Landscape beauty and human interaction collide for a series of stunning new images in Gillian Redwood’s latest showcase at the Gage Gallery in Oak Bay.
The Ferry is inspired by a long ride down to the Caribbean, and fostered further by two local ferry trips while there.
“In the process of that we really came in contact with the local people who were just going about their everyday lives – going to work, coming back, carrying goods to commercial premises or whatever. There would be a general communal feeling and then thrown into this were us tourists,” she said. “I loved it. … It’s the ferry rides that really make the experience of living on an island really special. Pretty much everybody gets here by ferry.”
Just last week she was further inspired as a foot passenger on a day trip to Vancouver.
“I think everybody who lives on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are just conditioned by the ferries and the experience being on the ferry,” said Redwood, a member of the Gage Gallery Arts Collective. “The sun was going down, the sky was red and the islands were silhouetted against the sky. It was just fantastic, and I think we’re just luck to have these (ferries) available.”
The trips are as much about the travel as the destination, she feels and as an artist sees the visual impact of the elements, the skyline, the water and other things missed by plane or car.
She started this showcase with sketches during a long ferry ride and built on them during shorter trips, adding notes along the way. Those notes and images translate to the show hanging at Gage this week, featuring six large canvasses and several smaller ones, she hopes will draw visitors into the Oak Bay Avenue space.
“People walk by and they just stop by. They see a beautiful painting in the window and they come in. They’re just casual visitors … but they happen to drop by. I really like that about the Gage Gallery,” she said. “As well as the regulars, we get a lot of Oak Bay regulars who come to see the show. We rely on the local people for our gallery and for it being successful.”
The Ferry runs Sept. 19 to Oct. 7. Redwood will be on hand for an artist reception Thursday, Sept. 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Gage Gallery, 2031 Oak Bay Ave.
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