Art Group of the Comox Valley
250-338-9310
Who We Are and What We Do
The Art Group of the Comox Valley (AGCV) is an association of about 40 men and women who get together weekly to paint, sketch, or photograph. Several members of the AGCV are professional artists who show and sell in galleries. Many are semi-professional showing their work in local venues, and a number are amateur artists. We gather together from the Comox Valley and surrounding areas for the love of art.
Watercolour, oil, acrylic, pencil, fabric, photography — we are creative in variety of media. Each Friday we gather in one another’s studios, visit area galleries, or have en plein air activities. We have created sculptures from driftwood, taught each other collage, perspective, watercolour and acrylic techniques, and have learned to paint clouds in oil—we have a great deal of talent that we are happy to share with one another. Occasionally, we bring in professional artists to conduct workshops on certain styles or aspects of art. Joanne Thomson of Victoria, Patt Scrivener of Parksville, Leslie Redhead from Vancouver, and our own Myshree Tsai have conducted up to three-day workshops on colour and composition, acrylic and mixed media, and watercolour.
Accomplishments
Just before Christmas 2011 and 2012, we put mounted exhibitions to gain exposure for our group and also, through donations from sales, to give something back to the community we have come to love. Through Canada Day weekend silent auctions of handmade furniture; handcrafted jewellery; oil, watercolour, and acrylic paintings; and cards, we raised for the Women’s Transition Society and an African orphanage in excess of $1,000. Our Red Art Christmas show and sale raised $1,500 for YANA. (You Are Not Alone).
In the summer of 2012, we did more of the same, raising over $2,000 for the Courtenay/Comox food bank through another silent auction and an exhibition at Perc’s Café in downtown Courtenay. For this exhibit we rendered in oil, acrylic, or watercolour paintings of independently operated businesses along Courtenay’s delightful 5th Street and created a beautiful and historical record of the street as it was in the summer of 2012. In August 2013, our exhibit at the Pearl Ellis Gallery in Comox focused on the Town of Comox with works depicting the marina, Goose Spit, the Snowbirds, and many other features of the area and raised funds for L’Arche.
In early January 2014, our Blue Art Exhibit was held at the Comox Valley Art Gallery — Community Gallery in downtown Courtenay. Our work continues to be on display at various venues across Courtenay and Comox. Watch for us on the walls of your favourite café! Check the Exhibitions tab on this website for locations.
