Summer Voyage Reception

The "Summer Voyage" reception went beautifully well!
The turnout was great, just as we had supposed.
Each of the artists chatted with locals, fans and employees of the gallery.
Brant's wife supplied the h'orderves while his daughter tended bar.

I have to say, I was a little nervous for my first reception as gallery administrator.
I was not exactly sure of my duties, what I was supposed to say or with whom I was supposed to interact.
However, all of my worries melted away when I began to realize how welcoming and warm the crowd at the reception was. Each person was willing to talk, strike up a discussion about the paintings, the artist, or about anything that they could think of.
It was a wonderful first experience.

Paulette is a beautiful woman from Montreal (though she was born in Ontario). My fiance and I chatted with her about her painting, "Our Lady of the Harbour" and the significance of the statue that is portrayed in this image. She kindly explained how the statue faces the port in order to welcome the sailors back home, as well as give them luck on their way out to sea. A very interesting fact I would never have been aware of otherwise.

Our Lady of the Harbour by Paulette Sauve

Bert Henderson seemed to enjoy himself as well. Even though I had only met him once before, he seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits. For he was consistently surrounded by women friends and fans alike. The work we displayed of Bert's had been dominantly based in Newfoundland so needless to say it struck a few nostalgic conversations between the onlookers.

Boats at Wharfs, Port Dover by Bert Henderson

Robert Blenderman was one artist I had not had the priveledge of meeting before the exhibit. But I must admit, he is a wonderful and humorus man. Robert actually prefers to go by the name, "Bob", which gives me a further impression of his light-hearted personality. My fiance was given the chance to speak in depth with him about a love they both shared - sailing. While I could only relate to his art, I must say he is a passionate man and very proud of what he does. He explained how details such as "splatter" marks were done at the very end of each painting, and is done in order to depict his excitement in regards to the subject and also the piece itself.

Young Sailors by Robert Blenderman

Last, but certainly not least, I must mention our artist Ed Cronk.
As of late, Ed had been feeling quite ill. Having frequent scares with his health and trips to the hospital, he was finally diagnosed with pneumonia. Pneumonia is a serious illness for any person to have, and has the ability to keep an individual bed-ridden for weeks. After the diagnosis, I felt it necessary to ask Ed if he would still be able to attend our reception. Without a single moment of pause, his immediate reply was, "But, of course Brittany". He was the first to arrive, and the last to leave - an obvious sign of time well spent. The crowd was astounded by Cronk's works which are a display of perfectly manipulated watercolour. I can't say I recall ever having witnessed a use of this media that is equal to Ed's ability.

The Lone Gull by Ed Cronk

All in all, it was an exceptional night which only left me feeling more excited about the gallery, the artists and the Summer Voyage exhibit.
It also left me with strong anticipation of preparing for our next exhibits, getting to know all of our artists a little bit better, and discovering new and exciting artists to display their work here.

The Summer Voyage exhibit will be on display here until September 26, 2009. So please, you won't regret it if you stop by, but you might if you miss your chance to see the beautiful work here by Ed, Bob, Paulette and Bert.

Gallery ArtPlus is located at 54 North Front st. in Belleville, Ontario.
Contact me personally with any questions or comments:
Brittany.knapp@galleryartplus.com
613-961-1977 ext. 231

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