It has one name, but the art show opening tonight at the Courthouse Art Gallery will exhibit a revolving collection of artwork.

Gifts of the Spirit is a cash-and-carry show, which means anyone who pays cash for a piece of art will walk out of the building that day with it.

As pieces sell, featured artists Cassandra Dolen and Meriel Barber will replenish the art gallery’s walls with new pieces.

The show could feature completely different artwork in its last week than in its first, Dolen said.

“It’s an opportunity to get to see a lot of great original artwork in a short period of time,” she said. “If you go once, you might not see the same things that you will see the next time.”

Though never formally trained, Dolen has been painting all her life. But it was only after the success of her sold-out show Breaching Boundaries at the Courthouse in 2011 that she realized she could work as a painter full time.

Dolen’s pieces are done with walnut oil, the original type of oil used for oil painting, she explained.

Dolen said using walnut oil is trickier than other oils because it takes even longer to dry, but said she prefers it because of the vibrancy of its colours.

“It’s really good for me because I’m a shameless colour queen. I’m just mesmerized by colour,” she said.

Indeed, her central piece in the show, titled The Message, is comprised of brilliant hues of green arbutus trees in stark contrast with two white ravens passing a scroll in the foreground. Both the trees and white ravens are native to Vancouver Island — and Dolen is as well.

Another of Dolen’s pieces, The Blue Breath of Spring, features rolling hills and bright blue birds in the foreground.

“This is from a place where we go up on Lindley Creek Road,” Dolen said. “That’s Hamilton Hill in the background. In the springtime, we have mountain bluebirds here which are a real treat because they’re so incredibly beautiful.”

Barber, who’s also the volunteer curator of the gallery, said there really is no main piece for her part of the show.

The multimedia artist said her pieces reflect her eclectic nature as an artist as they range from collage to water colour.

“In my media, I tend to play with colours and shapes. If it’s acrylic or if it’s water colour, I will do completely different kinds of work,” Barber said.

As the curator, Barber said she wanted to name the show Gifts of the Spirit to tie into the season.

“We don’t decide if one gift is more important than another for an individual; what’s important is whether or not they magnify those gifts and use them to benefit themselves and others in positive ways,” Barber said. “That’s what a gift of the spirit is; it’s something like love or hope or passion or constancy. It could be an appreciation of nature and a connection to it through the work that we create.”

It’s a rare move to open the gallery in December when the volunteer-run space usually breaks for holidays and reopens in the new year.

However, Barber took the unusual step of opening the gallery for a December show after Dolen’s show, which was originally scheduled for the fall, had to be bumped back.

On short notice, Dolen said she “power-painted” for a month to get ready.

“It means being up all night long. I’m good under pressure. I just start neglecting food and sleep and start painting and painting and painting,” she laughed.

Gifts of the Spirit opens today and runs until Dec. 21. The art gallery is open Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m.

Both artists will be at the gallery this Saturday for a public reception for the show from 4 to 6 p.m.