Artist Spotlight: Plein Air Painter, Sharon Fox-Cranston, SCA

Tay River Gallery is pleased to welcome Sharon Fox Cranston to the gallery in the current show, "Summer Sizzle". Sharon is a Pakenham area pastel artist who relocated to Ontario from British Columbia in 2008 with her husband Guy, also a talented pastel artist. Both artists are active in local arts groups and divide their time between their Pakenham residence and Westport area summer home.
Sharon Fox- Cranston was recently elected to the Society of Canadian Artists in Spring of 2009. Congratulations Sharon ! Sharon is also an active members of the Federation of Canadian Artists. Her painting "Lane way near Gordes' received an Award of Excellence at the Federation’s “Works on Paper” show in 2007, and the same painting was featured on the July/August 2007 cover of “Art Avenue” magazine. Sharon is an area representative for the Pastel Artists of Canada in Eastern Ontario region. She is also a founding member of Plein Air Painters of Lanark County. The group will be participating in the 7th Annual International Plein AirWorldwide Paint Out on Saturday, September 12th, 2009 in the Pakenham area.
Sharon Fox-Cranston's pastel work is uniquely spirited, capturing the 'energy of place' in her plein air paintings with her adept painterly approach. Pictured below are a few examples of Sharon's pastel works featured at Tay River Gallery this month. Sharon also works in acrylics and enjoys portraiture and figurative work. A few of her acrylic works are also featured in the summer show. Summer Sizzle runs until August 30th, 2009.

Artist Spotlight: Karen Sloan with Whimsical Paintings

We are pleased to welcome Karen Sloan of Haliburton County to Tay River Gallery this summer. Karen's delightful paintings of interiors add marvelously to the sizzle of our summer-themed show, "Summer Sizzle", and feature strong colours, pure themes, and expressive form. Since her move from Toronto to the Minden area, Karen has been painting fulltime, her whimsical and somewhat surrealistic acrylic paintings. Interiors and jazz themes are her main attraction, but music and colours are her muses. Karen provides a theatrical and almost voyeuristic point of view in her interpretation. In her artist statement, Karen writes "most clients who have purchased these see them as optimistic paintings, and that’s true for the most part, however, others feel that they are metaphors with an edgy sense of apprehension. It’s as if something is about to happen, like the calm before the storm. This is a real juxtaposition that I quite enjoy.The bottom line is that my style has evolved through my aim to capture or translate visually, items and themes that I am personally fascinated with, in the way that they seem to vibrate and appear to jump off the canvas, with an almost a 3 dimensional quality.The paintings are somewhat intense, highly colourful, theatrical, and contain my own blend of humour. "
Internationally, her work is collected across the USA, the UK, Australia, Holland, Mexico, the Bahamas, Switzerland, and South Africa. The folk at Tay River Gallery are enjoying Karen's zany view. Lightheartedness is refreshing - methinks we take ourselves far too seriously as we go about our lives. Carefree summer days are here!

Artist Spotlight: New Paintings by Stephen Snake Featured at Tay River Gallery

New paintings by accomplished Lake Temagami artist, Stephen Snake have arrived at the gallery in time for the summer-themed show, "Summer Sizzle" which runs until August 30, 2009. 10 new acrylic paintings on heavyweight watermedia paper ready for framing can be viewed in the gallery as well as 9 acrylic paintings on canvas in various sizes created in the appealing woodland style of Native Art. Stephen Snake's strong colour palette and lively imagery intrigue and delight the viewer with dramatic harmonious compositions.

Stephen Snake was influenced in his early years of painting by Carol Shilling, his artist mother who supported him, and Arthur Shilling, the great Canadian painter well known for his portraits in distinctive expressionist style depicting life on the Rama Reserve. Shilling encouraged Stephen in his art and also introduced him to the prolific works of Norval Morrisseau. Norval Morrisseau is acknowledged to be the founder of the Woodland School of Art when he started painting the legends of his Ojibwa people during the early 1960s in northern Ontario.

Some of Stephen Snake's commissioned works can be found at the Orillia’s Chamber of Commerce, Rama’s First Nations Band Office, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and the Canadian Embassy in Hungary. Stephen lives on Lake Temagami where he paints landscapes, portraits and woodland styles of work using oil and acrylic. His work is represented by a number of Canadian fine art galleries in Ontario, including Tay River Gallery in Perth and other fine galleries in Toronto and North Bay. See our Featured artist page for Stephen Snake's biography and new work currently available. We are very pleased to represent this talented artist and look forward to showing his landscapes of the Temagami Lake district as well in the future.

Artist News Item: Shirley Mancino's Summer & Fall Painting Workshops

Magical Art Workshops 2009
Awaken your creative spirit and playful nature. White paper syndrome is common to artists at all levels. Not here! By texturizing, collaging, layering and other fun experimental techniques, you will magically produce realistic imagery or stunning abstractions. You will benefit from helpful personal attention, demonstrations and constructive group discussion. You will surprise yourself and laugh out loud as you make masterpieces using acrylics and/or watercolour. Workshops are suitable for all levels from beginner to advanced artists.

People-scapes/Landscapes With Panache, Aug 8- 9, 9 – 4 pm
Fluid Acrylics: Experimental Extravaganza, Sept 12-13, 9 – 4 pm
Experimental Extravaganza: Collage, Oct 17-18, 9 – 4 pm

Workshop Location: Workshops take place in Shirley’s stunning lakeside studio in Westport.
Workshops are limited to 8 participants.
Cost $120.00 for two-days
Materials not included. How to register: Register by sending a cheque payable to Shirley Mancino to 68 Rebecca Lane, Westport ON K0G 1X0. Email: smancino@rideau.net

Instructor Qualifications: Shirley Mancino
Shirley has 30 years experience delivering workshops, and as a juror and art critic. She has a Master’s Degree in Adult Education. She completed four years at the Ontario College of Art. She studied at Haliburton School of Fine Art, and Belles Artes Institute in Mexico. A recipient of numerous awards, she is represented by 6 galleries. Shirley’s style is loose and ethereal. Employing by bold, vibrant colour.

Summer Sizzle at Tay River Gallery

Summer Sizzle, group art show and sale at Tay River Gallery opened July 2nd with plenty of sizzle. The show features an outstanding lineup of accomplished area artists, and offers a perfect way to celebrate summer and bring in the season with pizzazz. Mounting this show, with its more than bountiful mix of breathtaking art by the many talented artists featured throughout the gallery ( five rooms on two levels) was a daunting task.. but well worth the effort. The show runs from July 2 - August 30th, 2009. Well worth a visit or two. You may find a painting you can't live without.

See new paintings with magical colour, dreamy, expressive, energetic and serene interpretations of summer from some of Canada's finest artists: Anne Barkley, Margaret Chwialkowska, Deborah Czernecky, Pierrette Dulude-Bohay, John Day, Sharon Fox-Cranston, Suzanne Goudreau, Kathy Haycock, Cathy Law, Shirley Mancino, Martha Markowsky, Debbie Milling, Ewa Mroz, Terry Rempel-Mroz, Rosemary Randell, Allison Robichaud, Stephen Rothwell, Tricia Savoie, Karen Sloan, John Stevenson, Charles Spratt, and Paulette Sauve.

Much more about the featured artists and the work in this show in an upcoming article later this week when this gallery director gets a free moment.
Painting pictured above is Sizzling Hot Oil on Canvas by Debbie Milling.

Artist News Item: Stephen Rothwell's Painting Workshops

Stephen Rothwell will be offering an Intermediate/Advanced Watercolour Workshop this fall November 20 and 21, 2009. Details follow below. Pictured above is painting by Stephen Rothwell, "Maritime Morning" featured in Summer Sizzle, Tay River Gallery's summer art show.

Date: November 20 , 21, 2009
Location: KANATA
Cost: $150 for the two days. Lunch will be provided.
Time: 9:00 to 4:00
Participants: A maximum of 10
　This workshop will be offered at Stephen’s studio in Kanata.
It is intended for intermediate to advanced artists wishing to incorporate a loose, wet on wet style. The emphasis will be on bold use of colour while capturing light, contrast and shadow. Techniques of negative painting and glazing will be featured. The focus will be on water scenes from cottage country as well as architectural structures in a natural setting. Participants are encouraged to bring their own reference materials and photos. The best paintings seem to evolve from scenes photographed by the artists themselves. A portion of each session will be devoted to critiquing. Participants are encouraged to bring a finished painting or a work in progress as this proves to be a valuable learning exercise for the whole group.
A list of suggested equipment will be provided upon registration. To register: email: smrothwell@yahoo.ca

Another news item of note: Stephen Rothwell will be the artist in residence on the Celebrity Millenium Cruise to Alaska and California from September 18th to October 10th 2009. Sign up for this exciting cruise and enjoy watercolour instruction at the same time!
　

Margaret Chwialkowska 's Painting finalist in Landscape Competition

Margaret Chwialkowska's oil painting titled "Champlain Lookout " pictured above recently received an Award Certificate as Finalist in the Landscape Competition held by Canadian Brushstroke Magazine. Margaret Chwialkowska says in her interview with the magazine, "The goal of my painting is to evoke the mood of a natural setting and capture the feeling of being overwhelmed by the natural almost magical beauty of a landscape". Margaret works alla prima, blending pigments together on the canvas using a palette knife to create a loose spontaneous interpretation. Her current focus is painting local areas, predominantly the banks of Ottawa River and the hills of Gatineau near her home. Margaret Chwialkowska's work is highly collected by area art buyers. Her work is represented by Tay River Gallery in Perth as well as other fine art galleries in Canada. A number of evocative new works by Margaret are featured in Tay River Gallery's upcoming show "Summer Sizzle" which runs from July 2 to August 30th. See images of two dramatic works by Margaret Chwialkowska below featured in Summer Sizzle.