Guests walk around and relax at the art show in the Mendham Gallery at Sagebrush Studios & Art Galleries on June 3 as the Bryan Swan & Friends band performs amid the various works of art on display in the gallery.
Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
It helps the artists at Sagebrush Studios & Art Galleries to have warmth and sunshine for their June art show. Mother Nature was nice to the artists in 2018.
Dean and Fran Francis held their 18th annual art show and sale at Sagebrush Studios & Art Galleries located west of Leader and east of Empress, Alta. This year’s show took place over two days on June 2-3 and, in Dean’s words, the weekend worked out nicely for the artists.
“It went very smoothly,” the artist said, recognizing that the show and sale had perfect weather for the weekend and it was an average year in terms of attendance and sales on the two days. “We actually never had any glitches.”
The weather is important because the venue is spread out over an area with three former churches used for gallery space and a system of wooden boardwalks for people to use to get from gallery to gallery. People also have to take grid roads to get to the show.
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Saturday started off cool and a little wet after a cool, rainy Friday, but Dean said it was still a nice day for visitors. Sunday was filled with warmth and sunshine, so it was better than the Saturday. Guests made good use of a new common gathering space on a grassy, and slightly shaded, area on the property.
The 2018 art show and sale was tagged “Elusive Moments” by the artists. The event included live music in two of the galleries, refreshments in all galleries, a food truck and even vendors selling preserves, books and crafts in one gallery.
Churches from Mantario, Mendham and Pinkham were moved to the property to use for studio and gallery space, and the artists have created an oasis of native and non-native trees, plants and bushes to breathe life to the property. The Pinkham Studio is only used as gallery space for the annual show.
A change this year is the artists opened up a new space in the Pinkham Studio. They added an addition to the former church to create a tower, and people are able to ascend the tower to get a good view of the property.
People travel from all across the prairies to attend the show and sale. Karen Weinhold of Turner Valley, Alta., a foothills community south of Calgary, had made the trip and it is not the first time she has visited Sagebrush Studios & Art Galleries. The visitor said she became aware of the artist at the Calgary Stampede art show several years ago and she attended a show when there was only one church on the property.
Stuart and Doris Murray of Golden Prairie, Sask., a community located south of Fox Valley, made the trip north for the show and sale. The visitors had never been to the property, so it was their first Sagebrush experience. Stuart said it was something they always planned to do.
“It’s been on our list,” he explained, recognizing that he and his wife were somewhat familiar with the elaborate venue because they had seen photos in places such as brochures. “We’re impressed so far.”
Dean, on Tuesday, said he and Fran do their best each year to organize the show to make it work. He said it takes about eight months to prepare for the show, and that time does include any new work the artists produce for the show.
The addition of a small observation tower to the Pinkham Studio is all part of his plan to keep improving the property, the artist explained. The space is used as a coffee room by the artists. Future projects involve the bell tower at the Mendham Gallery and more landscaping, he said.
In terms of the show, Dean said he had a great time and it was another enjoyable experience for him. He estimated that more than half of the visitors from each show have never been to Sagebrush Studios & Art Galleries before.
As for the artwork, he described his latest work as being more painterly, and more paint is incorporated into his paintings. Dean paints landscapes and he said his artwork features the natural world. While he prefers natural things, he said his paintings incorporate a lot of agriculture and roadways.
“I’m always trying to make the show as diverse as I can within my genre,” he explained, recognizing that he takes an impressionist approach to his painting and the idea is to show more with fewer brush strokes.
He noted that his goal for the future is to continue building on his impressionistic style. The paintings give the impression that there is grass, but it is difficult to tell if people get up close to the art. Dean said if it works out, “that to me is success when people get up close and they can’t figure it out.”
As an artist, he said it is difficult to figure out what people want and he is not about to start trying. He added that he and Fran have plans to do more open air painting in the near future, but it is challenging because the painting has to be finished in one day.
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