Alex Wilks/ Special to the 91原创 Advance Times

Painting with watercolours, designing quilts, and crafting both wooden and stone carvings are just a few of the artistic avenues that Lora Armbruster has tried throughout her 70-year career as an artist.

鈥淧ainting is the one thing that I prefer. It gets the old juices flowing,鈥� she noted.

The 88-year-old handicrafter is the newest of 18 local artists who were selected to be a part of the 10th annual West Fine Art Show being held during the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair.

鈥淎ll of our show鈥檚 featured artists [will be] producing representational art that depicts our Western Canada homeland, surroundings and lifestyle,鈥� said Brian Croft, president of the West Fine Art Show Society.

鈥淟ora, by virtue of her life-long commitment to art, [can fill] all of these requirements many times over,鈥� he said.

Armbruster, a long-time 91原创 resident, will be contributing 25 personalized oil paintings to the exhibition, featuring imagery of horses, sunsets, and even one of North Delta鈥檚 Burns Bog.

Following the show, a portion of the proceeds from any art sold will be donated to one of the art society鈥檚 connected charity groups, including 91原创 Hospice Society, CHILD Foundation, and the 91原创 School District Foundation.

鈥淭he last month to six weeks I have been painting over four hours a day to prepare for the show,鈥� she shared.

While Armbruster has dedicated most of her life to learning new artisan skills. Even in her senior years, she has continued to mentor, teach, and sell her artwork across the Fraser Valley and as far away as South Africa.

鈥淧eople have bought my paintings and taken them to Europe, Japan, and South America,鈥� she said with great pride. 鈥淪eeing my artwork at a show or in magazines is what inspired them to buy.鈥�

The exuberant senior is 鈥渋ncredibly inspired鈥� by her surroundings, creating artwork that contains seascapes, gardens, mountains, and farmland.

鈥淪ome of my paintings tell a story, and the ideas I come up with are endless,鈥� she explained.

鈥淚 think I would have to be 200 years old for me to ever run out.鈥�

Having taught art workshops over the span of five decades, Armbruster has helped budding artists as young as 10 years old and as old as 80-plus learn how to use paint, colours, and techniques to create a sense of realism across their canvases.

鈥淚鈥檓 very realistic, so when you paint something, even the shadows need to go in the right direction,鈥� she explained. 鈥淎lmost everything is an art form, and the more you practise, the more you learn.鈥�

Having taken many workshops through the years, Armbruster is an advocate for any opportunity for artists to collaborate.

鈥淕et yourself some paints, because there鈥檚 always paper to practise on,鈥� she noted. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just about getting involved. You鈥檒l do what you want to do, but a group setting has great companionship.鈥�

West Fine Art, running from May 17 to 21, is held inside the Alice MacKay building at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. Admission is free with a ticket to the fair and rodeo.

鈥淐ome out and learn. There are so many people who just don鈥檛 do anything, and it鈥檚 not that hard to get started,鈥� Armbruster noted with encouragement.

鈥淭he more you do, the more you become relaxed with it, because busy hands create busy minds.鈥�