The Conservation Dinner Committee is honoured to announce that the 2010 Featured Artist is Fran Roelands of Creamery Road Studio and Gallery in Ailsa Craig.

Conservation Dinner Feature Artists

Painter Fran Roelands captures feelings, colours of local nature scenes

The Conservation Dinner committee has announced that popular painter Fran Roelands is the feature artist for the 2010 gala dinner and art auction.
The North Middlesex area artist has painted an original water colour, called Along the Banks of Mud Creek, for this year’s auction. The painting depicts a colourful late winter scene at the back of her family’s farm. The work shows that vibrant colours and the promise of spring can be captured even in a winter scene.
“I wanted to show the warmth of that February sun,” she said of the painting, which depicts the rich blue of the water and the bold yellows, oranges and reds of the sun streaming through the trees. Her painting captures intricate detail and uses vivid, contrasting colours – and it also captures positive emotion. “I was drawn to that scene by the warmth of the sun and I wanted to portray and emphasize that feeling I had at that time and in that place,” she recalled.
Fran Roelands is owner of Creamery Road Studio and Gallery near West McGillivray. She has been painting for close to twenty years. An interest in art has always been in her family, she said, and early in her life she benefitted from a good arts program at North Lambton Secondary School in Forest where she attended high school. Since that time, she has been a “lifelong learner,” taking art classes over many years, including lessons at the St. Lawrence College Summer School of the Arts and from artists such as Frank Webb and Arne Westerman.
“They’ve been a real asset for me, to have learned from them and to have influenced the contemporary style of painting that I do,” she said. “I have a passion for design.”
Fran, and her husband Matt, have five children, all married. The Roelands have run Creamery Road Farms, located not far from Ailsa Craig, for the past 30 years. Fran Roelands keeps very busy farming full-time and creating art that is in demand. “My art started off as a hobby and it has turned into an exciting business,” she said.
Her artistic inspiration is often drawn from rustic scenes of old buildings and from the natural, and sometimes underappreciated, features of rural communities, often reflecting memories of simpler times. Her paintings don’t just draw on the details of that local landscape – they capture the emotion that is attached to a view, locale or heritage feature. She loves to use colour, and to portray light, and create a positive feeling in the viewer.
“I feel really honoured to be chosen as this year’s feature artist,” the artist said, in an interview at her home. “On our farm we try to be good stewards of the land and the water and I really appreciate the beauty of our own countryside and I try to show that beauty of nature in my paintings.”
Many fans of her art say they are drawn to the fact her paintings capture the sentiment of rural scenes that have a sense of familiarity.
“People seem to be able to relate to what they see in my paintings,” she said. “They tell me, ‘that reminds me of when I was a kid and we used to have a barn like that, or a farm like that.’ ”
The local artist’s work may have been conceived and completed in Middlesex County, but her original works have travelled to different corners of the globe – from the United States to the Netherlands. The people who have those paintings consider them family heirlooms to be treasured.
More information on her art can be found by visiting franroelands.com. Viewings at the gallery are by appointment. Giclée prints by Fran Roelands are also available at Baillie’s Picture Framing, in Grand Bend, and at Beside Mom’s café, in Parkhill.
The Conservation Dinner committee is very honoured to have such a talented painter as this year’s feature artist, according to dinner committee chairperson Teresa Ondrejicka.
“Fran’s work is much loved across the entire watershed, and beyond, and her involvement in this year’s dinner makes it very special indeed,” she said.
The Conservation Dinner is a local success story with donors, patrons and volunteers working together to support environmental health through accessible trails, commemorative woods, fish stocking for youth, conservation education and other conservation initiatives. This year’s 21st anniversary gala charitable dinner and art auction takes place on Thursday, April 15, 2010 at the South Huron Recreation Centre in Exeter.
Tickets are $50 per person and patrons received a charitable gift receipt for half that amount. For tickets, talk to a Conservation Dinner committee member or phone 519-235-2610 or 1-888-286-2610.
The Conservation Dinner committee is made up of community volunteers including members of the Exeter Lions Club, the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA).
The gala Conservation Dinner includes a live auction of art and other unique items, a silent auction, special raffles and general raffles. Individuals and businesses wishing to sponsor auction items or contribute donations to the event are encouraged to contact Ausable Bayfield Conservation.
For information on the Conservation Dinner visit conservationdinner.com or abca.on.ca

Bill Nieuwland announced as feature artist for 2009 Conservation Dinner

The Conservation Dinner Committee is pleased to announce that the Featured Artist for the 2009 20th Anniversary Conservation Dinner is respected Grand Bend painter Bill Nieuwland. (See 'News' for story on Bill's work.)

The 2008 Feature Artist for the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Dinner was respected Grand Bend artist David Bannister. For information on the many talented artists who have been featured at the Conservation Dinner scroll down to the bottom of this page.

The feature piece this year is called 'My Back Yard.'.

The volunteer Conservation Dinner Committee of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation and Exeter Lions Club has been very proud to have a number of talented artists featured each year at gala live auction and dinner. The Conservation Dinner committee was honoured in 2007 to have Tim Clark - on the eve of his 90th birthday - return as feature artist after having been recognized with the same title in 1997. Other feature artists have included Teresa Marie (2006), Rae Ann Ladoucer (2005) and many more over the 19-year history of the auction.

The 2009 feature art, 'My Back Yard'' is shown above.

David Bannister announced as feature artist for 2008 Conservation Dinner

Respected Grand Bend artist David Bannister has been selected as feature artist for the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Dinner. Bannister will be completing an oil painting as the feature piece at the 19th Annual gala art auction and dinner. He said the medium of oil painting allows for great depth and thoughtful use of colour. “The use of colour is of great interest to me,” according to the artist, who said he has been influenced by the Group of Seven and impressionist painters.
The Nairn-area native not only paints in oil and water colours – he is also an artist in the photography medium. The longtime Southcott Pines resident, who is a charter member of the River Road Gallery, has recently self-published a well-received coffee-table book of his photography, called The Other Side of Grand Bend.
Bannister has had a successful career in the advertising field, having worked as a Senior Creative Director with Agripress and served as President and Creative Director of a London-based advertising agency, Bridge Communications.
Bannister, who started painting seriously in 1985, was trained in fine arts and begin his advertising career as an illustrator. As he became more immersed in the writing and management side of the advertising business he found he was less involved in the visual arts side of the industry. “I got into painting because I didn’t have much time to do commercial illustration at work,” he recalled.
This year’s feature artist said he has been pleased to see his paintings enjoyed by commercial and individual collectors in different parts of the world including Asia and Europe. “One of the most enjoyable things for me is seeing a painting I have worked hard on go to a good home where it is appreciated,” he said.
Bannister sold his advertising agency in 2000 but retirement isn’t a word that could describe his activity since that time. He continues consulting internationally with advertising clients. He has also been active in local community organizations. He served as Chair of the Grand Bend Area Community Health Centre Board from 2005-2007 and now serves as Chair of the Grand Bend Community Foundation.
The active local artist and sailing enthusiast said he is pleased to take part in an environmental cause like the Conservation Dinner. “I am certainly very pleased to be asked to participate in such a commendable event,” he said. “I enjoy the natural environment. Water is dear to my heart – especially as a sailor.”
Tickets to the gala event usually sell out early so to find out availability phone 519-235-2610 or 1-888-286-2610 or talk to a Conservation Dinner committee member. Tickets are $50 each and there is an income tax receipt for a portion of that. The deadline for the early-bird draw for early purchasers is before Monday, February 25.
The Conservation Dinner Committee includes representation from the Exeter Lions Club and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation and supports environmental causes such as conservation education, fish stocking, accessible trails and commemorative woods.
For information on the Conservation Dinner visit the new website in development at conservationdinner.com

Date of issue: January 21, 2008