Accolades for local artists

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This article was published 29/08/2016 (3400 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two local artists have earned the recognition of their peers at the Manitoba Society of Artists for creating outstanding work.

Both Shirley Rayner of South Tuxedo and Bonnie Wrighton of Osborne Village were awarded by the society as part of its 84th annual Open Juried Competition and Exhibition.

Rayner, who has been painting with pastels for half a decade, was awarded the Brian J. Hyslop Award for Pastel for her piece, Spring on the Assiniboine.

In memory of Brian Hyslop, a former board member with the society, the award recognizes the skills needed to create a compelling piece of pastel work.

While Rayner has been recognized in the past for her compositions, receiving the Brian Hyslop award holds special significance. As a colleague of Analee Hyslop, Brian’s wife, Rayner was honoured to accept the award.

“I always wanted to win that award because I am a friend of hers,” Rayner said.

Rayner’s Spring on the Assiniboine is in keeping with Hyslop’s preference for landscapes, depicting the spring dawn on the semi-frozen river.

“I went down the very first day of spring, because I decided that’s sort of a special day, and I went down to the footbridge at Assiniboine Park and I spent a lot of time there,” Rayner explained.

As part of her creative process, Rayner studies her subject for two to three hours at a time, often sketching the basics of the painting in watercolour first. She prefers not to work from photographs and contends that nuance in light and shadow just don’t show up in pictures.

“I was really struck by the light (on the Assiniboine) because I was looking down the river so the bank was in shadow. Right across, what ice was still on the river had bright warm light across it,” she said.

Wrighton, a psycvhologist who took up painting after retirement, received the Lynn Sissons Watercolour Award for her work titled Fish Eye.

The award recognizes a work that demonstrates and promotes a traditional use of watercolour in honour of longtime society member Lynn Sissons.

The self-taught artist takes her subjects from photos in magazines, online, and often combines pictures to create a new images. More often than not, her work features portraits of animals in monochromatic tones set against a white background. But for her award-winning piece, she was inspired to be more vibrant.

“I paint anything that feels important to me at the time,” Wrighton explained. “I like subject matter that demonstrates the fundamental awareness of all beings.

“The reason I painted the fish was because I had been painting in subdued colours for two years,” she said. “I was tired of it and I wanted to use intense colour for my own sake.”

Though Wrighton said she was surprised and humbled to win, she is also recognizing that her passion comes through in her work — training or not.

“It takes a while to get used to,” she said. “I was very surprised especially because I haven’t been to art school, but I’ve realized you don’t have to do that.”

Both Wrighton and Rayner’s work will be on display at the Altona Gallery in the Park (in Altona, Man.) until Sept. 25. Entrance is free and hours run Tues. to Sun., 12 to 8 p.m.

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