Oak Bay artists celebrate next generation

The Oak Bay Community Artists Society celebrates its 15th anniversary by supporting two young artists.

Maya Batke and Nicole Reiter, Fine Arts students at Oak Bay High, were awarded $750 each in recognition of the 150 Celebration of Canada’s Confederation and their artistic achievement while students at the school.

Both intend to continue art studies at the post secondary level.

Batke started arts in middle school with the basics of art, learning colour wheels and how to shade.

“Over the years I have grown as an artist and gravitated towards creating imagery with strong presence of human bodies; particularly the face,” she says. “My studies have been focused on learning proportions on the face and body, especially within the past year. One of my favourite things about portraiture is that a simple expression can be read in so many ways by the viewer, creating a different experience or connection for everyone.”

Reiter has always had a passion for art, a passion nurtured by environment, friends, family, and teachers.

“I have never had a shortage of inspiration from the world around me,” she says. “Many of my pieces are of Cattle Point and Willows Beach, or of the Rocky Mountains where I vacationed in the summer. The art I create often comes from things I have seen; a single moment that motivates me to create something from it. The goal of my artwork is to capture the viewer’s attention, whether that is through a detailed landscape or an emotion stirring image.”

The Oak Bay Community Artists Society is a group of over 40 amateur, professional and emerging artists, living and working in Oak Bay and each year the society invites its members and guest artists to take part in the annual Bowker Creek Brush Up Art Show and Sale. More than 2,000 attended this summer. Learn more about the art society at oakbayartists.com.