The Showcase Gallery has more than a dozen paintings in oil and acrylic by local artist Neil Pinkett on display throughout the month of January.
Pinkett says while local art enthusiasts may have seen some of these works before at Cariboo Artists Guild (CAG) shows, there are at least four new pieces never before displayed publicly (except on Facebook).
This may change as the show progresses since all of them are available for purchase or as he follows his “whim” for the display, he adds.
At the time of its set-up on Jan. 5, Pinkett had about a “baker’s dozen” of his works lining the walls of the glass-fronted gallery in the South Cariboo Business Centre in downtown 100 Mile House.
An image of gliding gulls was displayed in a CAG show a few years back, and is a rare example of a wildlife portrait, as he tends toward more immobile subjects like landscapes and livestock, Pinkett says, adding he normally works from his own photographs and didn’t on this one.
Another different feature in his showcase display is the more muted tones used throughout most of these paintings, rather than more colourful works seen in some of his past paintings.
This is more dependant on his moods and his mediums than any intentional theme, he explains.
“I’m attracted to painting in lots of colour, but sometimes I just want to go to the opposite.”
Pinkett doesn’t name his paintings, but he says “one of his favourite places in the world” – the Outer Hebrides in Scotland – is featured in a work on display, and even that one has muted colours to match the mood he was in, or seeking for this selection.
“When the sun shines it’s kind of glorious, but I chose to paint an overcast scene because there was something intriguing to me about that place when it’s overcast and all the colours are muted. I like it both ways, but for this particular painting I was attracted to the idea of the colour just being drained out of the scene.”
Another depicts a scene from photos he took in England, and there is also a view of Trophy Mountain in Wells Gray Park, but most of Pinkett’s paintings are Cariboo scenes, primarily landscapes and water, he adds.
“I do paint from life as well … and I do still life occasionally. Every picture is its own thing … I wouldn’t say I have only one way of approaching a painting because it’s all down to the subject itself, and the medium - whether I’m working in oil or acrylic – and the mood I might be in, and sometimes it’s just where you are at in the journey.”
This means he might suddenly choose to depict an image he has painted before in a completely new light, he explains.
“I do like to challenge myself in different directions, so I like [the gulls] as a bit of a one-of-a-kind, I haven’t done anything else quite like this … and it works.”
He points to the second gull almost hidden in the many droplets of paint scattered across the scene in the calculated strokes the artist sees in his mind’s eye as he expresses his creativity on canvas.
To see Pinkett’s current art show, visit the Showcase Gallery in the South Cariboo Business Centre during the month of January. As a CAG member, Pinkett’s artwork can also often be found on display at the Parkside Art Gallery.