Stephen Snake's Portrait of Norval Morrisseau on Display in Toronto

Portrait of Norval Morrisseau by Stephen Snake
oil on canvas 30 x 40 - 2008

Stephen Snake painted a magnificent portrait of Norval Morrisseau in 2008 which is on view at the Maslak McLeod Gallery in Toronto. The Maslak McLeod Gallery's current show features “ Morrisseau in Context” an exhibition of some of the best of the Woodland school, rarely seen Morrisseau works and some works of his contemporaries December through January 2010. Maslak-McLeod, 118 Scollard, Toronto, M5R 1G2, 416-944-2577, maslakmcleod.com. When: Dec 1-Jan 31
A photo of the painting is also posted on the website of the Norval Morrisseau Family Foundation at www.morrisseaufamilyfoundation.com/
For more information about Stephen Snake,please view the artist page on Tay River Gallery website.
Acrylic works by Stephen Snake painted in the woodland style both on canvas and on paper are currently on exhibit at Tay River Gallery in Perth Ontario.

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.

Rendezvous Show : Preview of Paintings - A Feast for the Eyes

Two weeks left in March to see "Rendezvous" at Tay River Gallery featuring works by Kathy Haycock, Michel Pleau, Larry Ostrom and Stephen Snake... Here is a sneak peak at paintings currently on view posted to entice you to visit the gallery in Perth.























Four large oil landscapes by Michel Pleau from Quebec pictured above are just a few of the compelling works by this acclaimed landscape artist on view this month.






















Paintings above are lively landscapes animated with the effects of weather by feature artist Kathy Haycock of her favourite region to paint, Algonquin Park and the Opeongo Hills surrounding her home near Lake Clear













Pictured above are a few of the intriguing woodland style paintings on exhibit this month by feature artist Stephen Snake from Temagami Lake, Ontario






Pictured below are examples of the dramatic fine art photography of Larry Ostrom from Westport Ontario.










Read more about the featured artists in our previous blog titled " March Rendezvous" this month on the show or see the artists' biographies on the Tay River Gallery website. There are over 200 quality original paintings by some of the finest artists in the region available at Tay River Gallery for your viewing/purchasing pleasure!

March Rendezvous

During the month of March Tay River Gallery is pleased to present "Rendezvous" with the spotlight on works by new gallery artists Kathy Haycock, Larry Ostrom, Michel Pleau and Stephen Snake.



Kathy Haycock's oil landscapes capture the wilderness areas of Algonguin Park region near where she lives, as well as the Canadian Arctic and the American Southwest. Kathy Haycock is an accomplished oil painter influenced by the great Canadian Arctic painters. Working outside painting on site in all seasons, her landscapes capture the power, fragility, simplicity and enchantment of the natural world as she experiences it. Kathy Haycock is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists, an invited member of Artists for Conservation, and co-founder of both Arctic Quest and Polar Artists Group.


Larry Ostrom has worked as a photographer for over 3 decades in both the commercial and artistic world in the Toronto area, specializing in photographing world-renowned sculptures and paintings, high end portraiture as well as varied advertising work. With over 25 years experience in the “wet” darkroom and 10 yrs. with digital imagery, photo- based art is Ostrom's passion. Capturing motion with still images, death, rebirth and survival of nature have been recurring themes in his current photo- based art. Larry Ostrom's influence and inspiration is his world, 200 acres of rolling hills in Eastern Ontario and the rugged landscape of Northern Ontario.



Michel Pleau, inspired by the Group of Seven, paints Canadian wilderness scenes of Quebec in a spontaneous style with palette knife, rich colour, texture and movement that enchant the viewer with their magic. This month the gallery is pleased to exhibit a number of his new large landscape paintings. Previously the gallery has exhibited small landscape works by this popular artist. Michel Pleau is an accomplished and prolific landscape painter from Quebec who has been the recipient of various awards, including the Canadian painting Grand Prize in 1989 and is a member of Institute of Figurative Arts.


Stephen Snake was born on the Rama Ojibway Reserve near Orillia in 1966 and has been exhibiting his paintings in galleries since 1989. His artistic gift as a child was recognized and supported by his artist mother, Carol Shilling. Arthur Shilling became a strong influence on Stephen’s direction as an artist and he also introduced Stephen to the prolific works of Norval Morrisseau,one of Canada's foremost aboriginal artists and the founder of the Woodland style of painting. Stephen Snake lives on Lake Temagami and paints landscapes, portraits and woodland styles of work using oils and acrylics to capture and illustrate the spiritual and mystical nature of Temagami’s rocks, water and trees. An accomplished and recognized artist, some of his commissioned works can be found at the Orillia Chamber of Commerce, Rama’s First Nations Band Office, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and Canadian Embassy in Hungary. Tay River Gallery is pleased to introduce new vibrant paintings in the woodland style by Stephen Snake this month.