November 15 - December 31

Barton Leier Gallery Born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, in 1956, Grant Leier studied at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary and the Illustrators workshop in New York, graduating in 1978. Grant and his wife, Nixie Barton, also an artist, live on a farm on Decourcey Drive in Yellow Point where they operate a seasonal gallery in their whimsical garden. Grant is thrilled to have created an exhibition for the Chemainus Theatre, a wonderful venue and so close to home.

Leier was a textiles major at college and it was here that he became fascinated with pattern and decoration. A proficient painter, Leier has had numerous solo exhibitions in Canada and California and has been featured in important group exhibitions in public and private galleries. His work is represented in many corporate and private collections including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Public Archives Canada and Chevron Canada.

Grant feels a need to create intense colour, pattern and a sense of celebration into everything he paints and wants his images to evoke feelings of well being and goodness. Hope you enjoy the show! www.bartonandleiergallery.com

I love oil paint - how it feels to mix it buttery or slick, how the canvas takes it differently from each brush, or from the side of my hand. Luminous and sensual, oil painting has awakened me to colour and revived my love of imagined gesture - the kinaesthetic awareness that comes from gazing at an exquisite line or a perfectly shaded contour. www.susanellenton.com