I’m very happy to invite you to the opening of my new exhibition at Sissiboo Coffee in Bear River on Sunday, June 21, 2026.
This show feels especially meaningful to me.
Ten years ago, abstract painter Wayne Boucher and I were the first artists to exhibit at the newly opened Sissiboo Coffee Bar and Gallery in Bear River. At that time I was mostly working in acrylic, but watching Wayne use oil painting sticks inspired me to experiment with them. Many of the paintings in this exhibition grew out of that discovery.
One of the central works in the show, “The Uprising”, began as a pastel drawing made outdoors beside the flower garden near my studio — a garden overflowing with cosmos, zinnias, nicotiana, and towering sunflowers. I planted the flowers densely so that they would twist, bend, and compete for light in a joyful kind of chaos. I became fascinated by their movement, their persistence, and the way they continually reached toward the sun.
For many years I painted directly from life, but this piece took me somewhere new.
After completing the original pastel sketch, I transformed it into a large oil painting using oil paints in a stick form, drawn directly onto canvas. I preserved the original composition, but the painting itself remained deeply rooted in drawing, gesture, and observation.
Some brush work was applied but I primarily drew with oil paint.
What I loved most was the feeling of bringing summer back into the studio during the depths of winter — resurrecting colour, warmth, and movement while snow lay outside.
Flora Doehler
Oil
36 x 48 in
This sunflower painting has become one of my favourites in the exhibition, though there are many others in the show that hold different stories and meanings for me as well.
The exhibition opens Sunday, June 21 at Sissiboo Coffee in Bear River and continues in Annapolis Royal through the end of August. I’d love to see you there. I will be there from 1pm onwards.
