Richcoloursof reallifeinspireBurnabypainter Artsnow

AbhinayaNatesh anatesh@burnabynow com

YoungHwa Cha-Hach has always found beauty in her surroundings

Always captivated by the colours in her environment yellow rays of sunshine reflecting off blue water, bright smiles of teenagers, shades of green and red in the trees, browns and greys of pants and bags she sets out to capture the moments on canvas and breathes emotional life into them.

Ever since she was old enough to hold a pencil and a paintbrush as a kid in Korea, Cha-Hach has dreamed of being an artist.

She remembers being fascinated by all the colours in her surroundings That fascination has held

“When I walk into a store, I don’t remember the store’s name, but I can describe the store with the colours,” she said.

Colour forms the basis of all her works in poster-colour medium, a little-known gouache-like medium she first studied in Korea, along with oil and acrylic She breathes life into different themes impressionist art, semiabstract art and landscapes, and mediums including oil, acrylic, poster, water Cha-Hach’s inspiration from colours in real life is reflected through the subjects in her paintings For example, works that were painted in Malaysia, the warmer and more densely populated country, had more lively subjects of cheery families in vibrant clothes, and her paintings made in Canada tended to more landscapes and darker hues.

“No 1 sellers here are landscape,” she said “We live in a country where the nature is overwhelming, it’s beautiful Big mountains, lakes it is just this beautiful country And (people) appreciate that subconsciously”

A vibrant picture above her fireplace shows six boys all dressed in summer colours, smiling She vividly remembered that moment: “It was a beautiful, sunny day, they were all walking together and all the colours just caught my eyes. So I took a picture as they shyly stood and posed.”

This, freezing a moment in time and conveying the life in it, is why Cha-Hach loves painting.

From Friday, April 14 to Sunday, April 16, the Burnaby-based painter will be making an appearance as the featured artist in the April Spring Fling hosted by Burnaby Artists Guild, where she plans to showcase her works along with those by other local artists Admission is free, and the artist is encouraging people across the region to visit the exhibition

Even if you can’t buy the painting, just dropping by to show appreciation for the local artists’ work could make their day, she said. It could also inspire kids to pick up their paint brushes and paint.

“All artists have to start from somewhere ”

Spring Fling Sale

When: Friday, April 14 to Sunday, April 16

Official opening: Friday, April 14; 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 15; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 16; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (6450 Deer Lake Ave )

Cost: Free admission and parking, bus access

AbhinayaNatesh anatesh@burnabynow com

Ways for people to make good decisions to improve their lives are part of a report published on the International Day of Happiness (March 20), says Simon Fraser University professor Lara Aknin

“It’s great that we can measure people’s mental health and well-being,” said Aknin, one of the six editors of the 2023World Happiness Report “People can have positive feelings that extend beyond neutral. …They can be very happy with their lives; they can feel meaningful, thriving and connected and all these wonderful things. … So the fact that we can measure it allows us to think about what it is we can do.”

The report, published by Sustainable Development Solutions Network and based on GallupWorld Poll data, ranked Canada as the 13th happiest country in the world among the 137 countries included in the report. It based the results on six key factors related to happiness: social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption

Finland emerged as the world’s happiest country for the sixth consecutive year, while the U S ranked two places below Canada at 15th

Although Aknin can’t pinpoint to the exact reason why Nordic countries stand out for being the happiest, she says she thinks a part of it has to do with wealth Many of the countries that emerge on the top are relatively wealthy, she noted Most people in the happiest countries earn at least a living wage and have a rela- tively comfortable lifestyle, while people on the poorer economic spectrum in those countries have structural support in place

Canada’s rankings are not the highest, she noted. However, they are also not the lowest Many factors, including several overlapping crises (COVID-19 and the Ukraine-Russia war among them) play a role. Despite the crises, the report noted that most populations, not just in Canada but around the world, continued to be resilient

“I also think Canada has relatively high levels of trust and low levels of corruption,” Aknin said “In general, people tend to be relatively autonomous They feel like they have the freedom to make their choices But there are also relatively high levels of social support and generosity”

The report takes a closer look at the trends of how happiness is distributed, and Canada places relatively highly in GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, absence of corruption, freedom to make life choices and generosity

“The finding that I think is really meaningful and worth spotlighting is generosity or levels of benevolence, and various forms of pro-social behaviour,” added Aknin. “There are three main forms that are assessed: donating money to charity, volunteering for a charitable organization and helping a neighbour All of those are significantly up in, I think, in every region of the world, compared to pre-COVID years ”

“So I think a lot of people assumed that COVID was terrible for group dynamics that there’d be fights and brawls for limited resources but on the contrary, we see that benevolence levels were up and remained up last year, so I think that’s really interesting.”

This concert will fill you with feelings of love and longing through tales of home and wandering as Ruby Singh stitches together a performance inspired by the Delta Blues and Qawaali as well as golden-era hip hop.

Band members making up the Future Ancestors include the fabulous Khari Wendell McClelland and Holly Eccleston in song, Gord Grdina on oud and guitar, percussionist Kenton Loewen on drums (and typewriters, dried flowers and glass bottles), Peter Schmitt on bass and Paul Finlay on the turntables The show promises to be a sonic delight conjuring atmospheres of ancient realms and future rhythms

WHEN: Friday, April 14 at 8 p m

WHERE: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (6450 Deer Lake Ave )

COST: $30-$35, tickets available through tickets. shadboltcentre com

Saturday, april 15

Swing your heart out at BC Swing Dance Club’s April dance

Take a free beginner lesson to learn the ins and outs of West Coast swing style or expand your swing knowledge in an intermediate lesson Then from 8 to 11 p m , social dance it up with DJ Rick on music.

Cash or card payments are accepted at the door; masks are required For more information, see bcswingdance ca

WHEN: Saturday, April 15 from 6:30 to 11 p m

WHERE: Confederation Community Centre (4585 Albert St )

COST: Free beginner lesson; $4-$10 intermediate lesson; $7-15 dance

It’s the best of Buster Keaton at the Shadbolt’s Music, Words and Buster Keaton event on Saturday Featuring The Balloonatic (1923), which tells the tale of a misadventuring wanderer who floats from city to wilderness and Sherlock Jr (1924), about a movie projectionist who dreams he's part of the onscreen action. This event will have a live improvised musical score by Róisìn Adams as well as a talk about Buster Keaton’s life and works from authors Onjana Yawnghwe and Hazel Jane Plante.

WHEN: Saturday, April 15 at 8 p.m.

WHERE: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (6450 Deer Lake Ave.)

COST: $30-$35, tickets available through tickets. shadboltcentre.com

Sunday, april 16

It’s time for drag brunch at the Rec Room, hosted as always by The Established, Shanda Leer. This Sunday’s performance will showcase the glamorous Vivan Vanderpuss of Canada’s Drag Race season 3 and Dust Cwaine. Guests must be 19+ with ID or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

WHEN: Sunday, April 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; showtime is at noon

WHERE: The Rec Room Burnaby (1920 Willingdon Ave , unit 2106)

COST: $25 for individual seats, tickets available on Eventbrite ca (search “Drag Brunch Rec Room”)

This weekend, take joy in the talent and creations of local artists at the Burnaby Artists Guild Show and Sale

This three-day show celebrating spring will feature the work of artist YoungHwa Cha-Hach

While you’re there to enjoy the art and buy a painting or two, take part in on-the-spot portraits offered as well as a raffle of an original framed painting There’s free parking and bus access. For more, see burnabyartistsguild.com.

WHEN: Friday, April 14 from 7 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, April 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, April 16 from 10 a m to 5 p m

WHERE: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (6450 Deer Lake Ave )

COST: Free admission

The Rec Room (1920 Willingdon Ave.) is hosting an “all ager rager” on Saturday, April 15 from 7 to 11 p m with local metal punk band Bison, heavy doom rockers Elsinor and prog rock ’n’ roll greats Black Thunder. Tickets are $20, all ages are allowed with adult supervision. Search “Bison Elsinore Black Thunder Rec Room” for tickets.

Compiled by Lauren Vanderdeen