Wiles, Sidhu & McIsaac headline hospital galleries

AMHERST, NS (February 11, 2010) – The Cumberland Health Care Art Galleries located on the main floor of the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre will be exhibiting the works of Cumberland County artists Cristina Sidhu, Margaret Wiles and Diana McIsaac during the months of February and March.

A first-time exhibitor to the galleries this month is Oxford area artist Margaret Wiles (shown to the left).

Originally born in the U.K., she attended the Leeds College of
Art prior to coming to Canada. Her professional experiences included drawing up renderings from blue prints and producing presentation work for interior designers. “This background (academic and professionally) enabled me to produce work that is both illustrative and hard edged”, said Wiles. Wiles has taught watercolor classes for the Halifax Recreation Department while living in Halifax and now teaches classes in her new hometown of Oxford.

Sidhu was instructed by noted pastel artist Dave Beckett in mastering the medium of soft pastel in 2005 and began experiencing a heightened inspiration from the
natural beauty of the Maritimes in her works when she moved to the County in 2006. She has also been exploring the oil medium and in particular Encaustic.
Encaustic being the blending of hot wax and oil pigments on a hard surface which is then melted, carved and otherwise manipulated resulting in a more abstract,
dimensional work of art.

“I hope the paintings will be therapeutic for the patients,” said Sidhu, “by transporting them into the serene setting that I have depicted in my landscape paintings.” Storm blowing in is one of the larger pieces currently being exhibited by Sidhu in Gallery 1.

McIsaac, who resides in Seagrove, uses her own photography as a basis for most of her work which can be identified by her palette of blues and reds to form rich hues of purple. For the past four years her work has been displayed province-wide and in local surrounding areas.

The Cumberland Health Care Art Gallery has a total of four galleries at the regional hospital with a portion of each sale going to the Foundation’s Hospital Equipment Fund.

“All the pieces being exhibited are quite eye-catching,” said Joe Gauthier, Managing Director for the Cumberland Health Care Foundation, “each day we often see hospital visitors, staff and patients standing at all four galleries looking at the works.”

The Cumberland Health Care Foundation is a registered Canadian not-for-profit charity dedicated to enhancing the provision of a high standard of health care within Cumberland County by raising funds and supporting new and improved services, programs, equipment and facilities. For additional information, please visit our website at www.chcfoundation.com.

Contact: Joe Gauthier, Managing Director, CHCF, (902) 667-5400 ext. 6126