Sarnia artist’s chalk work awarded at Gallery in the Grove exhibition

Chalk up another colours-themed art show award for Samantha Pickard.

The Sarnia artist was the top-prize winner at Gallery in the Grove’s opening day of it’s juried Call out for Color exhibition, on until April 22.

Pickard said she was between chalk pastel commissions late last year when she created Pollination for the Nation Station, a scene of bees and flowers.

“I thought, ‘You know what, I’m going to throw a piece of paper up on the easel and I’m going to do something for me and just let the creativity flow … free of the boundaries” that come with commissions, she said.

Judges for the show, who vetted more than 200 entries, praised the energy and movement in Pickard’s piece.

“You can feel the buzz,” show co-chair Kirsten Kilner Holmes said, quoting the judges, as she presented Pickard’s award Saturday.

Pickard, who won the mayor’s award at a colour-themed show at the Lawrence House nearly 16 years ago, called Saturday’s recognition stunning and overwhelming.

Her piece sold moments after her win was announced, she said.

The England-born artist, who also performs as a musician, thanked people for their support, including her mom and dad.

“I was just stoked that I was accepted,” she said.

“So many good artists. So many good works up there.”

The exhibition of 48 works, including painting, photography, fiber art and other mediums, is Gallery in the Grove’s first juried show since February of 2020, said Kilner Holmes, adding it may be the largest of its kind ever hosted at the not-for -benefit, Bright’s Grove gallery.

“I think there was some COVID creativity going on maybe, and I think there’s a lot of talented artists who haven’t had the opportunity to exhibit their work,” she said about the amount of submissions.

Entry fees alone were expected to raise “well over $2,000” for the gallery’s scholarship and Visiting Artists in Lambton Schools programs, she said.

Mississauga artists Robert Scott and Samantha Reagan were respectively awarded second and third place.

The awards were $750, $500 and $350, sponsored respectively by Scotiabank and Scotia Wealth Management, Andrew Howell with REMAX Realty, and Assante Wealth Management.

Pigment-rich pastels smudged then finished with fine lines were used, Pickard said, to create her piece, preserved behind an adherent spray.

It’s a commentary on humanity’s impact on nature, she said.

“As we separate ourselves through industry and technology and become more distanced from nature, we’ve developed things like pollination stations to help encourage insects and nature to thrive in metropolis areas.

“It’s an unusual thing, where if we just stopped being so industrious, the Earth would do it naturally.”

More details about the gallery and the exhibition are at galleryinthegrove.com.

[email protected]