On Dec. 6 and 7 the Carlyle Library was transformed into a breathtaking art gallery. The walls were garnished with paintings vibrant in colour and every corner of the room had a piece of art that represented the personality of each artist.
During the Dickens Festival last weekend, the Paint and Palette group displayed their work at the Carlyle Library for patrons to not only view but to also purchase. The group was started in February of 1988 after Marylin Carter and others received art lessons and decided to share their appreciation of art.
"It's just a group of people that just get together and have a love for art and most of it has been paintings, we started in oils, and we were instructed by Michael Lonechild in few classes for acrylics," Carter said.
The group of five painters meet on Tuesday nights at the Carlyle Library and Carter said another reason why the group was formed was to accommodate people who didn't want to wait until the down time of winter to start painting. She shared her delight in the amount of people from the Dickens Festival that attended their showing.
"The crowd is pretty good considering the weather, we've had quite a few people through the door," she said.
"I think it's just letting people in the area and also visitors to realize how talented our community is, I mean this is just a smattering of some of the talented people here and the work they dojust exposure."
Many members of Paint and Palette began painting because of their appreciation of art and an innate drive to excel in the field. Audrey McDonell who has been a member since the group began said she always liked to draw and also spoke of the festival's growth.
"When we started painting it was interesting because I enjoyed Michael Lonechild's painting so much. And whenever he was around painting, I was enthralled with his talent so much then I thought I'd get into it more myself, I just love to paint," she said.
"It's really been wonderful through the years, more and more people coming all the time. It's getting so well known and it's bringing people from around the area to enjoy the events."
Other members of the group, like Peggy Winmill who specializes in sketches has taken a couple breaks throughout the years and has only recently began to become more involved with the group. Winmill said when she was in school she always liked to do sketches and 25 years ago she started to draw to sell her work. Winmill quit for about 17 years after other aspects of her life started taking precedence over drawing. But in 2008 she regained the impulse to start what she finished and the Dickens Festival has become a part of her resurgence.
"I've been doing a lot of portraits of people, I really, really, enjoy doing thatI just had an art show in Weyburn at Signal Hill Gallery," she said.
Florence Langford is also member and had her work on display as well. She started doing scenery pieces but said she made a move from scenery and started doing paintings of flowers. Langford explained that she was seeking to challenge herself in a new art form. This challenge she said has developed into a love of painting flowers as many times when she completes one painting she has the urge to do another. She said Paint and Palette has excelled over the years and has now become a talented group.
"There are a few more people in the group now and the art has definitely developed and progressed. I would say most of these people are professional artists now, they're very good," she said.
The Dickens Festival has also allowed the work of other to be seen. One woman stumbled across the Paint and Palette showing and it compelled her to share her own art work in the library on the day.
Linnea McArthur, 22, who is from a neighbouring community attended the showing and offered her piece entitled "Clean Water" to be displayed. She attended a hearing impaired school in Burnaby, BC where teachers took notice of her talent in painting. Since then her work has been purchased by several business offices in Regina. Her interpreter shared some of the inspiration behind her work.
"She paints whatever she dreams about and then lately she sold some more animal pictures and also sold another environmental inspired painting," he said.
The Dickens Festival has become an event that allows the talent of Carlyle to be on display and the town has taken strides in their development through groups such as Paint and Palette.
