More than 150 works of art — from oil paintings to photographs — will be on show and sale for the annual Guess Who event this Saturday.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pioneer Church, South Arm United Church the artworks, many from local artists, all on canvas and 10 inches by 10 inches in size, will go on sale for $100 each.
As before, half of the sale goes back to the artist, while the other half goes to the organizing Richmond Arts Guild’s charity of choice, the Richmond Food Bank.
The work of many renowned B.C. artists, such as Dennis Magnusson, John Ferrie and Lalita Hamill, will mingle with the creations of around 45 Steveston-London students.
The magic, according to the Richmond Arts Guild’s Lorraine Wellman, is that no signatures are allowed on each work of art, so the sale is truly anonymous.
“It’s really quite exciting at 10 a.m., when everyone is ready to start looking at the art and start considering what to buy, before someone beats them to it,” said Wellman.
“And this year, we have multiple additions from the Richmond Photo Club, which will really add to the local flavour.
“This is something that comes from the hands and the hearts of the artists and lots of people really enjoy the paintings they buy.”
A little more than 100 paintings were on sale last year, so the jump to 150 is a welcoming sign for the guild’s event, which has raised more than $5,000 for the food bank over the last two years.
“Many organizations have these events to raise money for themselves, but we cover the cost of our rent through our dues, so we wanted to help a charity with some basic needs,” said Wellman.
“Food is about as basic as it gets, so we hand the money over to the food bank as they know how to best use the cash.”
And in terms of the actual paintings that are sold, Wellman insists a new trend has begun, with people buying the works as gifts for their grandchildren at Christmas.
“I’m not against Lego or anything, but (the paintings) are all 10x10s and they are great to collect and keep, for all ages,” Wellman added.
The Nov. 7 sale runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pioneer Church at No. 3 Road and Steveston Highway.
