The Power of Place, an regional exhibit brought to you by VANS

March Wharf I, 10 x 14 ", watercolour, 2009. $425

Low Tide, High Pilings, 14 x 21", watercolour, 2009. $625

VANS is Visual Arts Nova Scotia and offers exhibits of works by its members, selected by region. This exhibit is from the Southwest regional members, myself included. These are the paintings I am displaying, as they show what identifies Digby to me.

March Wharf shows (what else but!) the wharf, home of the world's largest scallop fleet, with some of that fleet moored in its shelter on a calm March evening. Also the O'Neill's building is the fish plant in town that processes much of the catch. This view is iconic of Digby, as it is what one sees when one drives down the main street.

Low Tide, High Pilings shows the tides for which the Bay of Fundy is famous. I am always amazed when I travel and see the downright puny tides elsewhere. I grew up on the Bay of Fundy and when someone says "tide" I instinctively expect a signifigant drop in the waterlevel. So when I think of home, I think of an ocean that goes up and down, way way down! This painting shows the water at about half tide, but what interested me to paint it was the way that the dark shaded water in the reflections of the piers let me look below the surface of the water. The rest of the water reflects the sky. I found the contrast fascinating. I hope that you do, too!

Silly me, I have written so much about the paintings themselves I almost forgot to tell you where to go see them! The exhibit will be at the Digby Branch of the Western Counties Regional Library on Warwick St in Digby, from May 5 (informal opening at 2 pm) to May 29. After that it will be in Yarmouth for the month of June. (Yarmouth County Museum and Archives, June 2-26, Wine and cheese opening Saturday, June 5 at 2 pm)