The Quesnel Art Gallery opened its August exhibit "Five Explore Our Cariboo" Thursday evening, Aug. 1. The gallery was packed with people who came to enjoy the work of the five Quesnel-based artists as a harp played to set the atmosphere. There are a total of 43 pieces of art in the exhibit by the five artists.
The exhibit's artists are Maureen Wheeler, Fred Paulson, Megan Long, Heather E.S Armstrong and Keith Prestone.
"Keith Prestone, he came up with the idea, pitched it to the rest of us quite awhile back and we all jumped on board," Paulson said.
"Natural Chaos is one of my most current pieces. It came about when I was walking in West Fraser Timber Park in town," he said. "We walked that trail quite often and it was the first time I happened to look up and notice that tree and it's such a massive presence with the bright blue sky behind it and the contrast. It just all kind of spoke to me."
Paulson has been creating art since he was a child, it started with his dad creating stick figure drawings of cows and a simple barn for him. He began art lessons in grade three and went onto Emily Carr College of Art and Design.
The exhibit is filled with scenes, animals and stories the artists have seen throughout the Cariboo.
Maureen Wheeler's "Escape" tells the story of a grizzly bear in forest fire season. She said a grizzly came into her yard for the first time since she has lived there last year and said it was because of the drought and fires that drove the bear towards town.
"The story is the fire's coming and a raven comes and talks to the grizzly," Wheeler said. "And shows them the way out of the dangers around them."
She said the group is made up a diversity of styles and takes on the idea of exploring the Cariboo and that's part of what makes the exhibit so exciting. All of the artists in the exhibit are members of the Federation of Canadian Artists' Central Interior chapter. Wheeler said the group meets on zoom and try to get together in person to discuss and create art together.
Outside of the exhibit is a slideshow by the artists showing their processes for creating their works of art and the amount of thought and detail that goes into each step.
The exhibit will be in the Quesnel Art Gallery at the Arts and Recreation Centre until Aug. 29. The gallery's next exhibit will be "Barkerville Series" by Cecile Allen. It will open Sept. 17.
