Huong Nguyen "My Towel" 2010

Huong Nguyen

My Towel
30x40"
2010

Huong Nguyen a local artist and is relatively new to the Edmonton art scene.  Her unique semi abstract style provides much feast for the eyes.  Her use of color and multiple layers of opacity make her paintings come alive with motion and mystery.  As a self taught artist, she was selected as feature artist at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery and had her 1^st gallery show in January 2011.  She has a keen feel for acrylic, playing with transparent strokes with more translucent and opaque ones that are well executed to capture her theme of water reflecting color and light.  Her work is displayed at the Glenory Gallery in Edmonton.  She also documents all her work on her website at www.huongnguyenmyartlife.wordpress.com.

Acrylic on canvas

Ann Haessel " Signs of Spring" 2010

Ann Haessel

Signs of Spring II              

12 by 14 by 3.5 inches framed    

Mixed Media    

2010

Ann works intuitively while being driven by her inner feelings and views on social issues.   Recent organic pieces are very textural.  These unusual works combine abstraction and realism and are open to interpretation.  She creates three-dimensional images with multiple layers of different media.  Many pieces portray the environment with its continual evolution which is a metaphor for change.  Unusual products are used and often burned to represent the complexity of life.

Ann’s art is has been exhibited in Italy, New York City and throughout Canada.  She hopes her art will create a better understanding among people of the world.

http://www.haessel.net/

Seon-jeong Kim "Seascape II" 2011

Seon-jeong Kim  Titles: Seascape II Acrylic 18x24inch April, 2011  Sometimes I feel nervous when I stand before blank canvas. Soon, I remind myself the reason I paint. I'm not trying to make a masterpiece but amuse myself during the process of making a painting. At a certain point, I get enchanted by my creation. That's my goal. If anybody feels my amusement through my paintings, I'll feel fulfilled.

Father Douglas "Her Beauty sleep" 2009

Father DouglasHer Beauty Sleep                       

Although I enjoy painting and drawing landscapes, I have chosen dogs as my primary subject matter, for dogs are a subject used since cave drawings.  Dogs were a popular subject in hunt scenes from the renaissance through to the genre paintings of the Impressionists and continue to be a popular subject for contemporary artists.

I have now come to comprehend that an artist must truly love or hate their subject in order to paint with conviction.  It is only when this emotional unification exists between the artist and subject can the artist truly paint with the passion necessary to create their art.  I strive as I paint and draw with confidence and an adventurous spirit for this bond.

The images I present to you are of works I have created using one of my favourite models.  The first image is a simple line drawing in graphite which emphases the fluidity and gracefulness of my models movements, while the second work is a painting in acrylics on Mylar.  This work based on the paintings Venus de Urbino by Titian and Olympia by Manet presents a light-hearted look at the theme of Art History.  My third image, also painted in acrylics on Mylar, uses the dog as an allegory for humankind and represents man’s fears of darkness and lightning storms.  The forth image is more enigmatic and presents to the viewer several stories which the most likely story chosen by the viewer will be the most tragic.  In this work I wish to draw ones attention to a very real topic that is often covered up or hidden and needs to be discussed openly and without shame. This work painted in acrylics is on Yupo, another form of plastic film similar to Mylar

9” x 12”             

Graphite               

Jan  2009

Aaron Faulkenberg "Cougar Creek" 2011

Aaron Faulkenberg

Cougar CreekPigment Print16x20”

2011



Aaron's ardent beginning in photography occurred upon receiving his father's camera. With only manual controls and intuition to guide him, he learned to see and ultimately craft fine photographs.  Growing up in the Alberta countryside, Aaron had, from the beginning, a keen awareness for the subtle beauty and diversity of the landscape surrounding him. Photography seemed like the natural form of expression - a medium that could combine the displays of nature with his own artistic vision of the landscape and the meaning found therein.  Whether I am working in colour or black and white, the goal remains the same: effectively communicate a unique sense of place and space in what is often overlooked or seen as familiar.

http://www.aaronfalkenberg.com/home.html

Linda Daoust " Cold Hard" 2011

Linda Daoust

Cold Hard

Acrylic on Canvas

2011



From the moment of conception our cells are equal. What exactly happens to these cells to create good or evil? How does evil change us?  How can good change us? Can we change through osmosis…or do we change because of attrition? Do we even have the biological capacity to change? In death we are equal again. As our cells break down we become one and the same. Can we separate “bad” cells from the“good ones”? Is there a difference?

I want to look deep inside us all: to try to understand what we are doing to this planet. Paint on canvas is just touching the surface, however the longer I spend on a particular canvas the deeper I go into my psyche to try to understand what motivates me….and perhaps by spending some time looking at my paintings I can reach inside of you…..and together we can discover something about the human condition, the Human Stain.

linda.daoust@shaw.ca

www.artistsincanada.com/daoust

Willow Studio, Calgary and Saskatoon

Kim Bruce "Which Way" 2011

Kim Bruce

Which Way
Encaustic

2011

“Off the Wall” is a series of cast encaustic sculptures that study the architecture of form.

Casting encaustic (beeswax with pigment) in martini glasses, eggcups and muffin tins; Kim Bruce creates sculptures that explore the use of everyday objects as abstract architectural elements.  Drawing on her architectural background, the former interior designer also investigates the use of geometric forms; constructing molds from mat board, clay and tin.

Whether casting with found objects or blending and layering coloured encaustic; Bruce creates singular pieces that are in and of themselves, miniature works of art.  Then subverting expectations she mounts the sculptures on a vertical plane, grouping the pieces into installations that utilize negative space to create balanced and harmonic visual dialogues. In this way she seeks to convey the architecture of the group that, as a whole, transcends the sum of its parts.

Bruce established an interior design firm in 1983 that specialized in store planning all the while pursuing formal art training through a varied curriculum at The Alberta College of Art & Design and The University of Calgary. In 2000 she transitioned into a full time art career as well as creating  in 2004 where she helps other artists gain an internet presence. Kim Bruce resides and works in the foothills of Alberta just outside the City of Calgary.

Marg Smith "Summer Ritual" 2011

Marg Smith

Summer Ritual
acrylic on canvas
18 x 24 inch
February 2011

- Bumblebee on an alfalfa flower - photo compliments Eleanor Kenzie

Born and raised in eastern Alberta, Marg has always loved beautiful things. She moved and worked in British Columbia for over 30 years and now lives in Okotoks, Alberta . It was not until 2004 in south eastern British Columbia, that Marg started painting.  Never known to be a conformist,  she started in watercolour, then about 2 years later, tried her hand at acrylics for 5 years and in 2011 has  added oils to the mix.  She now paints the majority of her paintings in acrylic and oil. Marg predominately paints landscapes , but enjoys florals and other types of subjects as well.

Doris Charest " Cold Wind Small Flutter"

Doris Charest

Cold Wind Small FlutterMixed Media

Rather than recreate an object or nature itself, I want to recreate the essence of the ‘object’ and transpose that quality into an abstract or semi-abstract work.  I want the observer to see the abstractness of the work before they recognize it as an object. My goal is to find joy and awareness by attending to the minor and seemingly insignificant--the colors, patterns and textures that exist in the close-up world.   That is the way that I like to look at the world. Each piece is a ‘personality’ that I have to find. In this particular series, Flutter, I wanted to capture the ephemeral and movement.

Doris Charest

Contemporary Fine Art

dorischarest@gmail.com

http://www.dorischarest.com/

Aaron Faulkenberg " Celestial Rain" 2006

Aaron Faulkenberg
Celestial Rain, 2006
Pigment Print
16x24”

Aaron's ardent beginning in photography occurred upon receiving his father's camera. With only manual controls and intuition to guide him, he learned to see and ultimately craft fine photographs.  Growing up in the Alberta countryside, Aaron had, from the beginning, a keen awareness for the subtle beauty and diversity of the landscape surrounding him. Photography seemed like the natural form of expression - a medium that could combine the displays of nature with his own artistic vision of the landscape and the meaning found therein.  Whether I am working in colour or black and white, the goal remains the same: effectively communicate a unique sense of place and space in what is often overlooked or seen as familiar.

Ann Haessel " Backcountry III" 2010

Ann HaesselBack Country III 14 x 12 by 2.5 inches, framed

Mixed Media    

2010            

Ann works intuitively while being driven by her inner feelings and views on social issues.   Recent organic pieces are very textural.  These unusual works combine abstraction and realism and are open to interpretation.  She creates three-dimensional images with multiple layers of different media.  Many pieces portray the environment with its continual evolution which is a metaphor for change.  Unusual products are used and often burned to represent the complexity of life.

Ann’s art is has been exhibited in Italy, New York City and throughout Canada.  She hopes her art will create a better understanding among people of the world.

http://www.haessel.net/ 

Roberta Murray "Path Beside The Beach" 2011

Roberta Murray
Path Beside The Beach
Pigment Print
20x20``
January 2011

Roberta Murray approaches photography much the same as the Pictorialist photographers of the late 1800's early 1900's, to tell a more personal, interpretative story. Art, in one form or another has always played a big

part in Roberta's life. After studying photography in the late 1980's, Roberta abandoned the medium to pursue the fibre arts while living and working on farm raising sheep and goats. It was her work in the fibre arts that lead her to develop her unique style of photography by adopting the same principals of colour, texture and depth used in textiles.

I am a picture maker. I think I've always been one. I am also a dreamer. From as far back as I can remember I've occupied my time with making pictures as an escape from a sometimes harsh world. Pictures that often represented a bygone era or way of life far removed from reality. It is with a combination of traditional techniques, historical ideas and contemporary tools that I approach photography, using the camera more as a paintbrush than a mechanical device to create evocative images reminiscent of those

created by the Pictorialist photographers. In my images, I am manipulating the truth as an escape from reality to express my dreams and personal visions of the world. It isn't based so much on what exists, as it is on

what I wish existed - a constructed representation.http://www.uncommondepth.com

Linda Daoust " Don't Blame Nadia" 2011

Linda Daoust

Don't Blame Nadia

Acrylic on Canvas

2011





From the moment of conception our cells are equal. What exactly happens to these cells to create good or evil? How does evil change us?  How can good change us? Can we change through osmosis…or do we change because of attrition? Do we even have the biological capacity to change? In death we are equal again. As our cells break down we become one and the same. Can we separate “bad” cells from the“good ones”? Is there a difference?

I want to look deep inside us all: to try to understand what we are doing to this planet. Paint on canvas is just touching the surface, however the longer I spend on a particular canvas the deeper I go into my psyche to try to understand what motivates me….and perhaps by spending some time looking at my paintings I can reach inside of you…..and together we can discover something about the human condition, the Human Stain.

linda.daoust@shaw.ca

www.artistsincanada.com/daoust

Willow Studio, Calgary and Saskatoon

Corey Hochachka "Flow Star"

Corey Hochachka

Flow StarDigital Photography





Corey Hochachka is an award winning, accredited, professional living in St. Albert, and his love for the outdoors and its Creator has instilled in him a passion for photographing nature and its inhabitants. He began fine tuning his talents in 1990 and has been pursuing his calling professionally since 1998.  Throughout Corey's career as a lensman, he has excelled in the areas of commercial advertising, industrial, stock and fine-art photography, as well as unique portrait and pet images. In February 2010 the Professional Photographers of Canada judged Corey the Alberta Commercial Photographer of the Year.

www.TrogPhoto.com

Paula E. Kirman " Floating Reflections" 2007

Paula E. KirmanFloating Reflections

8”x10”

Digital Print

September 2007

My photographs focus on shapes, colour, and composition. I have a special interest in the natural world, especially as it coexists in an urban area. I attempt to awaken the senses with images that teeter on the boundaries between abstract and reality. While the eyes may be looking at one interpretation of these still-life photographs, the mind may discover of other levels of meaning.

Kevin Law "Leary's Stove"

Kevin Law

Leary's Stove

Photograph

I am drawn to forms of photography where the artist can creatively contribute to the final image through various forms of manipulation during the original exposure of the film.  I have been most fascinated with the use and manipulation of color. Color can help to create emotion in art, and the ability to manipulate color in photography is often limited, and therefore highly challenging. Several years ago, I learned light painting techniques that I found very exciting. Since then I have developed the basic techniques of light painting into an impressionistic style using various modified light sources

Darlene Adams "Dance of The Sun", 2011

Darlene AdamsDance of The Sun
Acrylic
2011

These are the first in my new series" The Forms of Nature"

I was born and raised in Edmonton and have spent many an hour painting and drawing. I am a professional International artist who is a local here in Edmonton After graduating from Victoria Composite High School with a Commercial Arts Degree, I spent some of my time traveling and dabbling in many art projects. Although painting was my passion, so was raising my son. Getting back into my art was very rewarding for me. I love bright colors and am inspired by what I see around me.

My paintings have been shown in various places around Edmonton , Calgary, California , and are displayed in homes throughout North America and as far away as New Zealand. My series" Freedom" is currently being represented by The Agora Gallery , NYC for a year. I am currently a member of the VAAA, Edmonton Arts Council, The Canadian Artists for The Poor , Artwalk Artists, Artscapes Canada/Pays-Art, and CARFAC.
http://www.artwerksbydarlene.com/

Seon- jeong Kim "Seascape #1" 2011

Seon-jeong Kim
Seascape1

 Acrylic

18x24inch

April, 2011

Artist's Statement:

Sometimes I feel nervous when I stand before blank canvas. Soon, I remind myself the reason I paint. I'm not trying to make a masterpiece but amuse myself during the process of making a painting. At a certain point, I get enchanted by my creation. That's my goal.
If anybody feels my amusement through my paintings, I'll feel fulfilled.

http://seonjeong-kim.artistwebsites.com

Pam Weber "All is Fine" 2010

Pam Weber

All is Fine

Acrylic on Canvas

2011

I am attracted to the narrative of imagery.

I’ve always made pictures: pictures that record what I see, or what’s in my imagination; a culmination of experience and education; pictures that tell a story.

I have worked in different mediums over the years, notably printmaking and mixed media collage but settled in quite comfortably with acrylic paint. It indulges my love of colour and my desire, for the most part, to create images that display a sense of well-being for the viewer.

My initial idea often requires research and takes form as pencil touches paper. Heavy outline, strong shapes, interaction of positive and negative space, colour play, marking, and layering are very apparent in my finished work. My canvas is dominated by the personification of the inanimate or anthropomorphism of the natural; a fabricated world, an escape from the day to day vicissitudes of life.

Kim Bruce " Forest" 2011

Kim Bruce

"Forest" 

Encaustic

6 x 10 x 4"

2011

“Off the Wall” is a series of cast encaustic sculptures that study the architecture of form.

Casting encaustic (beeswax with pigment) in martini glasses, eggcups and muffin tins; Kim Bruce creates sculptures that explore the use of everyday objects as abstract architectural elements.  Drawing on her architectural background, the former interior designer also investigates the use of geometric forms; constructing molds from mat board, clay and tin.

Whether casting with found objects or blending and layering coloured encaustic; Bruce creates singular pieces that are in and of themselves, miniature works of art.  Then subverting expectations she mounts the sculptures on a vertical plane, grouping the pieces into installations that utilize negative space to create balanced and harmonic visual dialogues. In this way she seeks to convey the architecture of the group that, as a whole, transcends the sum of its parts.

Bruce established an interior design firm in 1983 that specialized in store planning all the while pursuing formal art training through a varied curriculum at The Alberta College of Art & Design and The University of Calgary. In 2000 she transitioned into a full time art career as well as creating  in 2004 where she helps other artists gain an internet presence. Kim Bruce resides and works in the foothills of Alberta just outside the City of Calgary.

Jinzhe Cui "Memory Idol Performance" 2011

Jinzhe Cui
Memory Idol Performance
3 Wigs, Scissors, bottles & Instax (fujifilm)
Visual Arts Alberta Gallery 2011

Jinzhe Cui was born in 1982 and raised in China. She dreamed of being an artist when she was nine. After 18 years of professional art study, Jinzhe decided to travel around the world and experience diverse cultures. Now she is living and working in Edmonton, Alberta Canada.

Jinzhe’s art is always inspired by her personal experience. She has extremely sensitive eyes, and likes to observe the world from the fringe. She loves expressing her view through dramatic and dreamlike imagery. Through life experience and meditating, Jinzhe’s work is gradually growing along with her distinct personality.

Marg Smith "Parade of Colours" 2011

Marg SmithParade of Colours 

Born and raised in eastern Alberta, Marg has always loved beautiful things. She moved and worked in British Columbia for over 30 years and now lives in Okotoks, Alberta .

 It was not until 2004 in south eastern British Columbia, that Marg started painting.  Never known to be a conformist,  she started in watercolour, then about 2 years later, tried her hand at acrylics for 5 years and in 2011 has  added oils to the mix.  She now paints the majority of her paintings in acrylic and oil. Marg predominately paints landscapes , but enjoys florals and other types of subjects as well.

Acrylic on canvas 16" x 20" February 2011

Linda Daoust "Protecting the Innocent"

Linda Daoust
Protecting The Innocent
Acrylic on Canvas

From the moment of conception our cells are equal. What exactly happens to these cells to create good or evil? How does evil change us?  How can good change us? Can we change through osmosis…or do we change because of attrition? Do we even have the biological capacity to change? In death we are equal again. As our cells break down we become one and the same. Can we separate “bad” cells from the“good ones”? Is there a difference?
I want to look deep inside us all: to try to understand what we are doing to this planet. Paint on canvas is just touching the surface, however the longer I spend on a particular canvas the deeper I go into my psyche to try to understand what motivates me….and perhaps by spending some time looking at my paintings I can reach inside of you…..and together we can discover something about the human condition, the Human Stain.
linda.daoust@shaw.ca
www.artistsincanada.com/daoust
Willow Studio, Calgary and Saskatoon

Corey Hochachka "Mouse Trap"

Corey Hochachka
Mouse Trap
Digital Photography

Corey Hochachka is an award winning, accredited, professional living in St. Albert, and his love for the outdoors and its Creator has instilled in him a passion for photographing nature and its inhabitants. He began fine tuning his talents in 1990 and has been pursuing his calling professionally since 1998.  Throughout Corey's career as a lensman, he has excelled in the areas of commercial advertising, industrial, stock and fine-art photography, as well as unique portrait and pet images. In February 2010 the Professional Photographers of Canada judged Corey the Alberta Commercial Photographer of the Year.

Aaron Falkenberg "Cut Hay and Bale" 2007

Aaron FalkenbergCut Hay and Bale, 2007
Pigment Print
24"x30"

Whether I am working in colour or black and white, the goal remains the same: effectively communicate a unique sense of place and space in what is often overlooked or seen as familiar.

Aaron's ardent beginning in photography occurred upon receiving his father's camera. With only manual controls and intuition to guide him, he learned to see and ultimately craft fine photographs.  Growing up in the Alberta countryside, Aaron had, from the beginning, a keen awareness for the subtle beauty and diversity of the landscape surrounding him. Photography seemed like the natural form of expression - a medium that could combine the displays of nature with his own artistic vision of the landscape and the meaning found therein.

Father Douglas (Left Behind)

Father Douglas
Left Behind
acrylic
23 x 18"

Although I enjoy painting and drawing landscapes, I have chosen dogs as my primary subject matter, for dogs are a subject used since cave drawings.  Dogs were a popular subject in hunt scenes from the renaissance through to the genre paintings of the Impressionists and continue to be a popular subject for contemporary artists.

I have now come to comprehend that an artist must truly love or hate their subject in order to paint with conviction.  It is only when this emotional unification exists between the artist and subject can the artist truly paint with the passion necessary to create their art.  I strive as I paint and draw with confidence and an adventurous spirit for this bond.

The images I present to you are of works I have created using one of my favourite models.   LEFT BEHIND is more enigmatic and presents to the viewer several stories which the most likely story chosen by the viewer will be the most tragic.  In this work I wish to draw ones attention to a very real topic that is often covered up or hidden and needs to be discussed openly and without shame. This work painted in acrylics is on Yupo, another form of plastic film similar to Mylar.

Kim Bruce (Written Up Written Down Odd Man Out)

Kim Bruce
Written Up Written Down Odd Man Out
encaustic
10 x 24 x 2"

Kim Bruce resides and works in the foothills of Alberta just outside the City of Calgary. Using materials from distinctly different sources, she makes succinct yet subjective statements that reference the dichotomies that exist in our world and within us. Juxtaposing contrasting materials and opposing viewpoints, bittersweet contradictions concerning life’s fragility come to light and into visual and ethereal balance.  Bruce looks to unveil natural beauty and create sculptures that “provoke musings about the state of physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.”
Bruce established a design firm in 1983 specializing in store planning and image development while pursuing formal art training through a varied curriculum under many established artists at The Alberta College of Art & Design and The University of Calgary. She currently manages artbiz.ca. Bruce has been published in the New York Times, reviewed in See Magazine and FFWD Magazine. Exhibitions include the Sculptors Society of Canada in Toronto, the windows at the Epcor Center for the Performing Arts in Calgary, Harcourt House Gallery in Edmonton, Alberta and the Triangle Gallery in Calgary, Alberta. Her work is in the collection of the Alberta Foundations for the Arts and is privately and publically collected throughout Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands

Kevin Law (Bluebird Motel lll)

Kevin Law
Bluebird Motel lll
photograph

I am drawn to forms of photography where the artist can creatively contribute to the final image through various forms of manipulation during the original exposure of the film.  I have been most fascinated with the use and manipulation of color. Color can help to create emotion in art, and the ability to manipulate color in photography is often limited, and therefore highly challenging. Several years ago, I learned light painting techniques that I found very exciting. Since then I have developed the basic techniques of light painting into an impressionistic style using various modified light sources.

Audra Schoblocher (Family Nest)

Audra Schoblocher
Family Nest
copper & patina
5 x 5 x 2"

Audra Schoblocher is a metal sculptor from Calgary, Alberta.  She attended the ACA+D’s Jewellery and Metalsmithing program both in the 1980s and returned in 2008 for a BFA. Her work revolves around historical research and movements of the human body.  Her work has exhibited nationally and privately collected internationally.

      

            I have followed the historical theory of adorning and protecting the human body from the elements, with materials that are collected from one’s own personal environment.  I combined my readily accessible materials with traditional craft-making techniques such as spinning, crocheting and smocking to construct wearable articles.