Outside the Lines exhibition now on at APFTA

By Chris Drost

A Place for the Arts is currently presenting a group exhibition by members of Outside the Lines in the Annex Gallery at 23 Bridge St. West in Bancroft. The show, featuring the work of six different artists, will be on display from June 1 to 26.
Donna Bolam is a mixed media and abstract expressionist artist who in 2015, transitioned from 35 years as a representational artist. Bolam found abstraction to be a more meaningful way of communicating through her art. Viewers have described Bolam's paintings as exuberant, engaging and provocative storytellings of mystery and intrigue.
“My last painting, and every painting preceding it, has always been my inspiration for starting a painting. I love painting. Like any new relationship, once the conversation between my painting and I begins, I never quite know how it will start and what direction it will take us,” says Bolam.
Another member of Outside the Lines, Theresa Morris, is an abstract painter who is based in the Lakefield area. Her work in the exhibition is in oil/cold wax and acrylic.
Morris is described as an experienced painter who studied art at the Haliburton School of Art and Design and with a variety of other individual artists and artist groups over the years. It is more recently that she became drawn to the challenge of abstract painting. “Abstract painting is an exploration of the formal qualities of painting – colour and shape in particular used to create a visual experience drawing upon imagination and intuition. As a result, these paintings give the viewer the freedom to explore the artwork and see just where it takes them,” says Morris.
Marilyn Simpson paints primarily from life but with various degrees of interpretation. Her goal is to create an aesthetically pleasing painting rather than one that depicts exactly what she is looking at. In a landscape, trees can be moved, colours altered and things changed depending on what the painting needs. “Some paintings say what you want them to say before you consider them to be finished. The advice then is to leave them alone,” explains Simpson.
Ann Talbot, currently of Peterborough, uses watercolour, acrylic and oil to pursue her love of painting. Shapes, colour and music inspire her creative process. Talbot studied art at Fleming College and the Haliburton School of Art and Design. Her work is displayed in private collections in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and the US.
Painting from life is a strong commitment for artist, Margaret Tough. She finds great pleasure in painting the human face. During the pandemic when human models were hard to find, she turned to fruit and flowers and other objects of beauty and utility in daily life.
Tough also works “plein air”, working outdoors to depict community scenes. He medium of choice is soft pastels or oils that she uses to share impressions of beauty, light and mood.
Randy Woods, also a Peterborough artist, paints in oils in a realistic style with elements of impressionism. He paints so viewers can share in the moment he has captured. He is attracted the works of the old masters and this surfaces in his paintings of people, landscapes and flowers.
Woods has shown his work in group exhibitions in Peterborough and Art Around the Park in Wellesley.
The Outside the Lines artists will be on location to talk with visitors to the gallery about their work and their inspiration on three separate days, Saturday, June 4, Sunday, June 5 and Sunday, June 12.
For more information visit www.apfta.ca.