For one more month, Yorkton residents will get a chance to check out the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery's newest exhibit.
The exhibit, which has been on display since March 1st, features work from Maple Creek artist Geoff Phillips.
Jeff Mortin, the director and curator of the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery, explains what people can expect from the art display titled 'Plantscapes of the Prairies.'
"The show that is on display is made up of all large format oil paintings of prairie landscapes. It is a landscape painting, but it's also really close up. You don't see the horizon so much as you see the grass and flowers, weeds, sticks, branches, and trees."
Mortin said that Phillips's process for painting is an interesting one.
"Part of his practice is to go into the Cypress Hills Provincial Park, that protected land is still sort of a natural landscape in many respects, so he will drive-in, part his car, hop on his mountain bike with a canvas on his back, he will lay it out on the ground, and he will start painting with just a single colour, just to get a sense," Mortin said. "He will roll it back up, take it back to his studio at home and complete it in oil paints."
"It's a pretty personal process. It's always to hear about how artists go about making their work, especially when they are going to great lengths to do so," Mortin continued. "Phillips has a strong connection to the land and a great respect for the land and the role that our provincial parks play in showing us what the landscape looks like before the impacts of industrialization."
Mortin said that whether you are interested in the arts or looking for something relaxing to do, the exhibit that features nine different paintings on display will entertain you.
"It's worth seeing in person. I would really recommend people to come down and spend a few minutes taking this in because it's a different effect when you can experience it in person," he said. "It can be a nice activity if you want to take 20 to 30 minutes, and it's almost like meditation or a retreat for yourself."
The exhibit is being produced by the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts, who are working with the Yorkton Arts Council and have let the art gallery showcase the exhibit.
