Aquamaris Art Gallery is warm and inviting, the owners Vedrana and Gerry Ascroft are some of the nicest people I know. Here is the post Vedrana made on instagram, she has a gift for writing and I was delighted to be the subject of her topic. Note this post was made is during the Covid 19 crisis.
When our beautiful @birdartartist Rose Tanner coordinated with us the delivery of her paintings into our gallery last week, we of course knew we were receiving not only high quality works of art by a notable artist, but also something truly uplifting that will, without a doubt, put smiles on people's faces and spread joy.
The joy is certainly what we felt in the process of placing the paintings on the wall and casting the light on them as the enchanting life-like presence of Rose's birds made the entire gallery come alive. It was mesmerizing to see the detail in the plumage of each of her subjects, the twinkle in their eyes, while simultaneously appreciating the painterly effects, the rich, luminescent quality of oil paints and the texture of fine linen.
This 14" x 11" painting of Northern Red Cardinal titled "Forest's Surprise" already commands one's attention by virtue of its rich color combination of complementary reds and greens, the balance between lights and darks, focused detailed depiction of the subject, soft edges on the foliage and almost abstract backdrop. A closer look reveals the beautifully executed subtle shifts in color between warmer and cooler reds and skillful brushwork that speaks of artist's mastery of her medium and her ability to capture not only the anatomy, but also the animated nature of her subject.
Rose Tanner provides a special indoor bird watching treat (especially to those of us here in Western Canada where we simply don't get to encounter this delightful species) by eliciting in a viewer the sense of "being there" to witness a fleeting moment of this iconic bird's surprise appearance in the forest.