ABOUT ART – By Janice Guinan: The beauty of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

Published on February 09, 2016

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and what could be more meaningful than acquiring an original piece of artwork for that special someone or sharing the joy of picking one out together?

Virginia Houston's ‘Inspired Light' will be on display at the Edinburgh Art Gallery, located on the lower level of Edinburgh Hall at Parkland Estates in Truro. The exhibit, called "Newfoundland and Nova Scotia Perspectives," runs until March 2.

There are a number of galleries in town to purchase original art such as the Marigold Cultural Centre's MacLellan and Moffatt Financial Gallery, Visual Voice Fine Art, Thrown Together Pottery & Art, and the Corridor Gallery at the Colchester East Hants Health Centre. A number of art exhibitions are also opening this week such as "Chocolate" at the McCarthy Gallery on Friday at 7 p.m., and Swoon Fine Art has a show of paintings at NovelTea. Each of these venues offers an opportunity to personally select a rare gift that will generate romantic memories for a lifetime.

Another local gallery where a lifetime of memories and an appreciation for art is evident is the Edinburgh Art Gallery, located on the lower level of Edinburgh Hall at Parkland Estates, 356 Young St., in Truro. This gallery is open, welcoming and bright, offering a number of ongoing solo and group exhibitions throughout the year. An art exhibition featuring paintings by Virginia Houston, titled "Newfoundland and Nova Scotia Perspectives" is now on display until March 2. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, Feb. 11, 7-9 p.m.

Houston's work has been presented through group and juried art shows, as well as many solo exhibitions for more than 35 years in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. She is well known for her realistic style and her paintings have received wide acclaim. This exhibit features scenes of the Atlantic region through the use of acrylics, oils and watercolours in a variety of sizes. Included are landscapes, seascapes, lighthouses, churches, as well as sunsets in the coves and villages of her native Newfoundland and adopted provinces. They are intended to transport the viewers into another time and place and to pique their imagination. Additionally, these paintings are meant to help us remember and rediscover our own past, and to remind us that we all live in a spiritual and emotional landscape, as well as a physical one.

Art gives Houston an opportunity to express herself, and communicate with others by drawing on her own emotions, thoughts and experiences. Her purpose, through this exhibit, is to facilitate social interaction among the residents and visitors through reflection and discourse and, perhaps, to see the world as she has.

"I hope the viewer can slip into the scene and sense the surroundings: enjoy caribou on the barrens; see cattle returning for an evening meal; taste the salt air; rekindle memories of a school once attended; or contemplate the majesty in the change of the seasons," commented Houston. "This exhibit will be an opportunity for each person to surround themselves with the beauty and emotion that art is meant to evoke.”
She sincerely hopes both the residents of Parkland and visitors will have an opportunity to experience the excitement of a lively conversation about art, to stimulate their minds, and lift their spirits.