May Lily Carpet by photographer Daphne Carlyle is a lush, intriguing example of what visitors will experience at the Rainforest Arts gallery during the Mostly Green show.
What’s the colour we miss most at this time of year and through the long, dreary winter months? The frequency of light that revives and cheers us in the spring?
Green! In fields and forests and gardens, it’s the colour of life and renewal.
It’s also the colour that will be featured in Rainforest Arts’ Mostly Green Show, which runs from Nov. 19 to Dec. 24 at the 9781 Willow Street gallery. Artists were asked to submit works that feature hues made from the mixing of buttercup yellows with various shades of sky blue.
In December, of course, green is one of the colours that evokes the brightness and cheerfulness of Christmas. Green isn’t usually in the foreground of our seasonal tableaus, though. More often than not, it backdrops scenes in the forms of coniferous trees and elves costumes. It’s often contrasted with the glitzy glitter of tinsel and the bright reds, blues, and golds of shiny ornaments dangling from every branch.
Last year, Rainforest Arts favoured the more brilliant—and popular—shades of red. Santa’s suit predominates in most of the commercial and children’s art you’ll see as the days tick down toward Dec. 25. Perhaps there’ll be a twig or two of snowcapped holly in a composition, but even then, the eyes are drawn to the bright red bunches of berries.
Like the air we breathe, green is an elemental but often underappreciated hue. William Blake, in his poem Laughing Song, said we’re at our best…
When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it…
That sentiment will liven the atmosphere of Rainforest Arts through December in a diverse, eclectic show with green as the common thread and floor-to-ceiling art of all sizes and mediums.
Green, being the colour of nature, represents growth, harmony, fertility, and freshness. It is the most restful and relaxing colour to the eye optically due to its spectral wavelength, representing positive emotions such as joy, peace, and harmony. Many psychologists believe that the colour green promotes stress reduction.
The Mostly Green Show will be featured at the gallery through December 24. Rainforest Arts is located at 9781 Willow Street in Chemainus. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. You can contact the gallery at info@rainforestarts.ca or 250-246-4861.