Sheila Diemert’s work can be seen in a new show, opening next week at Edissi Gallery:
You’re invited to “Seasons of Life”–an exhibition of my artwork at Edissi Gallery, 907 Frederick St., Kitchener, ON (519-745-1281).
The show runs from November 10 to December 24, 2010 during gallery hours. There’s an opening reception on Wednesday, November 10 from 7-9 pm.
This is an updated bio for Ryan Brooks, with some new images.
As an artist, I am still in the infant stages of trying to understand and interpret the world around me. I have had a long time interest in photography, spending countless hours working in black and white 35 mm, both behind the camera and in the darkroom. At that time I recognized that my interest was driven by trying to understand what was behind the objects I was portraying – exploring texture, mood or emotion. While still actively engaged in photography, I have moved into the realm of painting as a medium to continue the deeper exploration of those themes that I found so engaging in me earlier years. Much of my painting takes form through multi-media abstracts. My inspiration is often driven by natural elements of rock, stone and wood like the rugged landscapes of the Canadian Shield. What brings energy to me from those landscapes is the connection between living spirit of the present with elements that are thousands or millions of years old. This same connection between layers of evolution of human spirit, stone, earth and water was a powerful inspiration that was absorbed through travels to ancient villages in the South of France.
In order to present my paradigm of ever evolving spirit, emotion and the physical world I developed a technique that allows the paintings to have both a physical as well as visual element. The base is either plywood or Masonite, prepared to allow for the adhesion of a layer of concrete/mortar. Development of the mortar layer allows for a variety of textures and fluidity to emerge that would not be possible with other dimensional substrates. The shape and flow are very much inspired by the emotional vision for the finished piece. Gesso, tinted with a base colour, is painted over the cured concrete as a base on which acrylic paint is applied. Colours are primarily motivated by the spirit element of the work, developed in harmony with the emotional aspects. A range of tools are used for working with the concrete and paint – brushes, palette knives, hands, sponges – whatever is necessary to achieve the desired effect. Music is an important energizer when developing these works as it has the ability to transport me from my current space and time and take me to new worlds where I fell as though I am participating in the painting rather than working on the painting. Inspiration comes from an eclectic mix of Tom Waits, Muddy Waters, Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Harry Manx and a range of Native folk artists.
I have been a resident of Waterloo for over 20 years with 19 of them in the city core. I’m married with 3 teenage children and work in the local technology sector.
Hi my name is Jason Fallaise, I am a high school teacher with the Waterloo Region District School Board. I obtained a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Guelph in 1985. I create paintings in watercolour and acrylic. I enjoy working with the qualities each medium provides. My paintings have been purchased in major fundraising events such as Swing in the Park for ROOF, the Grand River Hospital Silent Auction and the Brain Injury Society Art Auction. I live in Waterloo and can be reached by email jfallaise@rogers.com or by phone 519-888-7838.
Artist Statement
The subject matter for my work falls into three categories street scenes, abstracts and landscapes.
The subject matter for my street scenes are obtained locally and from my travels abroad. Creating works in watercolour is a real joy for me. Working quickly and spontaneously is an approach that is suited for my personality. I like to apply colour quickly to allow the picture to have a natural and spontaneous feel. I choose architecture because I like the visual elements it provides. Line is used to enhance textural possibilities by defining shapes, forms and colours. I like the compositional structure that line, shape and colour can provide.
The abstracts that I create represent my reaction to the urban environment. Drawing is an essential part of my artistic process. These paintings are generated in my sketchbook where I like to express, explore and formalize visual ideas. In these abstracts I want to express the energy and structure of large urban environments.
My approach to landscape painting is through direct observation with the subject matter. I like to paint on site either with watercolours or acrylics. Sometimes I will complete a small sketch on site and then work up a larger version in my studio. Light and colour is the most important consideration when I am landscape painting.
“Most of my life I have been focused upon the persuit of the image and it’s meaning, both the obvious and metaphorical, while using a wide variety of media to bring that to a new reality. I have made explicit attempts to engage the most important personal and emotional and beautiful images in my works. I realize I have had the extravagance of doing much of my artwork for the sheer pleasure of doing it, after all what is more important to an artist than the doing of the art? The mainstay of all my work is my sketchbook and the time involved in developing ideas from memories and life-experiences. “
My art work involves the following:
Website: http://www.ronmacdonald.ca/
Alannah’s work is also referred to as A MASON ART; an eclectic ‘Amasonian’ collection of art. Alannah’s work that is displayed today are all original acrylic paintings. She has contemporary abstract, beautiful sunsets, mystical desert scenes, and some surprises.
Alannah’s primary influential artists in her life would be DaVinci and Warhol. Alannah is primarily self taught, but some of her artistic strengths are inherited by her mother, Bonita. Her art and craftsmanship branches out into so many genres. She is also a professional face painter and recently was a Makeup Assistant for the Cirque du Soleil.
You can see her work at Station 2 Studios.
Informed by her training as a dancer, Lisa has a long-standing interest in observing the human body. She is fascinated by the relationship between the body’s lines and shapes, as well as the body’s relationship to the larger space it occupies. Her figure studies have evolved from investigations of shapes wrapped by space to figurative lines returning to space to the inner space of the body. By reducing the figure to simple forms, she aims to capture the embodied experience of movement. Through her passion for the process of mark-making, she explores new ways to break through the surface of the body. In all her paintings, the effect is sensual and visceral, eliciting fleshiness out of stone, and sinew out of line.
With over 25 years of painting and drawing experience, Lisa has honed her painting and drawing skills at Central Technical School, York University fine arts department, and The Toronto School of Art. She continues to evolve her “bodyscapes” through local mentorship programs and artists’ collectives, bringing to life the expressive interpretation of the inner landscape of the human form.
She will be showing at Station 2 Studios.
D. H. McKee is a multi-skilled artist who works with painting, mixed media, journaling, digital photography, music, and video. He has a range of experience in various media, but painting is his first and foremost output; painting is a way of expressing ideas and emotions which cannot be formed through words or sound.
His education has helped him integrate film and video aesthetics into his artwork: video stylistic themes work their way into the paintings, and one can discern letterboxing, test patterns, scrambled pay-television signals and over-saturated colours in the works. It is in this manner that he explores different mediums and surface techniques.
Paintings are created quickly, passionately. They are assembled adjacent to thought and emotion, and are influenced by music, noise, television, and computers. The highly decorative images are richly textured and overflowing with colour. They are a combination of cubist and surrealist influences on non-representational abstract forms — essentially the interpretation of different external stimuli. The image dictates its final form, resulting in a surprising, unpredictable finished product.
He lives in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. You can visit his Website here, and purchase online prints and framed photographic prints here. His Behance network page is here.
