The Nanaimo Art Gallery is awash in the calming, soft tones of watercolors as Cumberland artist Clive Powsey presents his show Watercolourscapes of 91原创 Island for the month of June.
The paintings, as the name suggests are mainly landscapes of 91原创 Island, many focusing on the West Coast. He's spent a lot of time on the West Coast trail and outdoors across the Island and his works capture that. Most of them have been done in the past year.
"I like 19th century watercolours, like the British watercolours," Powsey said. "Watercolour is something you can do incredibly detailed, which I don't do, but it can also be very loose and end expressive."
Powsey said his impatience explains his painting style.
"I don't do a lot of glazing, I put it (the paint) straight on the paper and I like the way the paint suggests reality, even though it's just blobs of paint on the paper," he said. "I like the outdoors and this is a good way to get outside.
"Watercolours aren't usually taken seriously in the art world, but I think it's fantastic. It's very expressive."
Powsey, who started painting as child, attended the Ontario College of Art and worked as a commercial artist for years, as an art director, background stylist and painter for companies including Disney and Nelvana- something he still does. He's worked on a Babar movie and a sequel for Beauty and the Beast.
This is Powsey's first showing at the Nanaimo Art Gallery and as he was hanging his paintings last week, he said he was impressed so far. "It's a fantastic gallery," he said. "They're very supportive, the whole Island looks here. I'm impressed with what this gallery does for the artists."