Bi Yuan Cheng is a seeker of the truth. Not truth in facts, but in feeling; not in evidence, but in experience. His pursuit as an artist is to convey the world as he sees it and share its impact with the viewer, to impart the sense of wonder it brings to him. “I always think if you do art, it has to come from your heart, from your inside world. That makes it really true,” he says. He was an artist from day one. Born in 1957 in Jinan, China, as a boy of six, Bi could often be found sitting at the side of the road with pencil and paper, sketching the passing cars or bicycles. “It just came naturally,”...
For 15 years, The Avenue Gallery has been in the midst of Oak Bay Village, attracting passersby with striking art works in its show window. This week, I dropped by for a visit with owner Heather Wheeler to talk about the past, present and future of one of Victoria’s premier galleries. Wheeler told me she grew up in a household where her mother was very creative, but Wheeler approached the world with a head for business. Beginning in the 1980s, she worked for Peter Dorazio, an entrepreneur who dominated the tourist shops on lower Government Street. At first, she was retail manager for his art shops:...
We are honoured to welcome Maria Josenhans to the gallery! Her impressionist seascapes beautifully capture the moodiness of our mist-laden shorelines. Fresh inspirations from our jewellers and painters, as well! Are you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest? Be sure to follow us for updates on new arrivals! Pictured at right: Dinghy at Low Tide by Maria Josenhans, oil on canvas, 24 x 36 Included in this Newsletter… Maria Josenhans Eunmi Conacher Gordon Scott MARIA JOSENHANS Quintessence Oil on canvas 24 x 30 $2900 Maria Josenhans has been practicing art for more than three...
Bruce Edmundson’s elegant wood sculptures begin as bumps on a log, aka burls, so when he learns I’ve got a felled, super bumpy big leaf maple tree at my place, he’s happy to take a look. He’s brought along his friend Kent Mjolness, and they eagerly circle the massive, hollow trunk sections. There are plenty of visible burls, which are actually rounded growths formed when a tree is under stress from an injury, virus or fungus. I tell them I considered turning the maple into firewood. I detect some shudders. Burl wood has unusual texture, colour and figure (or appearance). Birdseye, resembling tiny...
When it comes to the rationale for buying art, perhaps no one said it better than designer, socialite, author and art collector Gloria Vanderbilt: “Art brings a message into a room. It should make us perceive in a new way – either through colour, form or narrative content – something we had not perceived before … and perhaps reveal something to you about yourself.” Heather Wheeler, owner of The Avenue Gallery, does home consultations twice a week to give clients guidelines for their search, and her gallery allows clients to take pieces home for a few days on approval....
