

Apartment-bound, Dipietro found herself unable to escape watching her artist roommate paint abstracts. To her surprise, she had found her passion and so enchanted was she with the colourful enamels that Dipietro still uses the vibrant enamels in her own abstracts.

In 1986 Dipietro returned to Canada. She enrolled in the Alberta College of Art.
Four years later, back in B.C. she enrolled in Emily Carr leaving a short time later with the blessing of her counsellor who said, “Go home and paint. You have your style!”

Painting, and raising her two children, is exactly what Melissa Dipietro has been doing since 1992 when she made herself at home in Roberts Creek.

Art as Meditation: the artist's statement
I think I come from a place where color is alive.
And when I left that world to come here, to school,
Color followed me.
And I see it in my dreams
Crazy combos dancing on white
And back when, I too, was more alive
I could
Make it come alive here
In this dimension
I used to put a finished painting where
It would be the first thing I saw
When I woke up
The absolute first and
In the moment before thoughts began there thinking
Before they punched the clock and began heir day
In that moment
I would see the life
For the split second
Life-deconstructed-primordial
Alive
In colour
As colour
Scintillating

There are few verbs I’ve mastered in this incarnation but to me, painting is one of them. Not because therein lies perfection, or attainment or a better-than-anyone but because I do it for love, for fun and I let God do its thing. I am a layer being, this is a layered reality and my work is a layered experience that I hope you enjoy. - m dipietro

This exhibition was made possible by GPAG members and the generous financial support of Dakota Window Corporation, Harbour Self Storage and Sunshine Coast Container Rentals & Sales

Helen Broadfoot: A Show of Respect
April 13th to May 29th, 2006

Helen Broadfoot's "A Show of Respect" was an evocative collection of ten poignantly beautiful oil paintings depicting the effects of war on children.

Children of many countries including Darfur, Ireland, Nigeria, and Uganda are pictured in the impressively large oil on canvas paintings.

An article from "The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights" is painted on each canvas in the language of the child depicted. Accompanying each painting is an English translation of the article and, in the artist's own words, the story of her inspiration for the image.

Broadfoot donates a percentage of proceeds from the sale of giclees and art quality cards of the images to Doctors Without Borders.

This exhibition was made possible by Members of the Gallery and the generous financial support of the doctors of The Gibsons Medical Clinic.

Sherry Cooper and Una Bachinski: Terra Incognita
June 1st to July 17th, 2006

Sherry Cooper and Una Bachinski are landscape painters. In this exhibition we were invited to explore the artists' interpretations of landscape expressed in diverse mediums and from different perspectives.

Cooper is a landscape painter inspired by the natural world. This exhibition takes her away from her usual approaches to landscape to explore more abstract interpretations - allusions rather than replications of nature.

Working with mixed media on wood panel, illustration board and yuppo plastic paper, Cooper begins with freely applied water based gouache. The surface is altered with water after it has dried and the paint is removed by blotting. Removing the paint is done with a variety of tools. When the initial composition is established, layers of glazes are applied with acrylic paint.

Her intention is to paint spontaneously relating colour to colour, shape to shape with accents of playful texture and intuitive gestural line. Censoring, judging and interpreting is held to a minimum. This spontaneity is a very difficult change of direction for her. “At a certain point," says Cooper, "I come up for air and I pause and reflect and give my work another 10% of my time to draw in stray elements, accentuate a line, or enhance a colour.”

Una Bachinski is a mixed media artist working on paper, panels, and recycled objects such as bike seats and cupboard doors. Her work ranges in size from very tiny (3" x 4") to quite large (3' x 6'). There are three basic veins to her practice: figurative , portrait/self-portrait, and in more recent years, the landscape of the soul.

Bachinski incorporates her own photography as well, using older cameras such as Polaroid and Yashica twin lens.

"In the next step of my artistic evolution I am combining all of these techniques as well as exploring more nebulous, abstract expression. In addition, I am very excited to experiment with portrait work that encompasses my astrological practice, creating works that reveal the Divine Blueprint of a person."

This exhibition was made possible by Members of the Gallery and the generous financial support of an anonymous donor.

Water is the Best of All Things
July 20th to September 4th, 2006

An exhibition with a theme that evokes a gloriously disparate range of images: WATER - sail on it, bathe in it, drink it ...

Laurie Rolland and Susan Hubele: A Natural Progression
September 7th to October 23rd, 2006

Laurie's clay vessels and Susan’s mixed media paintings have to do with the order of nature, in both inspiration and progression. The artists and their art are connected by ties of consanguinity: ‘a relationship having natural origin and exhibiting common characteristics.’

“We share influences of nature around us. We share the attitude of seeking excellence. We share the attitude of discovery. Our creative ideas often come from the work itself, from ‘thinking through hands’.”

A natural progression evolves from the steady application of creative focus: working towards a goal - not necessarily reaching an end, but a point along a journey, a continuum, a progression.

The splendid natural environment of the Sunshine Coast inspires each artist. Often idea development happens because of a process and a way of working. In creating a series over time, working through an idea, other ideas evolve naturally.

A natural progression, then, is multilevel, with a commonality between the two artists and their art, and a natural progression of their friendship.

Member Artist Exhibition
October 26th to December 11th, 2006

The year was wrapped up with an exhibition that was open to every GPAG member artist. Our Member Artists' exhibitions have proven to be wonderfully diverse and engaging. An opportunity to view works by both well-known and emerging artists.