Sue Leather paints a lot of pups.
Dog portraits make up about half of her work on the walls of her Oak Bay home studio.
“I get excited when I’m doing this. When I get to the eyes and nose it brings out the character,” she says.
Adding eyes bring them to life on the canvas.
Leather started painting pooches later in her art journey, rooted in her first career as a technical draftsperson.
“It’s a good thing and a bad,” she says. “I’m so detailed and I’m trying to get away from that.”
That was well before moving to Canada from the UK, landing in Calgary in 1981. The family discovered the Island during a family camping holiday when the kids were small and didn’t want to leave.
They eventually found themselves in Victoria
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But the artist was always there. It was an easy dip back into pen and ink after drafting, and she still loves to create that way.
She dabbled in watercolour, then tried oils for a while, but found them messy and didn’t dive deeper. These days, acrylics are her medium of choice while still loving a good clean pen and ink with the occasional return to watercolour.
Flowers and dogs remain favoured subjects, though buildings have crept into her repertoire, starting with a small canvas featuring her sunny Oak Bay home.
That home opens to guests this weekend with the spring Oak Bay Artists’ Studio Tour.
Leather has participated previously, inviting people into her home studio and partaking in tours outside of Oak Bay.
“It’s nice for the greater public to be able to come in and see where people work,” she says.
Many established and emerging artists use their homes and studios as backdrops to display original watercolour, acrylic, and oil paintings, photography, woodcuts, as well as fibre, glass and pottery creations.
“Socially, it’s a good thing for the community,” Leather says. “This is something that enables people to get out and about … so many people are interested in art and even if they don’t, it’s a lovely two days.”
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The tour is April 22 and 23 at individual studios and the Monterey Recreation Centre where – for the first time – five emerging artists from Oak Bay High showcase work alongside established artists.
“As a former secondary school art teacher, I wanted to say how pleased I was to see the student work included. I know that my students would have been thrilled to participate in such an art show,” says Arlene Davey, a retired teacher and artist displaying at Monterey.
Showcasing multi-generational works is important to building the arts community, says Andrea Pass, acting arts and culture programmer.
“Emerging artists have an opportunity to learn about the process of independently showing their work and established artists learn about the subject matter a younger generation is exploring. It’s sure to make for an interesting and varied show,” Pass says.
Home studios are open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monterey is open Saturday from noon to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free tour is self-guided, with maps provided by Oak Bay Parks, Recreation, and Culture.
christine.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
@van_reeuwyk
christine.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
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