One of my favourite adventures each summer is to attend the three day Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. More than 500 artists gather at
The show has a Web site that is very well-designed so that it is easy to research who will be there. I go through the lists of artists in the various disciplines (drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, mixed media, etc.) and click on each one to see what image represents them. More and more, the artists will also have a link to their website or to a gallery that sells their work. When this is the case, I view whatever I can if I have an initial positive response to the image chosen by the jury for this artist.
Because the show is so vast, I choose the top artists (in my opinion). This year there were nearly three dozen to see in three days. I introduce myself (as retired professor and art school student) and engage them in conversation about their work. I want to know how they came to this particular medium and I often have questions about technique and materials as well. Being an art student, I explain that I use my money to buy art supplies these days. I rate their work as that which I believe I could live with and would purchase if I had the cash. Most artists are very generous with their time and talk freely about their craft. They seem compensated by the fact that they were chosen out of so many to receive my congratulations on the work they have done.
Once I have selected artists, I group them according to the area they are in and the number of their booth. This year, they were as follows: I have a brief comment by each and later will give web sites and have more to say about those with whom I spent the most time.
Yellow
601 – Debra-Tate-Sears – watercolour – http://www.debratatesears.com
604 – Erin Vincent – mixed media – wood, fabric, metal – http://erinvincent.ca
612 – Janny Fraser – sculpture – time pieces, metal, rosin – http://www.jordanartgallery.com
614 - Julie Liger-Belair – mixed media – photos, metal, whimsy - http://www.dalesmithgallery.com/artists/artist.php?artistId=26&page=0
625 - Ross Bonfonti – fabric and stuffed animal and wood – http://xexegallery.com
635 - Julia Harris – watercolour – barnyard animals especially fowl – http://primegallery.ca
631 - Emma Nishimura – etching, aquatint, nature images – http://emmanishimura.com
641 – Rui Pimenta – glass and electronic figures in collage – http://ruipimenta.com
655 – Jianjun Liu – not at the show after all
656 – Barbara Di Lella – small fabric and embroidered birds
680 – Brian Harvey – oil paintings of “mundane” things – http://brianjharvey.com
685 – Lise Curruthers – mixed media – acrylic and fabric
White
3 – Anita Niemeyer – still life oils and splendid pencil-crayon drawings – http://anitaniemeyer.com
4 – Leesa Mclellan – giant digital flowers – radiant – http://leesamclellan.ca
6 – Alice Vander Vennen – abstract forms in fibre – http://www.alicevandervennen.ca
11 – George Walker – wood block printing, graphic books – http://george-walker.com
20 – Rudolf Kurz – fantastical etchings
25 – Ray Anderson – decorative pattern painting on wood
33 – Paul Roorda – encaustic with pure beeswax and butterfly wings http://www.paulroorda.com
400 - Tanya Kirouac – didn’t work for me in person – http://tanuakirouac.com
413 – Laura Culic – wide soft landscapes like Bob M’s work – http://LauraCulic.com
420 – Dorian Scott – impressive paintings of clothing, a raven – http://dorionscott.com
428 - Julie Waterhouse – lovely photography (purchased lilacs and butterfly) – http://www.juliewaterhouse.com
Pink
105 – Solomon Friedman – seemed amateurish up close - painting on wood – http://solfriedman.com
116 – David Brown – encaustic, coloured wax – http://www.encausticcollage.com
119 – Emilie Rondeau – acrylic abstracts on canvas and wood blocks – http://www.emilierondeau.com
Purple
704 – Tammy Hoy – photography of urban ruins - http://www.tammyhoy.com/
715 – Zoe Pawlak – abstract landscapes in ribbons of colour (BC artist) – http://www.zoepawlak.com
705 – Matthew Borrett – intricate, highly detailed pencils drawings a la Escher – http://matthewborrett.com
Turquoise
531 – Michael Gerry – lush style of oil painting – range of subjects – glad he'll be my painting teacher http://www.michaelgerry.ca
549/50 – Su Sheedy – encaustic on wood
580 – Cameron Forbes – oil painting bus shelters, cityscapes – http://camforbesarchives.net
Blue North
809 – Rena Panchyshyn – interesting work – http://renapanchyshyn.com
839 – Anna McIntyre – printmaker – some appealing bits and pieces – http://www.ayjayem.ca
Blue South
201 - Joeng-Kwan Gye – large old fashioned family sepia photos with punch holes - winner of the Chairman's Award ! Proud of my fellow classmate.
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