Delving into the 5enses

The glass door opens as Mena Martini enters with a rush of fall air and a bundle of canvases.

She rests one, covered with a mirage of choppy colours and soft outlines of full sails, on the small kitchenette counter.

“You’ve been producing big time,” Catherine Fields exclaims as she looks over Martini’s lively work.

With another rush of air the door opens again and another load of canvases enter, this time carried by Therese Lydia Joseph. Emptying her hands, she places her largest piece on an easel. Joseph immediately points to the left corner of the vibrant painting.

“I don’t like the green,” she says.

The door opens and more canvases enter two more times — once with Sara Morison and then with Lori Bagneres. Together these five North Shore artists make 5enses.

They’re a group of women that come together with the same passion, the same studio space and some of the same exhibits.

They all speak French, visit as many art shows as possible and have a love for the same art instructor who helped set them on their path together — yet their body of work is very different.

“But everyone speaks about the colours in the paintings,” Fields notes.

Working together has been beneficial, Morison says. They can critique one another’s pieces and ask for advice when they’re feeling stuck.

“When you come to be a little older you respect each other,” Fields says.

“There’s no sense of competition [within the group],” Joseph adds, as the group nods in agreement.

“When you paint you are so much into the painting you can’t see it anymore,” Martini says, noting that’s why having extra eyes around can help.

Of course the small, bright studio at the back of Fields’s property gets a bit crowded if they all paint together, but there’s a calendar and a schedule. Morison fills in her days as the others chat.

In the summer, they swing the doors open and paint outside.

Somebody always brings goodies, they add as Martini passes around dried apple slices.

“[Fields] has a very nice coffee maker,” Joseph notes.

Tonight from 6 to 8 p.m., there will be coffee and more as 5enses hold their opening reception of their new exhibit at Delany’s Coffee House in The Village at Park Royal. Their art work will be on display for the month.

raldous@northshoreoutlook.com

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