By Gillian Brunette
Huntsville’s downtown will take on the air of Quebec City’s Old Quebec Lane, when 25 artists (plus some artists-in-training) set up their easels on July 30, to paint whatever tickles their fancy.
The finished masterpieces will then be auctioned off from the town hall steps at 3 p.m. that afternoon. Sponsored by Kelly Holinshead, the Shutterbug Gallery and the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, en Plein Air painting and auction is a new, totally unique idea to raise money for an art bursary(ies) for local students pursuing a fine arts post-secondary education.
GREAT PAINTS: Some of the artists participating in en Plein Air on July 30 gather on the steps of town hall. From left, front, Gerry Lantaigne, Sharon Stock Feren and Jennifer Pimentel. At back, from left, Kelly Holinshead, Johanne Stewart, Huntsville mayor Claude Doughty and Catherine O'Mara.
The participating artists will set up their easels at 10 a.m. on Main Street or in River Mill Park, having been supplied with a stretched 16 x 20-inch canvas and a box of acrylic paints in red, blue, yellow, black and white. They will then use their imagination and talent to produce a completed painting by 2 p.m.
“They can paint whatever they want, a self portrait, from a photograph, from memory or what they see around them,” Holinshead said.
Once finished, the paintings will be displayed on the town hall steps for the public to view prior to the auction. To entertain the prospective buyers, music will be provided by guitarists/vocalists David Crombie, Luc Pattison and Luke Pombiere.
Promptly at 3 p.m., arts patrons, the public at large and anyone looking for an original piece to hang on their walls, will have an opportunity to bid and possibly obtain the painting of their choice. With actor/comedian James Carroll conducting the proceedings, the auction promises to be a lively and entertaining affair.
Some of the artists who are taking part are Wendy Moses, Catherine O’Mara, Sara Hall, Helena Renwick, Johanne Stewart, Sharon Stock Feren and muralist Gerry Lantaigne. Artists-in-training include mayor Claude Doughty and councillors Fran Coleman and Mary Jane Fletcher.
Doughty, a former dentist, is not much known for his artistic endeavours, although he does confess to having an architectural eye. “When I was eight, I was given a Jon Nagy learn-to-draw kit and I had it licked by noon. That was the last time I did anything that wasn’t a building,” he said. “Then, when I was 16, I didn’t know if I was going to be a dentist or an architect. The guy next door was a dentist and had a nice car and that cemented my decision.”
Lantaigne has been busy of late with Group of Seven mural renderings but said he will probably choose a building to paint, such as the Shutterbug Gallery, which is one of his favourite buildings in town. “When I paint, I’m usually done in two hours but, with four hours, I can really spend some time on it.”
With the other participants still mulling over their options, Doughty said he has to first get the hang of mixing paints. “Can we have a Coles' Notes colour chart?” he asked of Holinshead.
