Member Profile Series ~ Agnes Oosterhof

 

Member Profile with Agnes Oosterhof

Agnes Oosterhof was born and raised in the Netherlands.  She obtained a BSc in Physical Education, and moved to Hong Kong in the early 1970’s, where both her sons were born. She took portraiture classes in The Hague and downtown HK, and taught at private girls’ schools.  In 1980 her family moved to Toronto, where she taught for 17 yrs. In the 1990’s she joined the Willowdale Group of Artists. A job opportunity brought her to Victoria, BC, where she was the Principal as well as a  teacher in a small Christian school. She enhanced her certification by obtaining a Master’s degree in Leadership and Administration.  In the arts field, Agnes enjoys painting (watercolour and acrylics), as well as sketching with pencil, conte and pen. Upon retirement in 2014, she joined the Victoria Sketch Club and was involved as follows: Program Convenor, EnPlein Air organizer, Newsletter, Show Director 2020 (the show was cancelled due to Covid), Secretary and Show Co-Director 2024. When she's not creating art, she enjoys visiting with family and friends, gardening, walking, knitting, making digital photo books, as well as being involved in her local church. Next month's profile: VSC member Ken McKenzie

Submitting your Member Profile Consider adding your profile to this monthly section! Please included a bio picture in jpg format, as well as a sample of your art. Word count can range from 200 to 300 words. Submissions and / or queries can be sent to

Note from VSC President

 

Note from VSC President

We are a very active and creative art club! With our annual Art Show less than two months away, I’m sure we are all sorting out our approach; painting that particular painting and of course, thinking about how we can help out, as our Show runs on the amazing contributions you all make to make it a stellar show. In these days leading up to that time, there are moments when we are gathered together, working diligently, and there is utter quiet as we sink into our creative works. It’s a magical time as we collectively understand where each of us is at, given our shared passion as artists. This is your newsletter and newsletters aren’t all about words. Often, photos grab one’s interest and imagination and keep us interested. With that in mind, I encourage you to take photos of your workspace, your beautifully messy palette, your work in progress. We can develop a bit of a library to tell the story of who we are. Send your photos to Amy (victoriasketchclub@gmail.com) and we’ll create a file as fodder for further newsletters and communications. Yours truly, Gillian Rhodes

Member profile series ~ Phillippa Brown

 

Member Profile with Phillippa Brown

Phillippa works in many medias including graphite, watercolour and acrylic, or basically whatever she has at hand to make a mark. Although she has been drawing since a very early age, finding the time to make art consistently has been a struggle in her adult life. Now retired, she hopes to start honing some of her skills and become deeply involved in the daily practice of making art. Phillippa was born in England and grew up in Squamish, B.C. from the age of five to 21. In her 20s, she studied studio art at Capilano College before continuing on to complete a BA in Anthropology (Museum studies), and a little later, a Masters in Library and Information Studies (MLIS ’95) at UBC. This is where she made the acquaintance of the irrepressible Val Lawton, with whom she reconnected 25 years later here in Victoria. After graduating from UBC, Phillippa came to Victoria and started working at the Greater Victoria Public Library as the Children’s Librarian for the Bruce Hutchison Branch. After 25 years at multiple branches and posts, she retired last year as a Planning Coordinator, responsible for statistics, a far cry from story times and anything creative. Having retired, she is now volunteer treasurer for the FCA Victoria Chapter and was delighted to join the Victoria Sketch Club last spring. At about the same time, Phillippa also treated herself to a new greenhouse which she is slowly learning how to use. Now busy with gardening, art, walks with friends and family, Phillippa is wondering how on earth she ever fit working for a living into her life.