Village Squire, 1976-07, Page 13Most of areas best artists
gather for show at Blyth
While most of the attention at the Blyth
Summer Festival is focussed on the stage,
where rave reviews are the order of the day
for this year's plays, a quieter part of the
festival has also been drawing strong
reviews.
Art and music are part of the Festival as
well as theatre and an art display is featured
throughout the Festival in the downstairs hall
at Memorial Hall. The show can be viewed
daily, Tuesday through Saturday or before
the plays and during intermissions in the
evening.
While there are stars on stage, it's an
allstar cast of local performers downstairs. In
recent years Western Ontario has gained a
sizable colony of professional artists with a
growing reputation. The show of some 30
pieces all from people living within a 20 -mile
radius of Blyth gives an impressive look at the
quality and variety of work being done by
area artists.
The show is organized by Ron Walker, a
Blyth artist of growing reputation, and his
wife Bev Katzin. It covers a wide spectrum
from realism to impressionism and there is
something there for just about every taste. As
well as eight artists on display, Michael
Ward, of Blyth displays a few of his pottery
items.
The list of artists on display is impressive.
Jack McLaren of Benmiller is the senior
member of the group. A long-time member of
the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto and the
Ontario Society of Artists and confrere of
members of the Group of Seven, he's devoted
his full time to painting since retiring to
Benmiller several years ago. His work runs a
full range of styles, mostly in oils.
Gunter Heim has been a Wingham-area
resident since he first came to the area to be
staff artist at CKNX television. In recent
years he's devoted full time to painting and
has been remarkably successful, showing
through the Thielsen Gallery. His present
style is strongly realistic and pleasing to
many people. The colours of the acrylic works
are muted and naturalistic. There is a kind of
romanticism to his works.
Allan Weinstein has been a resident of
Teeswater area for the past seven years.
Nationally known as one of Canada's finest
Gunter Heim produces realistic acrylic paintings that draw wide attention at the Blyth Summer printmakers, he recently won a commission
Festival Art Show.
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JULY 1976, 11