Side Door Gallery

THE SIDE DOOR GALLERY & STUDIO

Welcome to The Side Door Studio and Gallery

_________________

Six professional women artists — all active members of the local art community — form this vibrant artist co-operative. Together they share an eclectic and complementary vision. Come visit this inspiring gallery and working studio located on the ground floor of The Old School House Arts Centre (TOSH) in the heart of Qualicum Beach. You'll find landscapes, still life, figures and non-objective paintings in all styles: realism to abstraction expressed in a variety of medias. Art cards, reproductions and unframed original paintings are also available.

COVID -19 protocol has been applied at the Old Schoolhouse. Please check their website for detailed information.

Resident Artists for 2025:

Dawne Brandel, Jacqueline Dunn, Laura Hilts, Donna McDonnell,

Patricia Mansell, Birgit Coath

Located on the ground floor of the The Old School House Arts Centre, in the heart of

Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

All images are for viewing purposes only and may not be downloaded, copied or duplicated in any form.

Donna McDonnell

“For as long as I remember, I’ve felt the challenge and excitement of trying to draw or paint what I was seeing in the world around me, and in doing that, I can hopefully bring out something more, a mood, perhaps, or a sense of time or place.”

After a career as a registered nurse, Donna graduated from Algonquin College in Ottawa in Graphic Design, winning numerous awards and finishing top student in her class. She was employed as a graphic designer and illustrator in Ottawa for over ten years before moving west in 2006. She enjoys painting in water media, oil and pastel, plein-air painting with her friends during the warm months of summer, and absolutely loves printmaking.

Donna has recently studied Printmaking at North Island College in Comox, and is a member of the Comox Valley Printmakers Association (CVPA). She is an Associate member of the Federation of Canadian Artists (AFCA), and a Signature member of Pastel Artists Canada (PAC). She is a resident artist at the Side Door Studio at The Old School House Arts Centre (TOSH), in Qualicum Beach.

www.arrowsmithfca.ca/donnamcdonnell

Jacqueline Dunn

Jacqueline Dunn is a lifelong artist and art educator. She believes that art is both a passion and a discipline. To that end she translates her love of nature and children: forests, meadows, sacred spaces and children in their innocence while applying her knowledge of design, form and technique.

Jacqueline has a Master’s Degree from U.B.C. and has taught numerous art courses. In addition, she has participated in many art shows from The Federation of Canadian Artists to local Island shows to a one person, sold out show in Tianjin, China. She continues to work daily in her studio in Qualicum Bay on Vancouver Island where she lives with her cherished labradoodle dog, Molly.

Location

122 Fern Road West, Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, V9K 1S4

Located on the ground floor of the The Old School House Arts Centre, in the heart of

Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Patricia Mansell

Born in Kent, England, Patricia moved to Alberta, Canada in 1981. She now lives in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

Patricia took up painting in 1994 and was drawn to painting wildlife. Learning and developing her style has taken her across North America to find new subjects to paint. She brings depth and detail to her acrylic paintings, and enjoys the process of mixing from a very limited palette of four main colours.

She has a special interest in painting endangered wildlife. Often something unique about the animal will inspire a painting. She develops her paintings from research and photographing animals in the wild and enjoys bringing out each animal's character.

"One of the strengths of wildlife art is its ability to tell stories. In my paintings I try to bring out the individuality of each animal as it goes about its everyday life. I portray many endangered animals, hoping that bringing them to life in my art will raise awareness of how close we are to losing them."

www.patriciamansell.ca
patricicmansell@shaw.ca

Dawne Brandel

Dawne was born in Kelowna B.C. surrounded by lakes, orchards and the four seasons. From an early age she has always loved the arts, immersing herself in art classes all though school. Drawing and composition classes at the Alberta College of Art solidified the desire to take it to the next level.

Floral design and horticulture became a passion where she spent most of her adult career. The floral arts teach you all about composition, texture, design and colour that influence her paintings today.

Retirement from floral designing has allowed for the time commitment to paint.

Dawne is a member of the Canadian Federation of Artists and has won numerous awards for her work. She is represented by The Old School House Art Gallery in Qualicum Beach and Tutt Street Gallery in Kelowna, B.C.

"I love to play with pattern and colour layering the paint for rich effects. The pieces are always evolving. The forces of nature, especially in flowers and trees always amaze me. Plants have such incredible beauty, strength and changeability."

www.dawnebrandel.com
mdbrandel@shaw.ca

All images are for viewing purposes only and may not be downloaded, copied or duplicated in any form.

Laura Hilts

Laura has been drawing and painting for over 50 years. A retired high school teacher, she enjoyed teaching art to both teenagers and adults. She began painting in oil but later fell in love with watercolour. A member of the Ottawa Watercolour Society for many years, she was awarded by jury the status of FELLOW in 2002.

Today she paints in both watercolour and acrylics, sometimes incorporating ink, pastel or charcoal drawing into her paintings. Laura is an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists where her paintings have been juried into many federation shows in Vancouver, Kelowna, Kamloops and the local Oceanside area. She has won Awards of Excellence, Honourable Mention and People's Choice Awards for her watercolour and acrylic paintings.

Laura is a founding member of the TOSH 10 Gallery in Qualicum Beach.

https://lauralhilts.wixsite.com/artist

lauralhilts@gmail.com

Birgit Coath

Birgit’s work is a manifestation of her personal journey.

Even as a child she examined her environment seeing the unique, even in the mundane.
In times of difficulty, she trained her senses to go beyond the apparent and question accepted logic. Out of this grew a creativity that served in her corporate years and continued in her profession as a garden designer and now as an artist.

Fascination with light and dark as well as architectural elements is evident in her subjects. A spiritual thread runs through her work.

Clearly, her life's experience is a great teacher and is her inspiration. To further her technical skills, she has studied with the Vancouver Art Academy, and has been tutored by artists of note such as Anita Nairne, Janice Robertson, Richard McDiarmid, Alan Wylie, Liz Wiltzen, Michael Abraham, Robert Ashcroft and David Goatley. Brigitte is privileged to be coached by world renowned artist Donna Zhang who has been the catalyst of a significant shift in the style and quality of her work.

At the artist community of San Miguel de Allende, she studied with Sam Seaman and Jonathon Williams. Here her work was influenced by the architecture, magical light and colors of that community.

www.birgitcoath.com
birgit.coath@telus.net