With the 2011 Tour of the Arts coming up, the Columbia Valley can expect to see more of the 45 artists on the Tour and their work appearing as July 31 approaches.

One of the artists on the Tour this year is Sherry Mallach, who has painted one of the five Muskoka chairs up for silent auction for the Tour’s Artsy Deck Chair Auction.

The chair is currently on display at Essentials in Invermere.

Mallach, when asked to paint one of the Muskoka chairs for the auction event, had initially envisioned a mare and a foal on the backrest, but when it was determined that would not work with the spaces in the wood, she eventually painted the detailed portrait of a horse’s head and shoulders.

Mallach’s art education began in 2005 through art courses. She now works mostly with acrylic and oil paints, her subjects being whatever inspires emotion at the time, and has created lanscapes, portraits, animals, still life and more on her canvases.

The presence and personality of animals (horses especially) and country living has been one of the biggest influences in Mallach’s life, and therefore her paintings.

“It can look like the person or pet, but I try to capture the personality too,” said Mallach, who stresses the importance of personality in her portrait and animal work.

Mallach was a part of the Tour of the Arts last year as part of the Purcell Mountains Painters group at the reception. This will be Mallach’s first year as a stand-alone artist at the Tour, and she and her works will be on display at the Stewart property.

As for what Mallach hopes people will take out of her work when they visit her display during the tour, she had this to say:

“I hope they see the emotions that I felt when I painted them, and recognize the personality in the pieces.”