Open Air Art at THE VENUE

 

I rarely apply for anything that I might get rejected for. I made an exception when the High River Performing Arts Society put out an artists call for their open air gallery at The Venue this summer. Thankfully, I wasn't rejected and was invited to create a series of historical portraits.

Cathy Bennington, Director of the Open Air Gallery at The Venue, provided wonderful guidance and introduced me to the staff of the Museum of the Highwood. The first step in the process was to identify some potential subjects and source out some reference photos. 

In the end, we selected four subjects, one of which was Chief Crowfoot which artistically anchored the project. That painting had been created in 2022 and remains as one of my personal favourites.

George Lane was next, one of the Big Four who created the Calgary Stampede and the namesake of High River's most prominent public park.

Lucille Dougherty followed, High River's only female mayor (1974-1986) and the one time chief Librarian.

The last subject was Odette de Foras, a revered soprano turned pig farmer.

A reception was held last night at The Venue with short speeches from the artists whose work is featured in the open air gallery. It was inspiring to hear from Tyne Fox, Sue Stegmeier and Matthew Sutton. Joyce Brown was unable to attend. I was able to share a little about each of my subjects and was honoured that some of the family members were in attendance.

There were three grandchildren and several great grandchildren of Lucille Dougherty sitting at a table right in front of me. They shared that she was not only a beloved grandmother, librarian and local politician; she was also a pilot among other things.

"How would you describe your grandmother?" I asked Brad Dougherty, who had traveled down from Calgary to attend the event.

"Small but mighty," he replied without hesitation. 

Apparently Lucille was slight of stature but large in presence. 

To my knowledge there were no relatives in attendance of my other subjects, but Celia Penman was there, a local thespian who actually played Odette de Foras in a one-act play. As part of that performance, she sang the song that Odette sang as their family home and all their prized possessions burned to the ground. Those who witnessed this powerful soprano defiantly belt out "My Little Grey Home In The West" as the flames burned had shivers running up and down their spines. 

Brad called out to us as Heather and I walked home. 

"I want to buy that painting," he said. I had mentioned that the three originals of Lucille Dougherty, George Lane and Odette de Foras were available and that the sale price would be donated to the capital campaign for The Venue.

Brad and Killian Dougherty in Birdsong Studios with the original painting of Lucille Dougherty

 
The Venue is a hotbed of cultural activity throughout the warmer months. Here is the schedule for their summer series.