Brush shoulders with local artists at the 12th annual Bowker Creek Brush Up to cap Oak Bay’s Arts and Culture Festival.
“It’s a fun way to be with a group of artists,” said Terry McBride, who participates in her second Brush Up this year. “It’s great meeting with the public and talking about art and painting.”
The Oak Bay Community Artists Society member has lived here 15 years and works primarily in acrylics and watercolours. The University of Victoria graduate holds a BA in History in Art as well as education at Victoria College of art and a number of college and galleries in Ontario.
For her, art is about visual perception and she prefers to interpret it in the landscape. She loves to capture landscapes and paint en plein air. “I like painting from real things rather than photographs,” she said.
McBride finds the mingling crowds at the Bowker Creek Brush Up similar to the spring and fall studio tours she also participates in.
“When you have your work in a show you don’t often get to talk to people,” she said. On Sunday, Aug. 14 more than 40 artists will display and sell their art at the event along Bowker Creek between Oak Bay High school and Hampshire Road. Garnering feedback and fielding questions is part of the fun, McBride says, adding she gets little painting done with all the socializing.
“The day goes pretty fast,” the Oak Bay artist said. “I demo painting but it’s hard to get much done because you get to talking with people.”
The free event offers live music by Two Among Friends, a barbecue fundraiser for Woodwynn Farms and the varied Oak Bay artists alongside a selection of invited artists as well as youth.
Oak Bay Community Artists Society brings its Bowker Creek Brush Up art show and sale 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 14.