Coming January 2009 - Snowbound

Tay River Gallery will present Snowbound, a gallery group exhibition of paintings during the months of January and February 2009 from January 17th - February 28th.
"Snowbound" slows the pace in this small town Ontario gallery, in step with the realities of country life during a typical Canadian winter.
An opportunity to contemplate paintings of snowy scenes, some far from snowy scenes and other yet undiscovered paintings - snowbound until further notice.

The winter months provide an opportune time for inward reflection. With the current snowbound theme in mind, we decided to query the gallery artists about how the Canadian winter climate impacts their creative life.

Coming January mid-month, we will share the "Snowbound Thoughts" of these accomplished artists with their personal views on the Canadian painter's creative life in winter. Available to peruse at the gallery during the show and on the Gallery Blog, "Art Matters at Tay River Gallery" will be these entertaining as well as stimulating ideas about the painting life in winter and a sneak peak at some new works in progress or recently completed. We will have you captive snowbound and spellbound!

New Allison Robichaud Paintings Arrive for the Holidays

Allison Robichaud & his wife Margot arrived on Saturday bearing gifts for a delighted gallery owner - wonderful new paintings - after spending hours shoveling snow in the cold at their home in Prescott, before they could leave to travel to Perth. Both were bundled appropriately for the occasion as it was definitely a bone chilling day. That's what I call dedication. All fooling aside, Allison is an amazingly dedicated painter, creating new work daily at the get go. The first photo is of a subdued Allison with his sweetheart Margot and the second captures Allison & Margot hamming it up. Some of his latest work can be seen below.










The top three paintings are small format paintings for the Holiday Smalls show...( 6 x 8s and 5 x 7s)...I missed posting photos for another two small paintings that are here at the gallery.Click on each photo to enlarge. The last painting ,a larger format is titled "Simplicity at its Best", and is the latest Robichaud masterpiece. Click on each photo to enlarge.

Call for Fashion & Jewelry Designers

Tay River Gallery in Perth is accepting submissions from local fashion designers and jewelry designers for showcasing in 2009. We aim to celebrate Fashion Arts Canadian style in 2009. And we won't be quiet about it!
Submissions will be accepted from Ontario and Quebec until January 31, 2009. Submit by email to lbrown@tayrivergallery.com images of recent work and biography as well as link to personal website. Submission by mail also acceptable to Tay River Gallery , 28 Wilson St. W. Perth On K7H 2M9.

Tay River Gallery will showcase a selection of original designs in clothing, jewelry and accessories in 2009.

Tay River Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery in Perth Ontario, located forty minutes west of Kanata, and an hour north of Kingston.

From Shirley Mancino's Travel Notes, Dec 16, 2008

Shirley Mancino is an accomplished professional artist represented by Tay River Gallery in Perth. As an experienced budget traveller, life in Asia is often the inspiration for her work. Mancino travels to paint and paints to travel. Entertaining excerpts from her latest travel notes in India this month follow:
Greetings from Mandrem, Goa!

Finally arrived after a 23 hour train ride.Train was not too clean when we boarded and toilet smelled already even though this was its starting point. We both had bottom bunks so great views out the windows but the foam padding had broken down so we had a very hard bed for the night.We had the compartment to ourselves for the day so were able to stretch out and rest. Our compartment filled up with 7 men in Bangalore at 9:30 at night so subsequently, we also had a cacophony of snorers It was quite cold in the night and I wore my jacket and toque and covered myself with a sarong and my hammock....
Pillow talk
However, the train bed was not as hard as the bed in our next guesthouse which was a lovely looking king size bed with what Michael described as white sheets painted on a wooden board. We know that Indians and other Asians regularly sleep on the floor so a raised hard platform is no problem for them. This place normally charges $40 a night and has a swimming pool. We paid $10 USD. We has two frogs in our hot water bathroom.I was a bit startled!
Shocking News
Next morning I grabbed the electrical plug in (power bar) to make some tea and got a 220 volt shock when I discovered that it had no bottom so my hand landed on live wires.I had trouble throwing the damn thing down as it seemed to stick to me. My hand was all red and puffy and now is burned rather deeply in 2 places.
Home Sweet Home
Now we have rented a 2 bedroom house until Jan 05/09, with living room, dining room, kitchen, hot water, about 1500 square feet, much too big for us ($10 USD). There are very few foreign tourists as folks must be scared off by the Mumbai happenings. So if any of you have a hankering to get away and can get here during the Xmas rush, we have the space.
The beach is lovely and deserted. We are eating overlooking the water, mostly international food. We are also making our own breakfasts and some lunches in our kitchen. So it is hard to believe we are actually in India. I have painted another 2 pieces, one on the train and one since arriving here.
Electrical Issues
Michael and I are enjoying playing house in our very spacious place but all is not totally rosy. Our new hot water geyser tripped the electrical system every time we turned it ( we had to use our torch often to get around and then we were without hot water for a few days.The good news: my hand has healed very quickly.

Mandrem is just below Arambol in the far north of Goa for those of you looking to google where we are. It is very quiet and the place is filled with mainly Russian tourists. They apparently come here because it is so quiet and because they feel free to take off their clothes on the beach. We are enjoying the beach, our walks, both restaurant food and the stuff we make in our simple kitchen.Boy do we miss the microwave and other kitchen gizmos.
I am painting almost every day but don't know how to send any images. Email is scarce and expensive and so far there is nowhere to print pics. Don't know where we are headed next.It is still too far away to contemplate.

Gallery News Update

Tay River Gallery is pleased to introduce oil paintings by Debbie Milling this month. Debbie’s interpretation of the Canadian landscape focuses on views of remote Canadian landscapes captured in travel to Canada’s diverse regions. Her preferred mode of travel is by horseback or by boat; as well inspiration comes from her studio which overlooks the Rideau River near Ottawa. Milling expresses the spirit of the outdoor experience with rich vibrant landscapes showing the connectedness between each aspect of the view from the trees, water, earth to the clouds above in a bold palette of colour. Milling has participated in several group and solo shows in Ontario and her works have been gaining recognition and reside in public and private collections across Canada.


Upcoming Ottawa Living Show on Rogers’ Community channel 22 will air an interview with Ottawa artist, Ernie Labelle on December Tuesday 16th at 8 p.m. The segment will be aired again on December 21st and January 4, 2009. In November, a painting by Ernest Labelle was presented at the Perth and District Chamber of Commerce annual dinner to guest speaker Minister Jim Watson by Perth Chamber president, Dorothy Linden.The painting titled Coffee Break in Perth, (pictured in image)depicts the historic Code's Mill building on Wilson St., at location of Coutt's Coffee, one of the businesses housed in the Mill. Works by Ernest Labelle can be viewed at Tay River Gallery in the current holiday show, Merrymaking by the Tay.

Holiday Hours
A quick update on business hours for the upcoming week before Christmas.
The gallery will be open daily 11 - 6 p.m. from Tues. Dec. 15 - Wed. Dec 24th. Note that Wed Dec. 24th the gallery will close early at 3 p.m.

Closed December 25 & 26
Open Saturday December 27.
Closed December 28 - Jan 1
Open Friday Jan 2 and Sat Jan 3rd.

During the month of January the gallery will be open 4 days a wk.
Wednesday, Thursday , Friday and Saturday 11 - 5 p.m

Happy Holidays everyone!
Best wishes for the New Year from Lisa, Dave, Paul & Minako

Michel Pleau- Sculpter la lumière - Sculpting Light

The gallery has a limited number of copies of the new book release, " Michel Pleau - Sculpter la lumière - Sculpting Light", which would make a wonderful affordable gift item for art lovers on your list this holiday season. This is a lovely slim coffee table book about Canadian artist Michel Pleau's work, and his painting process with accompanying high quality images of his landscape paintings. The text by Suzette Emond is so beautifully written it reads like poetry as it shares the artist's spiritual connection and painting journey in nature. Inspired by the Group of Seven painters, especially Tom Thompson, Pleau's inclination remains to paint the beauty of nature and Canadian wilderness scenes in a spontaneous style that easily enthralls the viewer with its magic.

Michel Pleau is an accomplished Canadian painter and the recipient of various awards and distinction, including the Canadian painting Grand Prize in 1989. Since 1974 Michel has participated in over twenty group and solo exhibitions in galleries in North America and Europe. He is a member of the Figurative Arts Institute since 1999 and lives in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec. Michel Pleau is represented by Tay River Gallery in Perth Ontario.

Michel Pleau
Sculpter la lumière - Sculpting Light
Size: 9 1 / 2 "x 8"
48 pages, papier glacé ,48 pages high quality glossy paper
42 photos de toiles et quelques photos de l'artiste 42 photos of paintings and some photos of the artist
$15 retail ( price in the gallery) $20 shipped.

Snowstorms play havoc

Just a note to out of town customers. In the case of snowstorms, please call the gallery to ensure that we are open before travelling to Perth. Hwy 7 between Carleton Place & Perth can be extremely hazardous during snow storms, as there is very often quite a delay in the road being plowed or salted or sanded on this stretch of the highway. As we do not live in the town of Perth, but in the country and must travel the highway, there may be the rare occasion when we are snowed in or cannot drive in.
Lisa Brown, Gallery owner.

Excerpts from Shirley Mancino's Travel Journal Dec/08

Shirley Mancino is an accomplished professional artist represented by Tay River Gallery in Perth. As an experienced budget traveller, life in Asia is often the inspiration for her work. Mancino travels to paint andpaints to travel. Image pictured to the left is "Sari Elegance", a 30 x 22 original painting in watercolour & acrylic by Shirley Mancino currently available at Tay River Gallery.

Epistle from Mahabilipurim- Nov 29
Just so you all know, we are safe and sound in SE India....nowhere near the fire and bomb blasts in Mumbai. Our flights departed and arrived on time but still we were about 21 hours in airline transit. We arrived in Chennai in the rain. We made a mistake in our arrival time, wasn't the middle of the afternoon but in the middle of the night 12 midnight to be exact. We had our guide book packed away and no hotel pre-booked....so we found a place in the city which cost about $30 US about twice as much as we have ever paid before....pouring rain and windy and two AM before we got settled in. The next morning we were awakened by a knock on our door by a man wanting to shine our shoes. we explained that we only had sandals and he offered to make us shoes....only in India.

Our biggest adventure so far has been finding our way across the sprawling city last Saturday and then onto the bus for Mahabs the next day....didn't get rained on or at least only a sprinkle....This is the monsoon season on this coast but we have also had a typhoon for the last 4 days, winds at 50 miles, power out all over on and off for days (mostly off) and our hotel room roof here in Mahabs is now leaking. We have had some romantic candle light evenings in our room with no TV and we have sat in the dark trying to stay awake so that we could overcome our jet lag. We are now able to stay awake all day which is a relief and the sun has come out. We changed rooms this morning so should be dry and safe tonite. We are missing the comforts and conveniences of home especially the food choices. This is a very poor state and/or village and there are barely no veggies to be had.We are tired of Indian food already and go looking for western alternatives.... absolutely no chocolate or treats. Beer is about $3 Cdn a bottle but til today, it hasn't been hot enuf to think about it.

I have completed 2 1/2 paintings so far so my production levels on that score are about normal. No galleries or other art studios here with the exception of stone carvers...they are everywhere. Will get this off before the power goes down again.

Dec 03- Further notes from Mahabs
We are staying in a small guest house here at the beach. This is an ancient town with temples and cave carving from the 1st to the 6th century...Palava, for any of you who care. we saw most of the sights the last time we were here so this time we have just been hanging out recuperating from the 10 1/2 hour time difference. It has taken us about 10 days which is what they suggest it will take.

The weather is great and we have been swimming twice altho... the water is very rough and dirty from the storms last week...our room is about 12 x 12, tiled floors and bathroom, TV and a balcony with plants and seating areas right outside our door, fan only and cool water shower which is surprisingly easy to get used to when the temp is 29 degrees C. Cost is about $5 USD. Oh and I get fresh flowers affixed to my door every morning!

As mentioned in our last epistle, a cyclone blew thru here and put the final touches on a sea wall which had been damaged about a month ago....12 feet high, 12 feet wide and about 200 feet long....the sea is very unforgiving. Now the rubble blocks the beach in front of a luxury hotel. The beaches are strewn with plastic bags and other flotsam making it an unpleasant walk.

But the streets are not paved or are paved only in places and are cracked and broken, making walking treacherous. Sand is everywhere and garbage...the dumps seem to be on every street corner. There is tremendous poverty here, most people wear no shoes and are dressed in only longy (short little sarongs). as mentioned before, food consists mainly of rice and bread (parotta or chapattis) and dal and not much else.
We are escaping to Goa on Friday, a 24 hour train ride which will cost about $20 USD for both of us.

Martha Markowsky receives Award of Excellence in the Arts from City of Lachine, Quebec

Martha Markowsky was selected by the City of Lachine for the award of excellence in the arts for 2008. This honour was bestowed on Martha before an audience of over 300 people at the Centre St. Anne in Lachine on Sunday November 23, 2008. This award was in recognition of Martha Markowsky's achievements in art as well as within the arts community of Lachine and across Canada.
Pictured in the photo above is Mayor Claude Dauphin, with Martha accepting the award "Le fil de l'excellence 2008", and on the right, Councillor Jean-Francois Cloutier.

The city of Lachine has selected for their Christmas cards this year, the image from her original painting "Backyard Nostalgic Hockey" currently on display and available for sale during December at Tay River Gallery in Perth.



Martha Markowsky, accomplished and highly respected Canadian artist is an elected member of the Society of Canadian artists, with works in many prominent personal, corporate and government collections across Canada.

Martha Markowsky is represented by Tay River Gallery in Perth and featured in the current festive holiday show at Tay River Gallery. Paintings by Markowsky on a festive theme with many small works perfect for gift giving are on exhibit ( musicians, bar scenes, children at play, Montreal backyard scenes) See Martha's featured artist page on the gallery website for currently available paintings.

"Merrymaking by the Tay" Open House Next Saturday

Indulge in some "Merrymaking by the Tay" this month and treat yourself to a visual feast of many upbeat, bright, festive and seasonal paintings by our celebrated artists.

On Saturday November 29th, from 12 - 4 p.m. the public is invited to join us for refreshments at our annual Holiday Open House. Tay River Gallery is located in downtown Perth at 28 Wilson St. W. A few of the featured artists will be on hand periodically during the afternoon.

Among the 200 plus paintings on exhibit this month and next, view the festive selection of new works from Normand Baril, Margaret Chwialkowska, Deborah Czernecky, Leah Dockrill, Ernest Labelle, Shirley Mancino, Martha Markowsky, J. Allison Robichaud, Tricia Savoie, Charles Spratt, Paulette-Marie Sauve, James E. Pay, Rosemary Randell, and France Tremblay. Plenty of small gems at affordable prices from your favourite artists.


A special feature this month is a selection of oil paintings in an impressionist style with a strong focus on light, colour and contrast by guest artist, Ernest F. Labelle. Scenes featured in Labelle's paintings include an Ottawa backyard in Winter, rural Wakefield, a Hull streetscape and a Montebello country home. Ernest Labelle Ottawa area artist,captures in vibrant colour and vitality, the old and new architecture of his surroundings from travels around the world and from his favourite locales in Canada. Among his artistic accomplishments, Labelle has organized art shows and fundraisers, participated in Automn Art, and Images sur Toile and directed workshops in Ottawa, Gatineau, Montreal an Baie St Paul. Labelle's works are in collections in Canada and abroad.

In Watercolours, we are pleased to present a number of small festive works for gift giving by Rosemary Randell. Displayed in the holiday show from Rosemary are a number of tiny treasures with still life paintings in high realism created in watercolour and also watercolour and pastel. Luscious groupings of fruit perfect for the festive season are "Navel Gathering" and Sunday Shadows and favourite dishes with "Bowl from Perth", "A Seasonal Visitor" depicting a nostalgic winter scene and Storm Warning", a seascape set in Scotland. Rosemary Randell is an award winning Ottawa area watercolourist Ottawa who has created over 400 commissioned works during her professional career including 14 paintings for the City of Kanata. She has a Fine arts degree from Concordia University and is an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour (CSPWC). Rosemary offers watercolour and drawing classes afternoons and evenings for adults in Kanata year round.

Local Perth area artists John Shea and Bill Veale added new work to the festive mix at Tay River Gallery this past week. (not in time to be mentioned on our flyer for the event). From John Shea, we have displayed a number of small "gift giving" paintings of local scenes and architecture as well as some larger winter rural scenes in watercolour. Bill Veale captures winter with a Westport barn,(acrylic on canvas)as well as a new format watercolour (on paper/canvas varnished) of a nearby waterway. Avec les couleurs tres brillantes!

Take some time away from your busy routine to experience the joie de vivre and celebration expressed by gallery artists at Tay River Gallery.
More exciting works to come in December as the holiday show continues !

WEST TO EAST with a Paint Brush!

September 2008 was a wonderful, unique month for two Canadian Plein Air painting buddies. They managed to paint in both BC & Quebec during September.
In mid September, John Alexander Day (Ottawa based artist) joined BC artist Deborah Czernecky for a week in the Victoria area. It was a great week of painting on location for them!
Deborah recounts highlights of the trips in her usual entertaining manner:
Even the weather co-operated fully - the gloomy, gray blanket delayed its usual fall arrival!

In typical BC style, many wildlife sightings occurred including seals within 12 inches, Bald Eagles circling above, whale bones on the beach, painting (very observantly) under the flight path of Canadian Geese and White Swans, to mention just a few. Did you know that Canadian Geese poop 3 lbs of stuff daily? Under a different type of flight path, the duo were treated to a show by the Snow Birds Aerobatics Squadron while painting at Fisherman's wharf in the Inner Harbour.







It wasn't all fun and games! After hiking with painting gear through the Rain Forest for what seemed like eternity (to some) to find that unique, isolated West Coast Beach scene we were surprised to discover a road nearby, that would have made the 30 minute hike (according to
John's watch) a five minute drive. As one says, you're not a true islander until you drive the Pat Bay highway with the 450 cars that just got off the Super Ferry - all "rushing" to the same place. John was having a good painting day until then! However, all was well in the end, as he painted the setting sun over Esquimalt Lagoon later that evening.

At the end of Sept, both artists joined the Les Ensemble plein air painting group for five days of painting the Fall Colours in the Eastern Townships in Quebec. Deborah met up with John in Ottawa. With John's unique navigational skills, they sailed through Montreal (cell phone
capital of Canada, every car must come with a cell phone) and found Sutton in record time. Upon arrival, they found the Fall Colours at their peak and truly amazing. It was wonderful gathering every day with the other artists in the dining room. Morning coffees were barely drunk
before the maps were out and artists were charting their locations for the day and sharing information. Between the rolling hills looking into Vermont, the Sugar Shacks hidden behind the trees, morning fog and seeking permission to paint on various parcel of land it was another
successful painting trip. On the way back to Ottawa, it was great having John's IPhone, so Tim Hortons was never out of range!
Wrapping it up here .... "that's quite the backyard we have here in Canada!" pipes Deborah.
Deborah Czernecky and John Alexander Day are represented by Tay River Gallery, fine art gallery in Perth Ontario. View works on the website at www.tayrivergallery.com

Merrymaking by the Tay

"Merrymaking by the Tay", the annual holiday show at Tay River Gallery opens this week.
Tay River Gallery will present a festive mix of small original paintings by area artists at gift giving prices during November and December.
Also featured are a number of grand artworks of a festive flavor from our celebrated artists.


Rich in palette, joyful in theme and with a sense of everyday wonder , the upcoming season is embraced in the most delightful of creative interpretations.

"Merrymaking" - is celebration, festivity, lively enjoyment , joyous diversion, jolly, entertaining, revelry , cheer and more...

Join us at the Open House on Sat. Nov 29th from 12 - 5 pm at 28 Wilson St. W. for holiday refreshments during the Festival of Good Cheer in Perth. See the show and by chance meet an exhibiting artist. There is no artist reception scheduled for this show but a few artists do plan to stop in and visit.

New paintings are arriving over the next week from gallery artists for this show from as far west as Victoria, BC and east to Halifax NS.

Enjoy the new festive selection of paintings by talented area artists Normand Baril, Margaret Chwialkowska, Deborah Czernecky, Leah Dockrill, Ernest Labelle, Shirley Mancino, Martha Markowsky, J. Allison Robichaud, Tricia Savoie, Charles Spratt, Paulette-Marie Sauve, James E. Pay, Rosemary Randell, and France Tremblay. Plenty of small gems at affordable prices from your favourite artists.

As a special added attraction in Merrymaking , we are very pleased to introduce oil paintings by Ernest F. Labelle and watercolours by Rosemary Randell. Welcome to you both. More about the artists soon in an upcoming blog.. need to run and finish hanging this show.
Lisa B.

Tay River Gallery November Free Shipping Promotion

Tay River Gallery will offer free shipping anywhere in Canada on paintings over $250 value purchased from our website during the month of November from November 1 - December 1st, 2008. Some conditions apply with this special promotional offer. For full details, email us at lbrown@tayrivergallery.com or phone 613-254-5448 0r 613-257-7195. Details will be posted shortly .

Our website features an online store with a sampling of the paintings featured in the Perth gallery. To view the close to 200 paintings offered for sale from our website, you may also browse our individual artist pages from our Featured artists page

We sell only quality original paintings by Canadian artists. We represent talented and dedicated professional artists with highly meritorious works. Many of the artists have received recognition with awards and distinctions in the Canadian visual arts field.

If you find a painting you are interested in purchasing either on the online store or on an artist's page, email us at lbrown@tayrivergallery.com or call the gallery phone number at 613-264-5448 or 613-257-7195 to check for availability and shipping details. Using the shopping cart feature allows you to provide us with necessary information for shipping purposes but no online payment processing is available through our checkout online. We sell only original artwork, one of a kind pieces so availability must be checked and payment must be arranged through the gallery rather than through the website.

The website is updated frequently but artwork may sell before update. Check back frequently over the next few weeks as we continue to update with many more paintings offered to you during the holiday season. Paintings on our website can also be viewed at the gallery located at 28 Wilson St. W. in Perth, (45 minutes west of Kanata on Hwy 7 and 1 hour north of Kingston).

For payment we accept Visa, MasterCard, Direct debit and Interac Email Money Transfer.

This free shipping offer expires on December 1st and is valid only for purchase of original art from Tay River Gallery to Canadian destinations.

Tay River Gallery News

Coming soon, two locations to serve you. Since 2002, Tay River Gallery has represented talented professional artists from the Ontario region at the gallery in Perth Ontario. Tay River Gallery also provides custom conservation picture framing with careful attention to artistic design and preservation techniques. Custom framing is done in-house, with Lisa providing artistic design consultation and both Lisa and Dave involved in the process of completing your framing order. A variety of styles from classical to contemporary are available in price ranges from economical to luxurious. See our full range of mouldings and mat samples at 28 Wilson St. W. in Perth. A small selection of economical ready-made frames in a number of standard sizes are on hand when needed as a quick framing solution for paintings on canvas . Tay River Gallery is a member of the North American wide Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA) as we feel it is important to keep current with trends and knowledge in the picture framing industry and acquire further education and certification in preservation framing through the PPFA certification program.

For Carleton Place residents and Ottawa residents, we will have a local phone number (no long distance charge) that you can reach us at as of November 1st, 613-257-7195.

For Perth area , the phone number remains the same 613-264-5448 .

We will keep you posted about gallery expansion plans in the near future and in the new year.

Tay River Gallery online store is currently being updated so do check online next week for the many new paintings now available. Many apologies for any inconvenience caused by paintings still posted that have already been sold. We have had some delays in updating the online store recently, although the rest of the website has been updated on a weekly basis .

Titles from Baico Publishing now available at Tay River Gallery

Tay River Gallery in Perth Ontario is pleased to now offer a wonderful selection of books from Ottawa publisher, BaicoPublishing in our book section. Tay River Gallery's compact book section offers a selection of books from local small presses by Canadian authors as well as a selection of art reference / art instruction books.
Our latest addition to book inventory is a selection of books from local Ottawa publisher, Baico Publishing established in 1997 . The founder, Raymond Coderre brings over 40 years of invaluable experience in the printing and publishing industry. If you are looking for books by talented local authors, you will find a wide range of quality fiction, non fiction, poetry and children's books from this publishing house. The new location of Baico Books' retail outlet is 294 Albert St, Suite 103 (Corner of Kent St.) in Ottawa where you may purchase from the full range of titles. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Online store for Baico Books is also available at their website located at www.baico.ca
Local Perth residents and visitors to Perth can now purchase from a sampling of titles from this publisher at the gallery. Great for the gift giving season approaching and a perfect opportunity to support your local authors and publishers.

Painting Workshop offered by Shirley Mancino Oct 30- 31, 2008

Shirley Mancino has decided to offer a second collage/layering workshop this month on Oct 30-31st since her upcoming workshop this weekend filled so quickly, and there were a number on the waiting list.The workshops take place in Shirley's stunning lakeside studio in the charming village of Westport. There are still spaces available for the Oct 30- 31st workshop so please contact Shirley soon. Call at 613-273-2984.

Experimental Extravaganza: Collage -2 day workshop Cost $120. Materials not included.
DATE: October 30-31st, 2008, 9 - 4 pm
LOCATION: Mancino Gallery, 68 Rebecca Lane, Westport
This exciting workshop will help artists break free and explore new directions in mixed watermedia. You will loosen up and explore the interesting effects and textures created by combining watercolour or acrylic with various other media, e.g. water-soluble crayons, soft pastels, acrylics. Discover ways to resurrect your unsuccessful watermedia paintings using collage and/or black ink, coloured pencil, gesso or gouache. You will be inspired to move from nature towards abstraction. Composition and design is a fundamental part of the session. Creativity, fun, and individual uniqueness will be emphasized. Shirley will demonstrate using both watercolour and acrylics but you may use the media of your choice.

Suggested Materials List
1.Paper: 3 sheets watercolour paper (22 x 30 in, 140lb)(Optional: canvas or pre-guessoed masonite hard boards, one sheet yupo paper)
2.Brushes: variety of 1", 2", 2 1/2" (hardware store nylon or foam brushes are acceptable - large is important), some rounds, or normal watercolour/acrylic brushes
3.Tools: anything you have to move paint around e.g. palette knives, sponges, rollers, credit cards, combs, spatulas, scrapers, turkey basters, eye droppers
4.Paint: Suggested Acrylics: bring at least 3 primary colours e.g. yellow (cool and/or warm, e.g. hansa, or cadmium yellow). One or two blues: (cool and/or warm, e.g. phthalo and ultramarine). One or two reds: (cool and/or warm, e.g. quinacridone magenta, Naphol or Cad red). Plus white and black. Bring any other colours you have or want to work in.
5.Suggested watercolours: If you work in watercolour, bring at least the same artist quality warm or cool combinations as above plus the mediums listed below)
6.Matte gel medium and gesso, and spackle or "polyfilla (Optional: gloss gel medium, molding or modeling paste, podge, sand, small pebbles, egg shells or any other texture you want to collage with)
7.Plastic tubs or containters: with lids wide enough to accommodate your largest brushes (e.g. hummus or margarine tubs will do - one for each colour and several for water (total: at least 6 - 8) this is important! (Can buy new at Dollar stores/Bargain Shops)
8.Mixing palette (butcher tray or Styrofoam trays will do)

Shirley Mancino is a professional painter whose passion for life and travel are evident in her dramatic artworks. Over the last 25 years, Mancino has developed a distinctive style using mixed media. As an experienced budget traveller, life in Asia is often the inspiration for her work. Shirley travels to paint and paints to travel. Shirley is represented by Tay River Gallery in Perth. See Shirley's current works exhibited on our featured artist pages.

France Tremblay takes Grand Prize in "Paint the Parks 2008" Competition

We are pleased to hear that France Tremblay's painting,"Southeast View from Zabriskie Point" depicting a landscape observed at the Death Valley National Park in California was chosen as the Grand Prize Winner, obtaining first place in the "Paint the Parks" (2008) competition. France Tremblay, Ottawa area artist, is represented by Tay River Gallery in Perth and a small selection of works by France can be viewed at the gallery.
"Paint the Parks" (formerly called "Arts in the Parks") is a prestigious artist competition in the United States. Each year, it commissions a professional panel of jurors to select from thousands of entries the hundred winning images, well known as the "Top 100". See more about this competition at www.paintamerica.org.

Also in the artist's news, France's artwork entitled "The Sovereign" has been selected as a finalist (Top 40) in the Wildlife Art category of The Artist's Magazine Annual Art Competition (2008). This is a significant accomplishment, as this worldwide competition attracts around 15000 professional artist participants every year. France will be congratulated in the December issue of the magazine.

France's artwork entitled "White Splendour" and depicting the rare white morph of the great blue heron was selected as part of an international competition and will be presented at the prestigious Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum (New York City area), along with 112 works of the world's foremost nature and wildlife artists. Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, Oradell, New Jersey, exhibition from Sept 10 - Dec 21st.
Bravo France!

Plein Air Painting in Charlevoix with Alan J. T. Bain

Alan & Audrey Bain were totally enthralled with their painting trip to Charlevoix this summer. The weather cooperated, which is a big plus for plein air painters,(Alan and Audrey are both plein air painters) and the scenery was spectacular. In the passage below, Alan recounts highlights of their trip and provides a few photos from the trip as well for your enjoyment. (Don't forget to click on photos to enlarge.)

Audrey and I just returned from a 20 day trip to Charlevoix area. We took the good weather with us! Amid local complaints of the worst summer season they have ever had, we had only one afternoon of rain! Friendly people, excellent camping, a chance to revive my stumbling French, and an incredible variety of scenery.








First days at St. Simeon, painting on St. Lawrence shoreline. I did three sketches here, beautiful spot! Then we moved in to Ste. Simeon itself, painted view along the river. Also Baie des Roches, a beautiful area, just turn in circles and paint new paintings! Tide in and tide out, constant change.

Moving west, Cap St. Fidele has an interesting rocky shoreline and a pretty creek at the top of the bay. Pte. Aux Persil is a well known spot, tourists all over! Church and mance are the focal point. The old dock was attractive, I painted it from the adjacent boat launch.

Parc National des Haute Gorges. We visited here but couldn’t go in because we had our dog Brandy with us. So we explored a few bush roads in the vicinity and discovered some absolutely spectacular long views. Northern Charlevoix at its best! We parked at the top of a hill and painted, with what seemed like most of Charlevoix spread out in front of us!

La Malbaie is famous for its long view coastline. We explored the road between La Malbaie and Les Eboulements, back and forth, up and down country roads. 100’s of photographs! We visited the museum in La Malbaie. Their feature was an exhibition of nature painters, Bruno Cote among them, with gorgeous paintings. Not to be missed if you are travelling through!

Baie St. Catherine was our furthest east. I painted a lovely old barn. The owner of the property had Audrey and I set out our paintings and he called out his family to have a look! We shook hands all around, and left the best of friends!

My conclusion? We would go back at the next opportunity! Fall should be spectacular! The people are friendly, helpful and always inviting to painters.

Alan J.T. Bain is an accomplished watercolorist,and elected member of Canadian
Society of Painters in Watercolour(CSPWC) and Canadian Society of Artists (SCA). Alan served as CSPWC Director for Eastern Ontario and President of OWS. His paintings have enjoyed international acceptance and can be found in private and corporate collections across Canada, United States, Scotland, and South Africa.

Recent watercolours by Alan Bain are featured at Tay River Gallery in Perth this fall. A mixed selection of paintings featuring boreal forests and pastoral settings with barns demonstrate his adept brushwork and wonderful use of colour. (See our previous blog post for photo of Alan's work).

Alan has a busy fall schedule. 4 paintings are also featured in Algonquin Visitors' Centre until October 30. On Oct. 25,26 Alan & Audrey will also be showing paintings at Rockland, in the show "Coloris sur la Baie". Oct. 30,31 and Nov.1, Alan will be participating in a paint-out at Adventure lodge, and doing a demonstration in watercolour. Alan and Audrey live near the picturesque St. Lawrence Seaway in Eastern Ontario.

Tay River Gallery Photos of Serendipity Show 2008

For your viewing pleasure: Photos taken at Tay River Gallery featuring many of the works currently being exhibited in the Serendipity Show this fall. Not all the works are shown. Visit Tay River Gallery in Perth before October 31 to see this spectacular and exciting show. (Note: Click on each photo below to see an enlarged image.)
Enjoy!

Serendipity show at Tay River Gallery. Further Details

Serendipity is "the phenomena of making unexpected and fortunate discoveries by accident." Taking this concept as theme for our fall show, SERENDIPITY, Gallery Group Exhibition currently features "24 plus" accomplished artists from Ontario and Quebec with over 160 paintings ( perhaps closer to 200) on exhibit. This particular show involves gallery space in all exhibit rooms on two levels. Feedback for the show has been over the top. New works have been introduced periodically during the exhibition as a fortuitous offering to delight and behold, all in keeping with the theme of our exhibition.

With this show we introduced paintings by Mario Beaudoin, Nathalie Chiasson, and Stephen Rothwell in August. We are pleased to welcome these prominent artists to the gallery. Mario Beaudoin , accomplished Quebec artist well known for his colourful strong palette and wonderful village scenes in oils. Charlevoix area both rural and village life are depicted. His characteristic style is instantly recognizable and very popular in galleries across Canada . Nathalie Chiasson , another talented Quebec artist also has a unique presentation and with her innovative technique , has developed a method of painting with coffee and acrylic in her highly texturized paintings . Her still life paintings of wine bottles, fruit arrangements, florals and roosters using coffee medium exhibit a warm glow, and pleasing effect. Stephen Rothwell, well known Ottawa area watercolourist, exhibits a number of stunning paintings in this show of the Tuscany region and villages in Italy, Spain and France. Stephen Rothwell uses an innovative technique he has developed to seal the paintings in acrylic so that they do not require glass. Stephen's loose style of brushwork and distinctive work depicts scenes both rural and urban that capture the light and immediacy in the setting.

Also available in the gallery with Serendipity are all new works by gallery artists,Heather Assaf, Normand Baril, Alan J. T. Bain, Anne Barkley, Leah Dockrill, Pierrette Dulude-Bohay, Margaret Chwialkowska, Karen Phillips Curran, Deborah Czernecky, John Alexander Day, Shirley Mancino, Martha Markowsky, Mary Nunn, James E. Pay, J. Allison Robichaud, T. Wilmot Savoie, Antal Serences, Charles Spratt, John Stevenson, France Tremblay. With this impressive roster of accomplished artists , there are many high calibre still life, wildlife, landscape , abstract and figurative paintings to view and choose from . Added to the show unanounced, we have a variety of new works by Kelly McNeil, accomplished Brampton area artist, of wildlife, domestic animals, and wild birds in oil with her strong brushwork and warm palette.

Another exquisitely serendipitous find this month is the oil and mixed media paintings by Paulette-Marie Sauvé of Vercheres, Quebec. Paulette- Marie Sauvé finds much of her inspiration in the lakes and marshes of Ontario, Quebec and New England and enjoys painting still life and cityscapes.Currently exhibited work features sailboats on area waterways with rich palette and texture. Paulette-Marie studied architecture and painting at the Institut des Arts Appliqués in Montreal, and obtained her Masters of Fine art degree at the University of Quebec. Her work has been shown in galleries, museums, private and corporate collections in several countries. She has obtained several grants and awards, notably in 2002, she received Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 50th Golden Jubilee Medal awarded by The Governor General of Canada. She also received grants from the Canada Arts Council, and is a four time recipient of the Quebec Minister of Cultural Affairs Grants.

We are very pleased to offer new watercolours by accomplished Perth area artist, John Shea, from Elgin Ontario added to the exhibition this week. A graduate of Queen's University, John has been teaching visual art for 20 years and finds inspiration and subject matter from the surrounding towns and the Rideau Canal for his architectural studies and landscapes. His work is very popular locally and he is currently having difficulty keeping up with the demand for his work. Paintings of Code's Mill , a historical building in Perth and two paintings of the Leggat farm are featured this month by John Shea. These current works by Shea are appealing compositions created with highly skilled brushwork and attention to fine detail and subtle nuance.

A warm welcome to Tay River Gallery is extended with much appreciation to new exhibiting artists, John Shea, Paulette-Marie Sauve, Mario Beaudoin, Nathalie Chiasson and Stephen Rothwell.

Fall Hours of Business at Tay River Gallery

An important note to our out- of- town customers. Tay River Gallery will be be open 5 days a week during the fall season, open weekly Tuesday through Saturday. The gallery will now be closed Sunday and Monday except by appointment. For appointment call 613-264-5448.

Regular hours of business as of September 1st are as follows: Tuesday - Friday 11 - 5 p.m. Saturday 10 - 5 p.m.

Only during the summer months ( high season) is the gallery open on Sundays. If you are unsure about our business hours, please check our website home page www.tayrivergallery.com
for hours of operation or call 613-264-5448 before travelling to Perth.

Serendipity at Tay River Gallery

Experience it for yourself. "Serendipity", the gallery group exhibition at Tay River Gallery during August and September holds the promise of some of life's little treasures of gratifying experience sometimes as simple and personal as an emotional connection with a particular painting and ultimately an artist's vision.

With " 24 plus" outstanding artists featured in a large and varied selection in terms of media, style and subject matter of close to 200 paintings , the exhibition is not meant to overwhelm, but aims to take you on a leisurely visual treasure hunt meant to be visited again and again so please do visit more than once, where you possibly may discover a special work or many, that move you particularly or strike a chord with a nostalgic memory of time or place. Every painting is as unique as the artist, viewer and response and that is part of the magic of working at the gallery for me, to marvel at the connections and the diversity. The serendipity factor of chance encounters is part of the reason we go to galleries to see art and who doesn't enjoy the element of mystery in their lives?

The added surprise or chance factor with this particular exhibition is a playful quirk of the curator this time around, with the unexpected addition of mystery guests and new wonderful paintings during the exhibition period. Need I say more? Please do take the time to enjoy what the art offers.

Plein Air Painting in France with Martha Markowsky

Martha Markowsky and Elaine Archambault left for France not knowing what to expect or where the village Limoux, where they would be spending two weeks was even located. All they knew was they would spend four days on their own in Paris, sightseeing and sketching and then fly on to Toulouse to then travel on to the village of Limoux. They arrived at their lodging well pleased - Le Monastere, owned and operated by Chris and Fabienne, was a wonderful setting, pleasant and very homey.




Martha recounts "This was our routine, breakfast at about 7:30 a.m., then off in the van to visit a small town some where the sun was shining and we would hear the story of the areas we passed and where we would be painting. In addition, it was not just to drop us off somewhere in some medieval town, but there would be a walk about, explained good locations to paint, where the washrooms were, if they were one holers, bring your own paper or modern. Also, where we could leave our equipment as we would walk later, where the cafes were, as well as if we would like to shop. All in all, it was very thorough.....we never felt lost or deserted and there was always plenty to paint or sketch.
Here are some photos of Limoux and various other little villages which we visited and painted."
"Above is a picture of Elaine and myself painting on the terrace which is enclosed and filled with various plants and flowers, from an olive tree, to jasmine, to lime tree, plus plus. As you can see from the warm colours, it was one of those days where the temperature was about 35 C but who was complaining?This was paradise. And after a hot day at the easel, our hosts set up the supper table on that same terrace where we feasted on wines from the region, fresh vegetables along with various meats and not to mention the desserts.



At RENNE AU CHATEAU. Getting ready to paint in the heat of the day, but first we must have some libation to cool off. In another photo, sketching again by the vineyards, under the shade of a tree. BUGARASH suppers always consisted of wine tasting to refresh the palate as well as the "windy" road to get there, just one sample photo of how we travelled to get there. It was carved out of rock. ROQUETAILLADE with its vineyards, rolling hills and village. No easy feat plein air painting when we have this landscape in front of us. Again we are under a tree shaded from the temperature which would be about 36 Celsius.
LAGRASSE, an old village dating back with its narrow streets and houses of stone. Finding some shade against one of the town's buildings we find Elaine sketching and beside her is one of my watercolour sketches of that street. While Elaine worked, I looked for new subjects to sketch and this was very easy to do, as every turn had another painting waiting to be done. Having enough time was the problem." Martha recounts.





A most enjoyable trip for the artists and from the looks of things, a very productive one as well with plenty of paintings.

Martha Markowsky, distinguished Canadian artist and elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists , is well known for her Montreal streetscapes, and paintings of orchestral ensembles. Martha has had more than 20 solo exhibitions, is recipient of numerous awards and commissions from both public institutions and private collectors. Her work can be viewed at many galleries across Canada and her works are in collections in Canada, US and Europe.. See works by Martha Markowsky at Tay River Gallery in Perth or on the website at www.tayrivergallery.com