A new prairie themed art exhibit has been brought to Prairie Fusion Arts & Entertainment.

It is called Multi-Grains of Energy and it consists of mixed media paintings that include prairie grown grains on the canvas. Naomi Gerrard is the artist and she says her pieces represent different aspects of prairie lifestyle.

"There's a story to the work," says Gerrard. "It's related to the planting and mothering, I have a few figurative pieces called mothering earth. I have the farm family incorporated into some of the pieces, along with some of the ideas farmers have to deal with on regular bases."

Gerrard also outlines why she uses grains in her work.

"I grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania," says Gerrard. "I always found the grains very fascinating because of the shapes of the grain, the colour, the textures that grain produces when you put it on a canvas. Also, the energy of the grains, as they mature, break into a plant, and produce more food for consumption."

She notes although she is not from Manitoba, she has lived here for over 30 years and feels very connected to the province.

Gerrard describes how it feels to have her an exhibit dedicated entirely to her work.

"It's awesome," says Gerrard. "I started negotiating with the gallery almost two and a half years ago. They sent me a contract, we put together a plan and I developed it from there. In fact, quite a few of these pieces have been touring other galleries in Manitoba. Many of those were solo shows but this is the biggest solo show I've had, I've been growing it over the last two years."

The exhibit can be seen at Prairie Fusion Arts & Entertainment until September 21st. Paintings can also be purchased with them upon request.