Urban Angels are Hard to See is dark, edgy and compelling.

The exhibit of contemporary paintings by Shirley Dickie opened at the Muir Gallery on Aug. 25.

For Dickie painting is a process.

“Sometimes it’s about where I am, sometimes it’s about where I’m going,” says the 57 year old.

Once a year or so, Dickie spends a couple of months deciding how she wants to explore where she is and where she’s going through her painting. Urban Angels is the result of her work so far this year.

“Urban Angels is about my city roots,” says Dickie, who moved to the Comox Valley from Vancouver 20 years ago. “It is about survival in the modern world, about information overload, multi-tasking and everything we do today. It is about the stress of those elements and the ways we survive them.”

Developing the city theme, many paintings in the show are from what Dickie calls her graffiti collection. Night Dream and Windows, are predominantly black and white with the odd splash of red. A bed, a face and a row of tulips are some of the many focal points. These works present the cluttered and bleak interior landscapes both of a person and of their physical location. But even though the overall feeling is one of depression, the atmosphere is also provocative and compelling.

In contrast, Red Hair is a portrait of a beautiful woman. Her expression is sultry and enigmatic. The painting is divided into compartments making the broad expanse of white wing and face separate, yet connected. There is a strong sense of juxtaposition, of finding beauty and darkness in the same person. Earlier incarnations of this theme can be found in Urban Angel I and II, the dream-based paintings that initiated the urban angel series.

Some of Dickie’s paintings are light-hearted and whimsical. Ziggy is a generic name given to a character that appears in one painting. The form developed out of some impromptu doodles and conveys a playful mood. According to Dickie, another figure and one of my favourites, Red Dog, is somewhat of an alter ego. “He is a watch dog and observes what is going on,” Dickie explains. “He also provides a sense of companionship.”

Dickie’s limited, dark palette works well for Urban Angels. Her composition is imaginative and invites a leisurely viewing to explore all aspects of a painting.

Each work possesses its own rhythm and balance and a liberal use of symbolism opens the work to multiple interpretations.

I have been reviewing Dickie’s paintings for 10 years and it is a pleasure to observe her work change and develop. Many artists find it a challenge to stretch their boundaries, but Dickie seems right at home exploring new ideas and forms. I look forward to seeing what she produces over the next 10 years.

Urban Angels are Hard to See continues at the Muir Gallery until Saturday, Sept. 9. The gallery is located at 440 Anderton, near the Fifth Street Bridge, and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dickie will be at the gallery Sept. 1 and 2 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. To view more of her work visit www.dickieart.com.