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Author reading and artist reception at the Nelson library

The arts collide this month at the library when Argenta artist Deb Borsos exhibits pastel landscapes, inspired by books she has loved.
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Argenta artist Deb Borsos

The arts collide this month at the Nelson Public Library when Argenta artist Deb Borsos exhibits pastel landscapes, all of them inspired by books she has loved.

Three authors whose books have been honoured — Anne DeGrace, Rita Moir, and Holley Rubinsky — will join Borsos in a reading and reception on Tuesday, November 5 at 7 p.m.

“My childhood home was always a refuge for books, and though there are no authors in my family, we are a herd of artists — as well as hoarding bibliophiles,” explains Borsos. "So it delighted me to be offered an exhibit here in a library. What better gallery to share my visual stories in?”

Borsos has played with the concept before. “Several years ago, I put together a collection of work based on listening to CBC Radio for a year and then creating paintings which were inspired by stories I had heard,” she says. She called that exhibition Every Story Tells a Picture.

Georgia O’Keefe’s biography A Woman on Paper provides the title for this exhibition, as well as inspiration for a painting. Other books that have inspired works include The Perfection of the Morning by Sharon Butala, The Far Country by Nevil Shute, and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, among others.

Local books include Moir’s The Windshift Line, Rubinsky’s Beyond This Point, and DeGrace’s Wind Tails. Borsos will discuss her process and the authors will read from their works during the evening.

Borsos creates vivid impressionist landscapes in pastel, sometimes using fine grit industrial sandpaper as a surface for a remarkable intensity of pigment. The area in the north end of the lake where she lives provides infinite inspiration in creating her pastel landscapes. Her work has found homes in private collections around the world.

“I am a big fan of Deb’s work,” says DeGrace. “Her landscapes combine sensitivity and keen observation with remarkable depth — just like a good book. To be included is an honour.”

A Woman on Paper shows at the Nelson Library during November and December.