Alex Ross in front of her paintings at the art show she hosted Thursday. The painting of Trevor is on the far left.

(MEAGHAN ARCHER / iNFOnews.ca)

PENTICTON - There's photographs and paintings hanging from an industrial fence wrapped in lights that stands in a closed off parking lot next to a creek and people mingling with cans of beer in their hands while a three-year-old runs around their legs making people laugh. An old man with a glowing face and small in stature steps forward and introduces himself as Trevor, the man in the painting.

The painting he’s referring to was done by local artist Alex Ross, the young woman responsible for organizing an art show in her backyard.

“If I can’t get into a gallery, I might as well just make my own show,” she said the next day while on her lunch break at a cafe where she works full time.

It’s hard for young artists who aren’t well known to break into the art industry, especially in a small town like Penticton, she said.

Ross knew she wasn’t the only one with a talent to show off, so she came up with the idea of hosting her own show and bringing in work done by other local artists, including Matia Theodosakis, Mary Scott and Justine Satoria. In three weeks, she manifested a plan, made pitches, sent out invitations and collected her favourite pieces to showcase.

“What I was hoping for the show was it would be the best kind of symbiosis—we get to show our art, and the people coming to the art show get to see things they don’t normally see in Penticton,” Ross said.

“Peach Fest is great but it’s the same thing every year,” she said. “If you come from out of town, you aren’t going to know there’s this quirky, cool kind of stuff going on.”

Penticton is full of talented artists—painters, drawers, and photographers alike—and what they often need more than anything is a platform to show their work. People like Ross don’t need any convincing to go off an practice their craft—that desire comes naturally.

“If you don’t develop that talent and show that there are avenues for that kind of thing then kids don’t show their cool talent,” Ross said. “Or they leave and take their talent with them.”

Ross wants nothing more than to make a career as an artist and she plans on making the most of her time in town, not only helping herself but other artists looking for that push to get their feet off the ground.

She plans to host art shows more regularly and make sure they are accessible but not just financially. She also wants them to be in a comfortable environment where people of all ages and with as much or little art knowledge can enjoy local talents.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Meaghan Archer at marcher@infotelnews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2014