Fantasy paintings by one of the newest members of the Cariboo Artists' Guild is being displayed at the Showcase Gallery this month.
Lana Albertson is one of the newest members of the Cariboo Artists' Guild - and her show is profiling her work which deals with fantasy themes.
"I like things that are fantasy. I like places that look like an escape. I like battles of good and evil, so kind-of themes like that." Albertson noted.
Eight acrylic paintings of hers are on display - all having something to do with the theme of fantasy. Albertson's favourite painting from the show is directly inspired by C.S. Lewis's classic books The Chronicles of Narnia.
"One of my favourite stories, it's like the ultimate story of good versus evil - because Aslan represents Jesus Christ, who came back to life to save people from their sins. So that he got defeated and then he came back. So I painted his moment of victory when he came back from the dead to ultimately defeat death." Albertson wrote about her work.
All of Albertson's paintings are for sale with one exception - Mana Tree, which she created for her husband, Alex Albertson.
"That's one of his favourite video games when he was a child. It was a gift to him that I painted," Lana said. The video game in question was Secret of Mana, which is a 1993 action role-playing game developed for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System - set in a high fantasy universe where three heroes attempt to prevent an empire from conquering the world.
In general, Albertson began to paint as a child, having drawn a lot as a child - a hobby which she kept throughout adulthood.
"Obviously over the years, when married, having kids, working, I didn't have a lot of time, but I would dabble here and there." Albertson noted. She added that she didn't start painting more until around four years ago.
"I really kind of started picking up painting again and did it more full-time in my free time when I wasn't working - just as a way to de-stress and unwind and my own like me time." Albertson said.
Usually, her creative processes involve her imagination, where she likes to begin a piece by Googling things that draw her attention.
"I kind of use different photos as a reference, and then I kind of let my imagination take over, and I just really like to play with the colours and stuff, so I don't really set any like structure to what I'm doing." Albertson said. "I enjoy the process, like the physical aspect of the paint brush on the canvas is very relaxing, so I try not to take it too seriously and just enjoy the process and see where it takes."
It takes Albertson around a few months to complete a painting, as she has limited time to work on the painting.
"Probably a total of between 20 to 50 hours, depending on the size of the painting. So I usually manage to put in a few hours a day on my days off." Albertson explained.
As for her new membership with the Cariboo Artists' Guild, Albertson said that so far, the guild has been very good for her.
"They're very welcoming. It's a very encouraging group. I unfortunately haven't been able to be a part of any of the meetings yet. I'm hoping to be able to be more involved, if my work schedule can allow me, but it's very exciting so far." Albertson explained.
As for the art show itself, Albertson hopes that people get a wondrous feeling from the paintings.
"I hope they feel a sense of - it's a childlike wonder." Albertson said.
