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Brushfire Artists presenting 7th art show at Monora Park

October 27, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

When one door closes, as they do say, another one opens – even if you have to create the door for yourself.

This was Randi Lockheart’s decision when she left one art group – she initiated another. The numbers in such a loosely connected association such as an artists’ group might vary a fair bit but Ms. Lockheart says there is a core of seven artists with Brushfire.

“When we started the group, we met to discuss the name, we each put in names for the group – not as a competition but everyone to offer. It was Roselyn Levin who came up with Brushfire – she designed the logo too.

“Now there are seven of us but we like it small.”

The group hosts one show a year, but, as Ms. Lockheart commented, “It takes all year to organize the show. Some of us paint all year just for the show.”

Paint is the operative word, for all the art work is paintings in the show, on this weekend Saturday and Sunday, October 28 and 29 at Monora Park Pavilion, with an opening Gala reception for which there are tickets.

“We invite guest  artists, who are also all painters,” Ms. Lockheart said. “There are nine of them this year, including one who passed away this year, Vic Sullivan. We’re still having his art. His wife and family are going to come.”

Some of the group have other things they do as well; some of them are well known, like the well known, not only here but also in Japan, the non-Japanese  Japanese painter, Roselyn Levin. 

Randi Lockheart is an oil painter, specializing in flowers but happy to paint anything as a commission. For clients, she told us, “I met people on games on Facebook and I sell to them.”

As comrades, the Brushfire socialize for dinners and do Christmas things together but their community time is in meetings once a month, primarily to work on the show. During the weekend itself, there are various aspects of it. The Friday, October 27 reception and opening, by tickets and invitation, hors d’oeuvres and wine are served. The food is largely  prepared by the artists themselves.

Through the course of the show, the artists have committed and are obliged by each other, to be there to participate. There are refreshments throughout the weekend of soft punch and sweets.   

For the first time, there is a “Tooney Table,” on which each of the artists donates a painting. A vessel sits before each painting and people buy tickets at a tooney a piece and put those tickets into the vessels to show which painting they would like to win. At the end of the show, the ticket are and the paintings are given to the winners. An original painting by a well known artist for a tooney – can’t be bad.

Painting demonstrations are part of the event at the art show. We go to the Authors Nights to listen how authors write their books. How interesting now to see into the techniques and, maybe, clever thinking into their work, that painters use. Do they need an object before them to reproduce? Do they dream their pictures first? What inspires a person to put a certain thing on paper?

What makes an artist create?

As to why the Brushfire Artists work all year to put on this show, Ms. Lockheart commented simply, “To promote art and to sell. It’s the only thing I do – although some of my work is hanging at Dragonfly.”

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