Anything Goes will delight the eye and satisfy the soul

By David F. Rooney

The 31 works of art up for silent auction during the Visual Arts Centre’s Anything Goes 6 fundraiser on Saturday, February 6, are certain to delight the eye and satisfy the soul.

I had an opportunity this week to view all of the works submitted by local artists and I photographed a handful of works for your viewing pleasure.

This is the sixth annual Anything Goes show and fundraiser. It has proven to be a very successful fundraising event and the money raised this year will go towards the commission of a very special — and highly artistic — bench for the Visual Arts’ Centre’s lovely new garden.

Anything Goes 6 starts at 7 pm on Saturday, February 6, and refreshments and food catered by the Taco Club will be available to patrons. You’ll notice that with the exception of the Best in Show painting by Francine Lanoie, artists’ names are missing from the information sheets attached to each work. Patrons are encouraged to see if they can correctly guess which artist produced which work. There will be prizes.

Speaking of the Best in Show, Francine’s delightful small painting, Reflections on Venice, was chosen by a jury of professional artists. Along with its Best in Show designation, Reflections on Venice will be featured as the only work to be auctioned live during the event on Saturday evening. The rest of the works are part of  a silent auction that has in the past proven to be rather ruthless. The live auction will begin at 8 pm with a starting bid of $75. “While we do not condone violence, bidding wars are strongly encouraged,” said The Centre’s executive director, Jackie Pendergast.

This is an excellent event but you’ll need a ticket to get in. I encourage you to visit the North Columbia Artists Cooperative gallery, Art First!, on First Street to purchase a ticket. There are still some available but they could go fast.

Here for your view pleasure are some of the images that struck me: