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Visitors invited to meet artists in hotel program

Avis Rasmussen is the July installation of the Artists in Residence program where artists occupy hotels in Victoria, Oak Bay and Sidney
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Oak Bay artist Avis Rasmussen will paint on-site most days during July at Oak Bay Beach Hotel.

The commute to work is a little longer these days for Avis Rasmussen. The Oak Bay artist hops a bus for the first bit then finishes with an amble up Margate Avenue to get to her artist in residence gig this month at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel.

“It’s fun, it’s really fun,” she says, working on a watercolour in a sunroom adjacent to the David Foster Foundation Theatre. “A lot of local people come and sit and have coffee.”

Rasmussen tends to vacate the space when summer movie night crowds descend on the venue and on the sunny, still days she’s found out in the gardens and terraces painting en plein air.

“When I was a kid I did plein air in my dad’s garden. I never even thought about it,” she says.

Rasmussen is the July installation of the Artists in Residence program where artists occupy hotel lobbies in Victoria, Oak Bay and Sidney, showcasing their works and interacting with hotel guests and the public.

The hotel territory isn’t unfamiliar for Rasmussen who loves the landscapes offered by the waterfront site and clearly it’s not far from home. When the hotel opened, guest rooms featured 60 of her works. The artist and printmaker also does studio work. She garnered her Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction in painting in 1979 and her Masters in Art Education in 1982. If you stop by for a visit, Rasmussen still loves to tell the tales of inspiring her young pupils and how their freedom of expression inspired her.

Visit between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Nancy Slaght is slated for residence at Oak Bay Beach Hotel in August and E. Colin Williams appears in September.

 

Visit artishowvictoria.ca for a list of venues and artists. Get a taste of Rasmussen’s work at winchestergalleriesltd.com.