Duane Hicks
Local artist Cher Pruys continues to impress art enthusiasts and critics both domestically and overseas.
Her painting, “Entranced,” recently was awarded the gold medal for figurative painting in the Mondial Art Academia’s International 2018 competition.
“This honour is a wonderful kick-start to 2019,” Pruys told the Times on Friday.
The painting, which depicts three young ballerinas watching other girls being instructed during dance class, is based on a photo that Pruys saw and felt compelled to capture via her brush.
“They were mesmerized by the class taking place at that moment and anxiously awaiting their turn,” she noted.
“I especially enjoyed playing with pointillism to portray the instructor and little ballerinas you can see through the window.”
Pointillism is a technique of painting using small, distinct dots to form a pattern. It first was developed in 1886, branching out from Impressionism.
Besides being painted by Pruys, “Entranced” has another local connection.
The two girls depicted left and centre–Maxine and Maya–are the daughters of Fort Frances native Tracy Huitika and her partner, Brinder Banes, who now live in Vancouver. B.C.
Banes took the photo on which the painting is based.
“Tracy was one of my senior swimmers when I was head coach of the Aquanauts here in town,” Pruys recalled.
“She was a delightful, entertaining kid and her one little girl with the blonde hair is the spitting image of her,” she added.
“I love it when I have that little extra connection to my subject matter.”
The photo also has a French connection as it was taken in Paris.
Pruys explained voting for the Mondial competition was done by many art elites, including high-level judges and art connoisseurs from several countries and from several disciplines, including curators, art critics, art magazines, galleries, museologists, art professors, and Grand Masters in art.
The Mondial Art Academy is an association based in France, bringing the art world together with artists from France, Canada, Lithuania, Romania, the U.S., Belgium, Mexico, The Netherlands, and elsewhere.
