A watercolour painting of St. John's Cathedral in Nova Scotia, by Rita Thomas
One of the best parts about learning an artform is the community that you can find just about anywhere you go.
In London, artists are able to join with any number of clubs that provide them with a place to chat and learn, find support, and grow their skills. One such club is the London Community Artists: a group of 50 artists from the London area who gather monthly over Zoom to share techniques and discuss the world of art.
Bill Stephens, the current president of the LCA, has been involved since the first months of the group back in 2017, and is hoping that 2022 brings back a return to pre-pandemic events for the group. “We may have an outside speaker that would come in, but then on the alternating months we would have some of our own members who would speak about their own artistic journey. They would talk about their style, their technique, what interested them in art in the first place. You sure can’t beat that: just listening to others and finding out how they’ve come along in their start from where they began with artwork to where they are now.”
Beyond a return to their in-person meetings, Stephens is excited for the partnership the LCA has with Cherry Hill Village Mall, where five display cabinets are being built to display artwork from LCA members. So long as the project remains on track, Stephens hopes to launch the display on Jan. 29.
“The Smoke Tree,” a watercolour pen and ink piece by Rita Thomas
It isn’t just the longtime members of the LCA that are excited for the new year. In their first meeting of 2022, the LCA welcomed in five new artists to the group, having recent vacancies that were abled to be filled. One such artist is Rita Thomas, a former resident of Coquitlam, B.C. who came to London to get better healthcare for her husband and ended up joining the LCA. “I applied to the LCA club a year ago. They said there was a waiting list,” Thomas explains. “I didn’t know if I was going to get accepted or not. And so I was thrilled to get accepted finally after a year and they asked ‘you still want to join?’ Yes.”
Thomas has been an artist for years, having graduated from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and brings to London her experience in etching and engraving, watercolours, pen and ink, and printmaking of photographs she takes herself. Even with the talent under her belt, Thomas is still looking for ways to grow, and she believes she’s found her goal for 2022:
“Bigger paintings. I should say my paintings are, you know, they’re very detailed but they’re not huge. Some artists, they work on these huge canvases, and I’ve always wanted to do that. So I’m going to give it a try.”
Comments