Prepare to enter a garden of whimsy and colour when Lavington artist Nancy Vince shows her first solo exhibition at The Village Gallery in Lumby.
Entitled Happy Art - Finding Your Zen, the exhibition will be shown during the months of March and April.
It was only a few years ago that Vince began creating her colourful, whimsical illustrations, which she calls happy art.
“After a health scare, a class in Zen doodling at the Vernon Community Arts Centre had me discovering a whole new world of meditative art,” said Vince. “I found the freedom to create playful images that made me feel good. Seeing smiles on people’s faces kept me going back to the drawing board.”
Vince attributes her subject matter to a love of gardening, fairy tales and folk stories.
Retirement brought Vince and her husband, Al, to the Vernon area, and it was here where she started creating her art. Her bold and bright illustrations are not your typical landscapes. Her imagination flows onto the paper, where giant flowers grow and birds fly freely through the sky.
“I have fun hiding critters into my illustrations. I want the viewer to look for things beyond what is plainly visible. It adds to the whimsy,” said Vince.
Vince has displayed her work in a number of group shows at the Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon Community Art Centre and the Ribbon Show at the Armstrong Spallumcheen Art Gallery, where she received second place for people’s choice on one of her pieces.
Vince has a busy year ahead. Her original art will be featured at Nadine’s Fine Art in Vernon during the month of May and she will also have a solo show at the Armstrong Spallumcheen Art Gallery in September.
“The Village Gallery exhibition will be first time I show a large body of my work,” said Vince. “It’s exciting to have this work up for the public to see. I hope to see smiles on people’s faces when they look at the work and maybe they will see something unexpected.”
Vince’s work is available for viewing at The Village Gallery, 1975 Vernon St., Lumby. In addition to Vince’s work, the gallery has a number of member artists and artisans selling their work.
Hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vince is at the gallery on most Monday afternoons and is happy to show how she creates her happy art.
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