Patterns & Petals featured a trio of painters from the Georgian Bay area that have a love and passion for the floral abstract patterns: Sandra Whitehead, Shirra Benson and Judith Moore.
Judith Moore has been painting seriously since she moved to Thornbury 13 years ago. Before this, she was a teacher and professional potter and indulged in textiles and silversmithing. She has a passion for flowers as a subject matter, and her landscapes have now become much more abstract. Judith loves colour and rarely uses a subdued palette. She experiments continuously, day-by-day with the use of wax and oil paints to create her beautiful work.
Sandra Whitehead serves on the Blue Mountains Public Library’s Arts and Culture Council. She began to paint years ago as a way to take herself away from a hectic business life. Mixing colours and understanding the colour palette came later. She has now learned to love a big canvas and use an abundance of colour and texture. That is where her heart is these days. She paints with the Marsh Street Artists and feels much more free and comfortable with the process of abstract painting.
Shirra Benson’s paintings combine mixed wet-on-wet techniques with impasto, sgraffito and palette-knife painting, creating uneven tones and questionable abstract forms. Her artwork is very busy in hopes to achieve periods of peace while guiding you away from the current, everyday stressors. Painting has always been an outlet for Shirra and is highly influenced by her ever-changing environment and emotions. Shirra’s paintings start with an idea but are mainly unplanned; she simply lets the brush and energy lead the way.
Together these talented artists will exhibit: Petals and Patterns. A show that reveals vibrant, abstract and colourful paintings - just in time for spring!
