CALEB NICKERSON
PORTAGE DU FORT
June 21, 2019
On June 21, the Stone School Gallery in Portage du Fort was host to a vernissage for two talented artists, bringing out art lovers from across the region.
On the building’s ground floor, Quyon native Emily McCann had her impressive collection of mandalas on display, along with a collection of cloud and seascapes in an exhibition she titled, “The Calm Before the Storm.”
Since it was her very first art show, McCann called the experience “nervewracking” but said she had been working hard over the past few months to prepare for her debut.
“Since I’ve been young I’ve always been interested in art,” she said. “For the past year or two I started taking it more seriously when I knew I wanted to make this more of a business.”
McCann said that she’s experimented with other styles and media, but tends to stick with what she knows best.
“I just stuck with what like the most, especially my pen and ink,” she said. “I love the pigments in it and I like having so much control over my paints.”
Upstairs, Sheila McGregor’s exhibition “Intro/Outro” mixed the worlds of music and visual art, as the evening featured a live performance by the artist herself.
“I’ve been taking drum lessons and I started to notice the parallels between music and painting,” she explained. “That sort of led to a musical theme in some of the titles and just sort of another journey I didn’t know I would go on.”
McGregor performed along with her husband and friends from church, bringing an added dimension to the acrylic wilderness scenes adorning the walls. She even went so far as to design an “album liner” for the show.
McGregor works on her many smaller paintings outside and added that the studio where she creates her larger pieces also has a view of the woods.
“I think it’s really important for me to always be out working where the inspiration is, I love being outside,” she said.
Currently living in Deep River, this is her second show with the Pontiac Artists Society and she said she was thrilled to be in the area again.
“The Pontiac is a very special place for me so it means a lot that they would want me to show here,” she said.
Both exhibitions will be on display at the Stone School until July 21.
