Dave Stevens’s work can be found on Vancouver Island Regional Library shelves, and for the next few months it will be on the walls as well.
From now until the end of fall the Nanaimo-based artist and children’s book writer and illustrator is presenting a display of his paintings at Nanaimo Harbourfront Library. The works are inspired by his walks through Bowen Park and depict arbutus trees and the Millstone River.
“I love the way water changes its course or is forced into these narrow openings and drops down in height, so I tend to focus quite a bit on the rapids and the falls,” Stevens said. “I notice a lot of people stop and check out the falls when they’re on a walk, but for me it’s something I do every day because I’ve been diagnosed with early Parkinson’s so one of the best ways to deal with it is to get out and walk.”
This is the first time Stevens is displaying his work locally since moving to Nanaimo in 2019. Stevens hails from Campbell River and is a past president of the Delta Arts Council.
Stevens said some of his five paintings on display on the library’s second floor are based on pictures he took on his walks, but the results are more colourful and dreamlike.
“I’ll maybe choose a part of the photograph to work from but quite often the photograph is a reminder of what it is that I’ve seen and then I kind of let my imagination go,” he said.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
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