Maureen Drew’s Water Studies: An Outpouring of Art at the Summer Art Gallery
The title Water Studies is accurate, but it doesn’t describe the full breadth of the work you’ll see at Denman Island artist Maureen Drew’s upcoming exhibit of that name at the Denman Island Summer Gallery, August 21 – Sept 2, 2025.
To stick with watery metaphors, the show could be described as the current outpouring of Maureen’s life-long immersion in art, design, and creativity.
Water as theme and fluidity as a painting technique characterize about half the pieces in the show. Figures on the beach gaze out to sea; multi-hued waves undulate across the canvas. This focus emerged from a course Maureen took last year.
“I love to experiment with new techniques and recently attended North Island college. One of the artists I studied with poured paint over huge canvases, creating the effect of running water. At home in my studio I tried to emulate this technique: that was the birth of water studies. The backgrounds are the starting point for many of my beach scenes,” says Maureen.
The exhibit also includes abstracts, vibrant foxgloves and other flowery naturescapes, and a series of paintings incorporating lace doilies.
Repurposing Doilies in Contemporary Art
On her many visits to second hand shops, Maureen noticed that doilies, which used to be a treasured part of our grandmothers’ homes, were now in bags selling for just a few cents. “These doilies took an incredible amount of time and skill to make. Many of them are incredible beautiful and so I have tried to repurpose them, honouring the work of our grandmothers. I string them on hoops to make mandalas to hang in windows, and some of them I use as collage in my paintings,” says Maureen.
In one painting, an oval doily takes centre stage, a portal, an evocation of the feminine, or whatever the viewer sees in it. In another painting, a doily plays the role of a blanket covering two lovers. In another, small doilies create a textured pattern in the background.
Water and doilies are just the latest fascinations for Maureen, who has spent decades working and playing with creativity, happily ignoring the perceived borders between fine art, craft, and design.
A Life in Art
Maureen’s life in art began as a child in England. “My dad owned a store in which he repaired watches and jewellery. My job was to repair broken pearl necklaces, which were in vogue at that time. I loved to sort them into rows and restring them while listening to radio programs.”
Maureen’s family moved to Winnipeg, and at 16 she started to make her own clothes. Later on she did alterations for a living and learned to sew drapery and do small upholstery.
Maureen completed a fine art program in North Carolina and a degree in interior design in Washington state. After working in interior design for a few years, she founded the Pacific Design Academy, a private college in downtown Victoria offering programs in interior design, fashion design, building technology, and graphic design.
“Starting up that school from scratch and running it was huge. I did all the promotion, all the organizing, and I taught there. After 15 years, I was spent, and passed the school on to my son.”
Denman Island Creativity
Since moving to Denman 18 years ago, Maureen has concentrated on painting in both oil and acrylics, but of course that’s not all she creates. She has many fruit trees and a small vineyard on her property. “Autumn is juice time with the apples and pears and then when the grapes ripen it’s time to make wine,” she says.
For Maureen, the world is a cornucopia of inspiration and material, whether the medium is fruit, fabric, or paint.
Maureen Drew’s exhibit, Water Studies, takes place at the Denman Island Summer Art Gallery Thursday, August 21, to Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
Hours: Mon – Sat 11:00 am – 4:00 pm / Sunday 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.
Opening reception: Thursday, August 21, 7:00 pm.
