Our September artist is printmaker, Elizabeth Forrest
Thank you to the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund for funding "Window to Waterloo Region" at 44 Gaukel! This funding allows Art$Pay to pay the artists involved in the year-long project to install and remove their art work. It is important to recognize that the work of artists takes time and they deserve to be compensated for that time.
Read MoreWe had an amazing time on Saturday June 11th at our pop-up exhibition inside The Shops at Waterloo Town Square! Participating artists included Andrea Filiatrault, Heidi Hirschmann, Kristen Joy, Abdul Khaliq, Derek Koehler, Amber Pacheco, Vanessa Pejovic, Barry Smylie, Ardea Thurston-Shaine and Teresa Walker. Click here to see some pictures from the show. Thank you to the wonderful artists and everyone who came out to support them!
Read MoreWe were able to pull off an awesome exhibition with great attendance and sales despite the weather and ongoing Covid concerns. It was fantastic to be able to see art in person after nearly two years of mostly virtual events and being able to chat with everyone was certainly a highlight!
Thank you to everyone who attended and purchased work. Additional big thanks to Zehr Group for the use of Workshop 660, to the awesome volunteers & display crew, to Chef D, to the Belmont Village BIA and to all the participating businesses for making this a real village affair.
In total, we had 602 guests over the 3 days, sold 29 artworks valuing over $7500 + another 200 art card sales.
Read Moresee the exhibition here
“Life experience and travel have inspired my love of painting. As an artist, I continue to explore any kind of abstract landscape, cityscape and seascape. I find the creative process active, challenging and expressive of the soul. I focus on colour, texture and movement to create dynamic and engaging paintings. The connection between my art and my audience brings me great joy.
This presentation of landscapes and abstracts demonstrates broad brush strokes, bold colour and a style that takes the eye to a more abstracted view of a landscape. During the pandemic, this was a liberating approach. It is my hope that the audience can participate in the freedom to observe and gain inspiration.”
- Marianne Bauer Hiff
see the exhibition here
Read MoreSee the exhibition here
“Come with me to the beach and see what I see…”
Chosen from the artist’s larger collection, Musings From The Beach presents a sampling of photos taken over a three-year period while visiting lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario.
As a seer and lover of beauty, I draw my inspiration from the overlooked beauty that surrounds. I use the camera as my paintbrush, to evoke an emotional response. Line, colour & texture excites. I create visual retreats to bring peace, joy & wonder to hearts & homes. As a creative powerhouse, thriving on versatility, I have many diverse collections and specialize in creating customized visual retreats for your space.
- Laura Cook
See the exhibition here
Read MoreSee the exhibition here
“Getting out into nature is good for the soul, whether you are a child seeing things for the first time, or an adult making new memories and remembering special moments. My floral photography captures the innate beauty and complexity of the subject and asks you to look deeper into its world. Spend some time to discover the allure and intricacy of nature’s creations. I hope my work will draw you in and leave you with a sense of calm and wonderment.
I was born in St. Catharines, Ontario and my fondest memories involved pencil crayons and the many art books my mom always had in our home. I was very interested in the work of the Impressionists’ vision of art, from the dreamy works of Monet to the bold colours of Van Gogh.
I ventured into the world of photography following retirement and the chance to live in Vancouver sparked a passion for floral photography. The amazing array of flora and endless nature trails became my outdoor studio. During the final processing of my images, I use a variety of techniques and tools to enhance the innate beauty of the floral photograph. Self-taught, I continue to look for new approaches and techniques to further enhance my fine art photography by attending workshops in Canada and the United States.”
See the exhibition here
Read MoreSee the exhibition here
The latest works of Murray Dekeyser focus on travel, both geographical and temporal. Questions of belonging and relationships with time and nature are explored. Are we fortified against mortality? A wealth of shape, space, form and colour are offered in these works to celebrate our various answers to the question, and the provocative conclusions that we may draw from the exploration.
Read MoreSee the exhibition here!
“I have always been grounded in being a female artist. It is always an underlying statement in my work. As a female artist, I use my creative visual voice to generate a dialogue about feminism. Visually my art is clean and elegant, in contrast raw and abstract at the same time. I produce this effect using thread combined with various acrylic mediums and recycled materials. I also integrate collage work of the female form to push the idea of women being objectified in today's society.”
To see more of Chantal’s work, you can follow her on Instagram or visit her website.
Read MoreSee the exhibition here!
Moumita Roychowdhury is a multi-disciplinary visual artist and art instructor based in Waterloo. Never studying art professionally, she loves to call herself a life-long learner and self-taught pursuer of art. Painting in watercolours has been her first love, but she also loves to experiment with soft pastels, acrylics and inks. In her words, “Though I had always been drawn to art since my childhood, I had never thought of having a creative career. But my love for the art remained rooted deep inside me. In 2015, I moved to the city of Waterloo in Ontario from India. I started to pursue art in my spare time as I juggled my life as a new immigrant to Canada, raising a family and working a full time job as a consumer insight professional. Over time, I found that I was making art more and more, even spending sleepless nights and what was once a hobby now took up a significant part of my life. I realized that painting was my happy place and it gave me a sense of calm whenever I took up my paintbrush.”
See more of Moumita’s work on her website or follow her on instagram.
Read MoreWalterFedy is hosting its second virtual rotating art show with ArtsPay! Since 2019, WalterFedy has partnered with Art$Pay to display artwork in our office, made by local talent. The initiative's original goal was to brighten the shared spaces in our office with rotating artwork for clients and staff to enjoy.
The latest installation from Art$Pay, which runs until August 31, 2021, is named "Lifting Spirits." All pieces were selected for their feeling of inspiration and optimism; a little something to help lift all our spirits during these challenging times.
Click here to see images of the work in situ + a video tour from WalterFedy to see each piece up close!
Thank you to Tori Coles for helping install the show!
Please send us an email if you are interested in purchasing any of the work in the show so we can put you in touch with the artist.
Read MoreClick here to see the gallery
Artist, Ross Pritchard was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario. He was inspired by his brother's pencil drawings when he was young. It wasn't until his mid twenties that he began painting in oils and water colours. He took lessons from local artists and one of his teachers told him he should be teaching. That became a new adventure for him. He started teaching aspiring artists of all ages in his home in the evenings.
His passion is painting the beauty in nature, capturing the heart of the viewer and transporting them into the wonder of creation. During the 1960 and 1970's, Ross's full time work took him travelling to such places as Japan, Africa, and Israel. It provided many opportunities to expand his knowledge of art and culture of other countries, which also gave him an oriental influence to his work. He also has art in private collections in Japan, Israel, Hawaii and Scotland. In 1978 he started PDR Picture Frames and Gallery that became the family business for 40 years. Providing framing and a place for Ross's art and local artists. Ross's interest in space has put his energies in painting nebula's. He is inspired by pictures taken from special telescopes, such as Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope.
Art has captivated a large part of Ross's life. He feels through the eyes of an artist we can see deeper into our surroundings and enjoy a continuous learning experience.
If you’d like to see the paintings in person, the Gallery at 52 Regina St. will be open to the public between 1:00-4:00pm every Saturday and Sunday in March. You can also make an appointment directly with the artist for a private viewing at 519-578-4236 or g.rosspritchard@gmail.com
Read MoreClick here for a virtual gallery tour and artist talk of Ardea’s exhibition at Art Incubate.
”In my art, I examine the relationship between individuality and connection, because of the desire I feel for both states. My current paintings examine relationships between inner and outer spaces: caves and openings, indoors and outdoors, bodies and nature, in order to question the relationship of self and other.
Uncertainty as to whether the viewers’ eye moves inward or outward leads to philosophical questions of how space is structured. The movements of the images also involve viewers in the yearnings that inspired them. In some cases, human figures accentuate the movements of the eye, reaching, falling, or balancing, opening or closing. Birds, agents from the outside, also occasionally lead the movement.
The title for my latest exhibition, “Folds and False Caves,” comes from the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Tibetan Buddhist scriptures on the nature of self. Deleuze describes an individual identity as a fold in the continuous fabric of everything. The scriptures speak of a “false cave” of human perception, as well as describing long sojourns in caves where the practitioner learns to become one with the darkness and thus the outer world.
In moments, the amount of space that I identify as self expands and contracts. Whether I see myself as a small creature within a vast universe of otherness, or an all-pervading presence that I cannot escape, the relationship is always complex. Sometimes I desire to expand, sometimes to contract. I always wish to be unique and also one with the world.”
See more of Ardea’s work here: www.ardearts.com
Read More“Bridging is a reflection on how much the current political moment of the global pandemic has transformed our physical, psychological and economic lives.
Covid-19 led artists to adopt new ways of working in isolation to continue making art. Each experience of isolation for The Artist Critique Group is unique, and they express their creativity during the pandemic in their own way.
Bridging brings works from Artist Critique Group that explore materiality in contemporary art practice. The exhibition includes local artists with diverse backgrounds. Through painting, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, and collage, the artworks challenge the way we perceive material and what material represents.
The Artist Critique Group investigates the process of making, the qualities of their chosen materials, and how these attributes are interpreted and understood through social, political, cultural and economic narratives.”
- Fatima Garzan, exhibition co-organizer
See the exhibit here.
Read More56 Regina Upper Floor (see attached photos)- Private studios, bright spaces, good lighting, AC, art storage, adjacent kitchenette and same floor washroom. Free parking, utilities included, monthly plus HST:
Studio M - $450- aprox. 11 x 9.5 feet
First come, first served! Apply here.
Read MoreThis new body of work explores the cross section of being a trades painter and an artist. When I am out, in my work clothes or studio clothes ( which are one in the same ), People often ask me "do you paint?" The answer is always yes but I often times do not know which form of painting they are referring to and in turn, they may not know which form of painting I am answering yes to.
While at work, I use canvas sheets to cover the floors to ensure that I do not get any paint where it is unintended. The goal of course, is to also keep tidy, avoiding getting the paint on the canvas sheets or on my clothes. Any paint on the canvas sheets is accidental splatter or spillage.
In direct contrast, I spend my evenings delicately applying paint to canvas to make abstract work.
The purpose of this exhibit is to dive into these canvas sheets and ask the question, are they art? If the paint were applied intentionally, they would be considered art. Does the paint being there by accident, make them any less of an artistic painting? To further propel the conversation, elements of these sheets may or may not have been applied intentionally, to further their composition and artistic value. I do not confirm or deny that I have intentionally altered the sheets myself.
-Isaac Watamaniuk
Included in this show is a collaborative piece with Stefan Ayon
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