Art adds an extra dimension to everyday life in the places we spend most of our time.
It’s also an extension of ourselves. We can find joy and inspiration from these creations of paint on canvas and carved wood. They raise our senses of curiosity and can be points of focus as we search for deeper meaning.
Art provides comfort or whimsy. It kick starts conversations, inspires us and adds beauty and identity to the places we live.
For a retired couple who recently relocated to a Victoria waterfront home, art put the crowning touches on their dream home and provided the “doors and windows” to past adventures and places they love.
A stunning feature of their Dallas Road condominium is a 500-year-old Mogul door that is a reminder of their extensive travels, which have included memorable trips to Mount Everest base camp in Nepal, Africa’s Kilimanjaro and India.
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The exquisite teak piece with original iron hinges and latches is a marvel of carving and was acquired in an antique shop in Jodhpur, northern India, and shipped home. It is set inside a recess in the wall near their entry and is an instant conversation piece.
The artwork in their home, acquired through West End Gallery, also speaks to the couple of their years living and working in
Montreal.
La Maison Cachée, a bright oil work of a stone cottage by noted Montreal artist Robert Savignac, not only provides a bright transition between living and dining areas, but takes its owners along a pleasant memory lane as the scene is reminiscent of the stone-fronted dwelling they once called home near Montreal.
Savignac’s painting, Breakfast, fittingly displayed in the dining area, gives the owners a joyful taste of colour and fancy. Savignac’s vivid work is noted for creating a beautiful escape scenes apart from the real world, where flowers spill over balconies and burst from pots, vines creep up walls and sunlight plays in light and shadow.
Perhaps the most alluring art in their home is Hiver de Givre, a mixed media work by Quebec-based Ariane Dubois. The magnificent large work graces the living room overlooking the Victoria waterfront.
Translated it means Winter Frost, and despite our lack of traditional winter on the West Coast, its owners say the work mimics the ocean sprays of our winter months and the wind in summer. It brings “the outside indoors, and it inspires us in so many ways,” the owners say. “It brings us very different lights in the seasons and at different points in the day.”
Dubois’ work is intriguing. The artist says she is inspired by nature and the seasons, which act as the memory of passing time. The landscape image becomes “pretext to achieve a personal and meditative impression.”
Dubois’ method involves thin layers of oil on top of acrylic, latex and enamel paint. Textured layers are built on top of each other and reveal a “lyrical imagery from patterns of nature.”
Patricia Johnston’s Storm Season Pacific Rim has a prominent place above a gracefully framed fireplace in the living room. The owners say the scene is a reminder of their more recent closer-to-home adventures on the Island’s wild west coast and serves well their philosophy of bringing the outdoors into their home.