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Raincoast Visions at local gallery

At Coastal Patterns Gallery, the light and warmth of the Mediterranean has morphed into the deep shelter of the rainforest.

At Coastal Patterns Gallery, the light and warmth of the Mediterranean has morphed into the deep shelter of the rainforest. Entitled Raincoast Visions, the new exhibition of works by Gregg Simpson celebrates the somber beauty of the west coast environment.

Paintings, charcoals, and mixed media works present Simpson's vision of the rainforest that has been part of his psyche for his entire life. "I grew up with the Capilano Canyon as my back yard," Simpson says. "The works in this show are directly influenced by what I saw outside my window every day."

A highlight of the exhibition is the charcoal drawings from two series: Slatscapes and Striation Studies. Ironically, Simpson completed most of these works while living in Montreal and Toronto. "My body was in the city," Simpson says, "but my mind saw trees and rain in place of concrete and buildings."

In all the works in the exhibition, striations wash down vertical surfaces, half-revealing anthropomorphic forms - tricks played by the eyes on a rainy west coast afternoon.

Raincoast Visions runs from April 27 to May 23. If you missed A New Arcadia, you can check out the exhibition online at www.coastalpatternsgallery.com. Coastal Patterns Gallery is open from noon to 5 pm from Wednesday to Sunday.

Carol M. Cram