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Brackendale art show is anything but black-and-white

Impressionistic forestscapes highlight Sea to Sky Corridor
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The Brackendale Art Gallery’s latest exhibit adds a big pop of colour with Toby Jaxon’s new abstract landscapes. 

“I was looking for someway to capture serenity. It’s influenced by this time in my life. I’m less worried and I’m enjoying the days,” says Jaxon while at the gallery. 

The show, called It’s Not Just Black & White, is on until May 28. 

The idea for the title came about after Jaxon completed a black-and-white painting, breaking from her usual bright and colourful style. 

“I love high contrast. I paint a lot of shadows to maximize the separation between light and dark,” says Jaxon, who paints in acrylic because it can be manipulated more than watercolours. “With any of my paintings, if you turn it into black-and-white, it still works as far as composition and pop.”

The show also includes Jaxon’s impressionistic forestscapes and stylized, high-contrast flowers that she is well-known for in Squamish. 

The paintings line the walls of the gallery between the stage and the area to order the gallery’s coffee, beer and signature soups. 

If Jaxon had to pick a piece, it would be “Nature’s Spirit” due to the dark and light contrast. The bright paintings themselves offer contrast between the gallery’s wooden walls. 

 “A lot of people say my personality is just like my paintings,” says the outgoing artist, who has lived in Squamish for 20 years and is the curator of The Foyer Gallery at the library and director of VISUALS Squamish Valley Artists Society.

“I’m always experimenting. It’s part of my ongoing play with paint.”

Jaxon is teaching some of her techniques for free at Up With Art in downtown Squamish on Sunday, May 28. She will focus on demonstrating Golden mediums and grounds.

Stop by to see Jaxon’s work from noon to 10 p.m. on the weekend or at an upcoming show, either Michael Kilby & His Southern Friends on May 27 or The Overcomers: An Evening of Worship Music on May 23. 

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