By now, many people are familiar with the sight of paintings hanging in the foyer of St. Albert Place. Hundreds of schoolchildren representing all grades and schools of the Protestant School Board just finished a two-week exhibit in the same location. Now that they have moved out, the St. Albert Painters’ Guild has moved in for its annual spring show and sale this weekend.
The 50-member-strong collective is one of the standard bearers of the St. Albert Place Visual Arts Council (SAPVAC), one of the greatest yet least talked about cultural components of the city. The city-sponsored non-profit group acts as the liaison between the four guilds (painters, potters, quilters and floral artists) that use the studios in St. Albert Place. The painters’ guild, like the others, provides its members with educational and practical advice and offers opportunities involving workshops, classes and symposiums. In turn it provides a support crew for the studios and its members often help out with the city’s other art projects, programs and festivals.
Celebrated local artist Monk has been a member of the guild for several years now and she’s one of its most vocal spokespeople as well. She already has a busy weekend planned with live art performances at last night’s Guilty Pleasures event for the Canadian Progress Club SILKS service club (Service in Love, Kindness and Strength) and at tonight’s St. Albert Food Bank fundraiser. She said that nothing would stop her from getting in on the action at the guild show as well.
“When I first got involved with them, it was a good way to have a lot of [experienced painters] look at my paintings and say, ‘yes, no, maybe so.’ The critique and the help that way was terrific for me,” she confessed, adding that there’s also a lot of encouragement. “Of course, any time you show there’s a lot of kudos that you get automatically, rather than just being in your studio somewhere and never really knowing. It can be scary for people at first when they’re first putting in their pieces.”
She said that the guild has experienced a growth spurt recently so the public can expect to see a lot of raw talent in the lobby. It’s always an eye-opening experience because there’s always a fresh surprise just waiting to be discovered.
“There are a lot of incredible … professional painters, as well as painters that are beginning. There’s this dichotomy of talent. The prices are excellent. I’m always looking at that saying, ‘Come on! Raise your prices, you guys! You’re giving this stuff away.’ An individual can go to the painters’ guild show, get an original piece of art for a pittance and it’s an excellent, excellent calibre piece of art. Plus, they can — over the years — take a look at how the artist is growing. It’s absolutely amazing to see how various artists progress. I love to see young people, high school students, junior high school students, etc. come to the guild because it is for everybody.”
As an added bonus, Monk said that she would be bringing along her recent tribute piece, Nodar’s Dream, to the show. She created and unveiled it at the Vancouver Olympics after the practice track death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Other exhibiting artists will also be present at various points throughout the weekend.
An annual membership to the St. Albert Painters’ Guild is $35 and meetings are generally held the second Wednesday of every month in the studios in St. Albert Place. Members have regular painting sessions every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon in the same location.
For more information about the show or the guild, email [email protected] or stop by St. Albert Place this weekend.
Buds, Leaves and Trees<br />the St. Albert Painters' Guild Spring Art Show and Sale
Runs until tomorrow<br />Sat. open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.<br />Sun. open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.<br />St. Albert Place<br />5 St. Anne Street
