Essence: France and Italy

at 2260 Oak Bay Avenue,

July 3 – 24, 2010

Opening:   Saturday, July 3, 2010  
             1 pm – 5pm

Artist in attendance; Elizabeth Ely, harp;  Karel Roessingh, piano

“This exhibition features new works in watercolour and oil depicting my impressions of the essence of the French and Italian culture and scenery.   The show is based on images inspired by a home exchange in Provence and stays at country farmhouses in Tuscany and Umbria and the beautiful Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera coast.  There is something in the light of those regions.” 

Sheena Lott is an accomplished artist who for the past 25 years has had a very successful and varied career.  This busy artist has had many solo and group gallery exhibitions in Canada and the USA.  Currently she exhibits at the Winchester Galleries and The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Art Rental.  She is best known for her painterly style and three-colour palette.  Sheena is focusing on gallery exhibitions now but has illustrated nine children’s books in her distinctive watercolour style.  These include the classic bestsellers “Jessie’s Island” and “Salmon Forest”.  She has lectured at the Metchosin International Art School and lectures on the QE2, Queen Mary and other cruise ships.  Sheena has also been Artist in residence at numerous schools.  She has juried major exhibitions including the Sooke Fine Arts Exhibition and Federation of Canadian artist exhibitions.

She has won many awards including the Myfanwy Spencer Pavelic Award , Grand Prix D’Art, Federation of Canadian Artists Associate Award and the Federal Science in Society Award.  She has been short listed for the Amelia Francis Gibbon Award, Christie Harris BC book Award and the Chocolate Lily Award.

Sheena was born in Glasgow, Scotland then lived in Cooma, Australia. At the age of eight she moved with her parents to West Vancouver, Canada. She has many fond memories of sketching in Stanley Park and attending Saturday art classes at the Vancouver School of Art. Her art career began at an early age when she sold her first painting to her grade five teacher. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Rehabilitation Medicine. She credits her anatomy labs for inspiring her interest in figure drawing. She now lives and paints fulltime in her studio in North Saanich.

Her paintings are found in private and corporate collections including Shell Oil, The Osborne Collection, Sooke Harbour House, The Vancouver Public Library Permanent Art collection, Peat Marwick Thorne, Vancouver Island Helicopters, Chapter Inc. and the National Trust Company.