Runs in the Family returns for 2011

An annual tradition started last year, Artway Invitational Gallery is proud to show that artistic ability does run in the family. This year's Runs in the Family exhibitors are:

• Paulina Su and sister Victoria Su
• Albert Seaman and son C. A. Seaman
• Tasha Singh and her cousin Tiana Tzogas
• Andrea McLeod and husband Kerry McLeod
• Keith Moreau and wife Janice Moreau

Youth Achievement Award winners, 2011

Congratulations to all of this year's Youth Achievement Award winners, who received their medallions on Saturday, December 17.

• Gold: Anushka Anand, Gurleen Dulai, Ranmeet Dulai, Nicole D'Souza, Lucy Feng, Francesca Riopka, Victoria Riopka, Tasha Singh, Rajveer Singh
• Silver: Shannon Bennett, Tanraj Dulai, Andrew Kapur, Kavya Kaluarachi, Edward Seo, Mary Jane Seo, Liana Valdez
• Bronze: Victoria Abes

Youth Achievement Awards 2011 tomorrow

The studio is set up for the Visual Arts Brampton Youth Achievement Awards tomorrow, starting shortly after 11 am. This will be the thirteen ceremonies in the youth sessions' history.

Admission is limited only to those students who entered the competition, and their guests.

Lucy Feng shows art at Four Corners library

Visual Arts Brampton teen member Lucy Feng is now on display at the Four Corners library.


Visit the showcases on the second floor of Brampton Library's downtown branch to see artwork by this talented teen, who has won two golds with VAB in her two years with the youth classes.


Lucy was one of the winners for the Credit Valley Conservation Authority's Floating Island Project. Her painting "Happy Day" toured Brampton and the Canadian National Exhibition as part of "25 Years: VAB's Floral Art Show", and has been active at VAB events like Brampton Day and Carabram. Most recently, her artwork was featured in The Brampton Guardian, in promotion of the Teddy Bear Project art exhibit.


The show continues until January 2012.

Christmas art at Shoppers World, via John Knox school

From now until early January 2012, Christmas art by students from John Knox Christian School is on display at Shoppers World Brampton.

The exhibit is at Silver Clips Artworks Gallery (formerly youth-only space Fridge Front Gallery), in the shopping centre's northwest entry corridor, just south of Winners.

The school was founded in 1959 by the Christian Reformed Church, and has an enrollment of over 300 students. The school first exhibited with VAB in December 2009, and has had shows annual at Christmas since, as well as a few shows in other months.

CVC installs signs with VAB youth art, at their floating island site

Image courtesy Credit Valley Conservation Authority.

Credit Valley Conservation has recently installed the signage at its Floating Island Project, at Botavia Downs Park (Botavia Downs Road and Chinguacousy Road). Winners were unveiled in a September ceremony.

To view photos of the ceremony and site, check out this VAB photo album.

The Environmental Enhancement Demonstration Site is a partnership between the CVC and the City of Brampton, in partnership with Queens University, Trent University, C&M Athletics, Greenland Consulting Engineers and Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School. The art project created works for the park, and was a partnership between the CVC, the City, and Visual Arts Brampton.

Youth Achievement Awards judged last night

The Youth Achievement Awards were judged last night, at the Visual Arts Brampton studio. This year, seventeen of the group's students submitted portfolios, containing 12 screen assignments, 12 home assignments, and additional works.

Awards will be handed out December 17, at an award ceremony, for entrants and their guests only. The final classes for all students are December 3 and 10.

Paul Draper on display, Four Corners library

Currently on display at Four Corners branch of the Brampton Library is Paul Draper, a Visual Arts Brampton member for over the years, attending our open studio sessions. His display continues until November 29.

Visual Arts Brampton teen member Lucy Feng will be on display this December at Four Corners. Lucy was one of the winners for the Credit Valley Conservation Authority's Floating Island Project, and has won two golds with VAB. Her painting "Happy Day" toured Brampton and the Canadian National Exhibition as part of "25 Years: VAB's Floral Art Show", and has been active at VAB events like Brampton Day and Carabram.

CNE attendance figures announced

This year, attendance to the CNE grew a quite healthy 9%, according to organizers. The Canadian National Exhibition Association's Annual General Meeting was last night in Toronto, and David Bednar announced the success, which equals 1.31 million visitors over the 18 day period.


Also, a warm welcome to Brian Ashton, the newly elected 58th President of CNEA’s volunteer Board of Directors.

Visual Arts Brampton has now twice exhibited at its floral art show in Heritage Court of the Direct Energy Centre, as part of the Garden Show.

Portfolio workshop for high school regional arts programs

Designed for grade 8 students applying to the Regional Arts Program at Mayfield or Cawthra Park Secondary School, at Visual Arts Brampton studio this autumn.

Instructor Annelisa Fischer will help young artists while they create works for their portfolio, select which works to include, and prepare you for the audition process. The workshop will include drawing, painting, drawing a self portrait, and drawing a still life.

Classes run for eleven Thursdays, October 27 to January 19th, from 7 to 9 pm. (Particular Thursdays are skipped around Christmas and New Year's.) The fee is $110, payable at the first class.

Classes will be held at the Visual Arts Brampton Creative Studios, 1 Bartley Bull Parkway, Suite 10, at Steeles Avenue and Main Street South. Interested students must reserve a spot in advance, by calling 905-453-9142.

VAB in Scientific American

This is certainly a first: tonight at Visual Arts Brampton's Artway Invitational Gallery, we're installing Artistic by Nature, an exhibit of work by members of Southern Ontario Nature and Science Illustrators. While that in itself is a first, the show is being featured on Symbiartic, a Scientific American blog about science art.


If you're not aware, SciAm was first published in 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. Contributors have included Albert Einstein. It is written for an educated, but not necessarily science-trained, public.


The show runs until November 16.

Science, nature illustrators on display at Artway Invite

Tomorrow night at 8 pm, we install the show Artistic by Nature: An exhibit of work by Southern Ontario Nature and Science Illustrators (SONSI) at Artway Invitational Gallery, at Shoppers World Brampton.

The show runs October 13 – November 16, 2011, and features Kathryn Chorney, Emily S. Damstra, Trish Murphy, and Jennifer Osborn. Artway Invitational Gallery is located in the southeast corner of the shopping centre, near to Zellers.

The four artists featured in this exhibit are all members of the Southern Ontario Nature and Science Illustrators (SONSI), a community of illustrators whose work focuses on science and nature subjects. SONSI aims to raise the profile of this specialized subset of the illustration, art, and design profession, to share their dedication to visualizing aspects of the natural world, and to help educate the public about issues in science and nature. Most SONSI members live either in or between the Greater Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo areas, with a few further afield in Sarnia, Southampton, and towns east of Kingston.

Nature and Science Illustration is all around us, even though the general public may not be as aware of it as they are of more high-profile types of art. We see it on web sites, in zoos, nature centers, and museums, on posters & brochures in the doctor, dentist, or vet's office, in school books, calendars, note cards, magazines, galleries, or in any one of thousands of illustrated books for children and adults that capture the wonders of the natural world and science ideas.

Science illustrators work with publishers, designers, art directors, scientists, advertisers, and educators in developing visuals that communicate vital information as they illuminate the beauties of nature and the wonders of science. Subject matter ranges from nature and biology thru to astronomy and the latest conceptual thinking. What all science illustrations have in common is an exacting level of accuracy and faithfulness to the subject or concept, combined with a high degree of artistic skill and judgment in bringing the subject to life in a striking manner.

SONSI exhibits are for all art lovers as well as everyone who loves nature’s wonders and harbours curiosity about the natural world.

For more information about SONSI or to leave a comment about this exhibit, please visit the Southern Ontario Nature and Science Illustrators’ web site at sonsi.ca.

Indie Arts Fest building an audience in first year back

Brampton Indie Arts Festival wrapped up last night. The annual event returned with a fair size audience, a good number to grow on in future years at Rose Theatre Brampton.

Pictured is Ryan's artwork, one of five artists from the GTA who fit the unique mold of indie arts.

For pictures of some of the entertainment, view this photo album.

Brampton Wing Fest caricature photos up

On Saturday before Labour Day, Visual Arts Brampton was represented at the first annual Brampton Wing Fest. VAB member Ryan C. Thompson, who designed the event logo, drew caricatures under a tent. Pictured below is a family who was drawn in this multi-person page.

More samples of Ryan's caricatures have been uploaded to this photo album, including Ryan with the chicken he created.

Credit Valley Conservation unveiled VAB art signs earlier today

Credit Valley Conservation unveiled its Floating Island Project just hours ago, at Botavia Downs Park (Botavia Downs Road and Chinguacousy Road).

The Environmental Enhancement Demonstration Site is a partnership between the CVC and the City of Brampton, in partnership with Queens University, Trent University, C&M Athletics, Greenland Consulting Engineers and Fletcher's Meadow Secondary School. The art project created works for the park, and was a partnership between the CVC, the City, and Visual Arts Brampton.

In this photo are Councillor John Hutton, Francesca Riopka, Councillor John Sanderson, Keshav Ramola, Mayor Susan Fennell, Lynn Calliste and Nick Woollard (parents of Makini Calliste-Woollard, in Quebec at university), and VAB president Keith Moreau.

We're currently having a few difficulties uploading the video, but expect an upload or two of the happenings in the next few days.

Thursday, Friday: Brampton Indie Arts Fest

The Brampton Indie Arts Festival is coming up on the evenings of Thursday, September 15 and Friday, September 16 at Rose Theatre Brampton. All the music, short films, dancers, and stage acts are completely free.

VAB's Ryan C. Thompson will be on display in the lobby, for the duration of the event. Other visual artists include Laura Vegys and Hyein Lee.

Complete schedule

Facebook Event page

Tuesday painting workshop with Mary Noble return, October 4

Mary Noble's Tuesday painting workshops are returning on October 4, running for eight weeks until November 22. Classes run from 9:30 am to half-past noon. Fees are $20 a day, a total of $160 for eight weeks.

To meet with the demands of students from previous sessions with Mary, asking for acrylic painting sessions, various lessons will be structured for either acrylic or watercolour.

To sign up for sessions, contact the studio by at least September 20 by calling 905-453-9142, visualartsbrampton@gmail.com, or at the studio during studio hours.

Brampton Floating Islands pilot project and artwork reveal, September 17

Credit Valley Conservation, Visual Arts Brampton and City of Brampton are proud to announce the Floating Islands Pilot Project and Artwork Reveal.

Learn about the Red Side Dace, why they are important and how we are protecting them in Fletcher’s Creek. See aretwork created by youth and teens from Visual Arts Brampton on Fletcher’s Creek and its animal inhabitants. Learn about the Floating Islands: what they do, how they are build, how we are monitoring them and why this pilot project is important for Ontario!

The event happens on Saturday, September 17, 2011 from 11 am to 1 pm at Botavia Downs Pond, across  from Fletchers Meadow Public School.

Agenda:

• 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m – Art Reveal and Speeches
• 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Activities and Free Barbecue

First Brampton Wing Fest a success

Yesterday, the first annual Brampton Wing Fest was held at Chinguacousy Park's special events field. There was a strong turnout at the event, for the food, music, and competitions. Already, organizers were busy talking about plans for next year's event, before the night was even through.

Visual Arts Brampton member Ryan C. Thompson, who designed the event's logo, was on hand at the Visual Arts Brampton booth all day drawing caricatures for a nominal fee. Member Luis Barrios also helped man the tent.

We're looking forward to next year's event!

Brampton WingFest details announced; VAB to exhibit

Details on the first annual Brampton WingFest, to be held at Chinguacousy Park on Saturday, September 3 from noon to 11 pm. The Brampton Guardian has just published an overview of the event, the variety of foods available within the wings realm and beyond, entertainment, rides, and activities. Visual Arts Brampton will have a display at the event.

Organizer Jerome Dawson of the Chinguacousy Lions Club told the Guardian that the Rotary Club's Ribfest was a great kickoff to summer, and that the Lions hope this would be Brampton's finale to summer.

Visual Arts Brampton member Ryan C. Thompson designed the logo of the event.

Brampton Indie Arts Fest returns

From 2000 to 2007, the Brampton Indie Arts Fest was an annual creative hub, hosted at the Heritage Theatre, and later the Rose Theatre.

Friendly Rich returns as Artistic Director, to pick the acts for "the best-of-the-best in underground and experimental musicians, filmmakers, dancers, poets and visual artists." The lineup will be announced soon, according to the website.

All the events will be at Rose Theatre Brampton: Studio Two, Main Stage (Audience and Acts), lobby and the Fountain Stage in Garden Square (weather permitting). The event happens September 15 and 16, 7:30 to "late". The entire event is free.

VAB member Ryan C. Thompson is currently scheduled to exhibit at the event, more details as they come.

Monday, Civic Holiday, studio is closed

For Simcoe Day, tomorrow, the studio will be closed.

Open studio sessions resume on their normal schedule Thursday, August 4. Tuesday life drawing continues, as per normal. Wednesday portrait sessions return in the fall.

Shoppers World Brampton is open tomorrow, from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. Check out the recently installed Drawing in Colour exhibit, at Artway Gallery near Winners, and the touring floral art show, at Artway Invitational Gallery, near Zellers.

Portrait sessions return September 7

Artwork by Mary Noble, for our floral art show.

Last Wednesday, the portrait sessions stopped for their summer break. The session will return on Wednesday, September 7, 2011.

New artists are always welcome to the sessions; see the Visual Arts Brampton website for more details.

Jacqueline Veltri on display at City Hall, August

From August 2 to 29, Visual Arts Brampton member and vice president Jacqueline Veltri will be having a solo exhibition at Brampton City Hall Art in the Atrium. The show, Reflections, includes work in oil, acrylic, coloured pencil, and graphite.

Reflections is an exhibit which explores reflections either figuratively or literally, and in some cases, both. Some of the pieces are of objects which cast a reflection of itself, others explore the way light is reflected by an object, while others still, incorporate both concepts. The path of this exploration in some cases lead to a deeper investigation of reflection as a concept asking the viewer to reflect on the idea put forth by the artist. 

A variety of media was used to further the exploration in order to resolve how physical reflection would be achieved from one medium to another. This gave the artist the freedom to discover new ways of conveying the notion of what an object might look like when it is reflected on a surface which is sometimes in motion, or fraught with inclusions.

Veltri is also now an exhibiting member of the Wellington Artists' Gallery, in Fergus, Ontario. VAB members Thea Jansen and William Band are also represented at Wellington.

Brampton Wing Fest upcoming; logo by VAB member, group at the event

Visual Arts Brampton member Ryan C. Thompson recently was chosen to design the logo for the brand new Brampton Wing Fest. Ryan submitted seven sheets of preliminary designs to the organizers, before the final design was established. The event is created by Chinguacousy Lions.

The first annual event is coming up Saturday, September 3, 2011, noon to 11 pm at the newly renovated Chinguacousy Park, Central Park Drive and Queen Street East. The event is free. Brampton Wingfest will be an all day outdoor event which will including the sale of tasty chicken wings from a variety of locals restaurants, Beaver Tails, Tiny Tim Donuts, corn on the cob and a wine and beer garden.

Family day activities include fun for children with face painting, jumping castles, magicians, live DJ's, dance competitions and live bands to entertain everyone.

Visual Arts Brampton will be on hand displaying works of arts and promoting upcoming exhibits and community events.

Carabram's Canada pavilion a success as always

Visual Arts Brampton member Ryan C. Thompson was sure drawing a crowd, pardon the pun, Saturday night at the Carabram's Canada pavilion. In this picture he's demonstrating his marker technique for the crowd, with the end result going to some lucky children attending the event.

VAB has its 25th anniversary floral art show displayed at the three-day event, the second stop on its tour. The works are now installed at Artway Invitational Gallery in Shoppers World.

Many thanks to the artists who came to volunteer and those who came to draw, including Stephanie Czolij, Paul Draper, Lucy Feng, Keith Moreau, Bill Riopka, Francesca Riopka, Victoria Riopka, Ryan C. Thompson, and Jacqueline Veltri.

Many thanks as well to the hosts and organizers of the Canada pavilion, CAW Local 1285. It's always a pleasure working with Leon Rideout and the rest of the folks in this organization, they should be commended for the work that they put into everything, every year, to schedule all the performances, activities, vendors, and displays.

More pictures of this event are available at the bottom of our Floral Art Show photo album.

Former student Alex Rodway blogs his art

Former Visual Arts Brampton teen member Alex Rodway is now blogging his new works, on a fairly regular basis. Most of the works so far were created for his courses in Sheridan College's Illustration program, while others were done for a publishing company.

Alex was a student of Visual Arts Brampton's teen classes for a few years later last decade, easily earning golds, having progressed greatly from his first early year in the classes, back in 2000. About a year ago, he shared a show at the Rose Theatre Brampton's art gallery.

Animal art by Charles Weiss, others on display at Artway

Weiss installing his art, Thursday afternoon.

Charles Weiss is the featured artist at Artway Gallery this month, in our show "Fin, Fur and Feather". Running daily until July 29 at 6 pm, the show features his drawings, paintings, and sculptures of fish.

A freelance artist, Weiss' illustrations appear in magazines, newspaper, and on television. The artist is pictured during the installation of the show, Thursday.

Also on display are works by Merlene Boyce, Paul Draper, Betty Jean Evans, Francesca Riopka, Victoria Riopka, and Jacqueline Veltri.

Artway Gallery is in the northwest corner of Shoppers World Brampton, near Winners. The shopping centre itself is at Highway 10 and Steeles Avenue, at 499 Main St South.

St. Issac Jogues school art on display at Silver Clips

Currently on display at Silver Clips Artworks Gallery is artwork by St. Issac Jogues Catholic School, part of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.

The school is named after a French Jesuit Priest who came to New France as a missionary at age 29, in 1636. According to the school website, "St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Elementary School is located in a growing, newly developed area in north Brampton. Our diverse population of 375 students, is comprised from a large number of families who have recently arrived from various areas. St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School is a caring school and community environment that stresses inclusion and acceptance of others, commitment to our catholic faith and high academic standards."

Silver Clips Artworks Gallery is located across the hallway from Artway Gallery, at the northwest corner of Shoppers World Brampton. Shoppers World is located at 499 Main Street South, at the corner of Hurontario and Steeles.

Comics, illustrations on display at Four Corners library

Ryan's Villains of Mercy web-comic characters.

There's still time to check out Ryan C. Thompson's solo exhibit at the Four Corners branch of Brampton Library. A member of Visual Arts Brampton, Thompson is exhibiting a mix of his cartooning, comic strips, and illustrations. Among the latter category, he has created coloured pencil tributes to some of his favourite actors, including Leslie Nielsen and Michael Dorn.

The branch is located at 65 Queen Street East, near Chapel Street/Theatre Lane. The library is open Monday to Thursday 10 am to 9 pm, Friday 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm.

Visit the second floor of the library branch to see the two showcases of Ryan's creative work.

Charles Weiss featured at Artway's animal art show

A new work by Charles Weiss

This year's Fin, Fur and Feather animal art show will feature fish art by Charles Weiss, a former Bramptonian. Now a resident of Toronto, Charles has exhibited with the group periodically since Artway Gallery started in 1998. Featured will be his drawings, paintings, and wood carvings of fish.

A freelance artist, Weiss' illustrations appear in magazines like Musky Hunter, Ontario Out of Doors, Dogs in Canada, and The Canadian Fly Fisher. He has been featured on The Pet Network, was artist-in-residence at Sandbanks Provincial Park in 2008, and painted two of the famous Moose in the City sculpture, seen throughout Toronto in 2000. He is a regular exhibitor at the Spring Fishing and BoatShow.

If you stop by Annette's Bakery in Shoppers World (southwest corner of the mall, near PharmaPlus), take a look up, and you'll see an advance peek at his work. A ceiling tile painted by Weiss is a permanent feature at the store.

Also confirmed for the exhibit are Ryan C. Thompson, exhibiting his animal hybrid illustrations, and Paul Highgate, showing his fine line scratchboard wildlife images. Ryan is featured in an article in The Brampton Guardian, "Animals at Artway in July", to be published in print tomorrow.

The exhibit will run at Artway Gallery in Shoppers World, from June 24 to June 29, 2011.

Road closures next Saturday, Brampton

Afternoon classes at Visual Arts Brampton studio, or afternoon visits to Artway Gallery in Shoppers World will be a little bit harder next Saturday. Not only will Main Street in the downtown be closed, quite literally for all day, but Vodden to Charolais (the road above Shoppers World) will be closed from 1 to 4 pm.

To repeat, Main Street/Hurontario will be closed:

• between Theatre Lane/Nelson to Wellington from 6 am to 10 pm;
• between Vodden St to Charolais Blvd from 1 to 4 pm.

Floral Show our tenth time in a row at City Hall

This afternoon, we actually realized that we've been exhibiting at Brampton City Hall, as a group, annually, for 10 years straight. We exhibited at the venue as a group various times over the years prior, but it was here and there.

In August 2002, we had an exhibit of floral artwork called Flowertown, at City Hall, moving to Artway Gallery in October. The works were published as a 2003 calendar. In 2003, we decided to make a landscape calendar in 2004. From 2004 to present, we've had a floral theme, and since the Flower City Parade was revived the next year, we moved the show to June.

We thank the City of Brampton staff past and present who have supported this prominent public exhibit space. Their continued commitment to promoting artists living in Brampton, for the past two decades, is commendable.

Doors Open Toronto, today and tomorrow

Today and tomorrow, lots of great places around Toronto are open to the public, to explore, learn, and discover with Doors Open Toronto.

New this year on the Doors Open Toronto tour, Corkin Gallery and Liss Gallery, two of the more prominent commercial galleries in Toronto. While Liss is open both today and tomorrow, Corkin is only open Sunday.

Returning sites with art include the Todmorden Mills Heritage Site, Design Exchange, the Japan Foundation, Gardiner Museum, with a selection of Lady Diana's dresses, and Market Gallery at the St. Lawrence Market, which will be featuring dance photographs and artifacts.

Beyond art, there's tons of great sites, from the majestic Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre, the iconic Flatiron building, Le Meridian King Edward, MaRS Discovery District, and today only, the Portlands Energy Centre, among 150 total attractions.

No Monday open studio at VAB, as per Victoria Day

Tomorrow is Victoria Day, and the Visual Arts Brampton Creative Studios are closed for the holiday.

Makini wins for her fashion design

Makini Calliste-Woollard, a former VAB youth student who now co-teaches our 6-to-8-year-old programming, recently won for her fashion design at a student festival.

Stitches across Time Award of Excellence, was given to Makini Calliste-Woollard for her entry in the Headwaters Arts Spring Student Art Show on 7 May 2011. The show is currently being held at the Dufferin County Museum and Archives in Rosemount, near Alliston.

Click to enlarge

All the images on the clothing is her own, created with photo screenprints exposed at the VAB Studio, and the hoodie itself was her own design.

Congrats!

John Cutruzzola art show to benefit VAB

John Cutruzzola is exhibiting his latest works at Beaux-Arts Brampton from May 31, 2011 to June 15, 2011. The space is located at 70-74 Main Street North, at the intersection of Main and Market Square Boulevard/Nelson Street. An opening will be held June 7 at 7 pm.

Shared proceeds will be donated to Visual Arts Brampton and Beaux-Arts Brampton.

Their gallery is open five days a week, Tuesday to Friday (noon to 6:00 pm) and Saturday (8:00 am to 6:00 pm). 

VAB artists at Rose Theatre subscriber night

Are you a subscriber to the Rose Theatre Presents Season? If so, and if your preview tickets are for May 26, at 8 pm, come and visit the Visual Arts Brampton artists on display at the Art Gallery at the Rose Theatre, on display until June 3.

Among the artists attending this meet-and-greet event are Debra Ali, Luis Barrios, Merlene Boyce, Yulia Duchenko, Betty Jean Evans, Paul Highgate, Keith Moreau, Ryan C. Thompson, and Jacqueline Veltri.

Note that this event is invitation only.

Painting open studio evenings move to Thursdays

Effective this week, our evening painting open studio is moving to Thursdays, 7 to 9 pm. This drop-in sessionis open to creative people of all skill levels, and 16 or older.

It's just $5 a night for non-members, $3 a night for VAB members, pay-as-you-go.

Painting open studios will be held in the drawing and painting studio at Visual Arts Brampton, simultaneous to the general open studio. Visual Arts Brampton Creative Studios are located at 1 Bartley Bull Parkway, Suite 10, at the corner of Highway 10/Hurontario and Steeles Avenue, in the Bartley Square Mall. Details on our location are available online.

For more information, contact visualartsbrampton@gmail.com or 905-453-9142.

25th anniversary event at Shoppers World a success

People watch, Saturday afternoon at Shoppers World.

Last week, Visual Arts Brampton was at Shoppers World Brampton with all its studio sessions, from Wednesday to Saturday. The portrait session painted from Moira Nelson, a local harpist; a photo of VAB member Dolores Miron creating ran alongside an article in The Brampton Guardian.

There's 29 photos of the event on Facebook—no need to be a member to see them— from all four times we were there. SNAP Brampton has also covered the event, look for it in the upcoming May issue.

There was lots of people watching the artists at work, lots of people interested in the group. It was certainly a success. The VAB portrait group may return to Shoppers World in a few months time, to work from another local creative or two.

Local harpist Moira Nelson to pose at VAB's 25th anniversary

Visual Arts Brampton's portrait sessions will be at Shoppers World Brampton this coming Wednesday, April 20. VAB member artists will be drawing and painting portraits of Moira Nelson, a member of the Brampton Folk Club.

Moira posed for the group during the final Doors Open Brampton event, around 2007 or so. VAB was at the Old Shoe Factory on Mill Street, near the Brampton GO Station.

The session will run 10 am to 2 pm, April 20 in Staples Court, near Zellers, Oceans, and Fabricland.

Thursday open studio sessions (10 am to 2 pm, 7 to 9 pm) and Saturday open studio (extended to 9:30 am to 5:30 pm) will also feature Visual Arts Brampton's anniversary event.

2011 VAB Board of Directors include new member

Visual Arts Brampton welcome Alecia Charny, new to our Board of Directors. A relatively new member of VAB, Charny creates at our Thursday daytime open studio sessions, with Jacqueline Veltri. The rest of the board returns in their previous positions:

• Keith Moreau, president
• Jacqueline Veltri, vice-president
• Pat Wepf, treasurer
• Bill Riopka, secretary
• Stephanie Czolij, Paul Draper, Marian Simpson

Wepf has informed us that this will be her final year as treasurer, and we thank her for her years of assistance. We are in the process of finding a replacement for the 2012-2013 annum.

Painting at the Flower City Parade, June 18

Visual Arts Brampton will be back at the Flower City Parade day event this year, in promotion of our touring Floral Art Show. From 9 am to half-past-noon, select members of Visual Arts Brampton will be painting on the porch of Brampton City Hall, just outside the atrium's, where our art and the Brampton Horticultural Society will be set up.

Currently, Jacqueline Veltri and Debra Ali are expecting to paint at the event; both participated last year.

Anthony Jenkins show announced for Artway Invite

Perhaps best known as a spot illustrator and editorial cartoonist for The Globe and Mail, Anthony Jenkins has a body of artwork that he will be showing at Visual Arts Brampton's Artway Invitational Gallery, late this autumn.

Jenkins was the featured exhibitor in our 2009 Making Faces and Laughlines shows at Artway Gallery, showing both cartoons and fine art between the two exhibitions.

His long training in black-and-white media has influenced his painting in its search for line and structure. His travels and photography in the Third World have engendered a love of dramatic colour and a heightened fascination with his favorite subject - the human face.

For more about Anthony Jenkins, visit his website at jenkinsdraws.com

VAB Annual General Meeting: Monday

Monday, April 11, 2011 is the Visual Arts Brampton Annual General Meeting, starting at 7 pm. The meeting will be held in the Visual Arts Brampton Creative Art Studios, at 1 Bartley Bull Parkway, Suite 10, Brampton.

The meeting will have the treasurer's report, a year in review, and the election of our board for the coming year.

Proxies are available at the studio, for those unavailable to vote.

John Knox Christian School at Silver Clips

Visual Arts Brampton will welcome John Knox Christian School to the new Silver Clips Artworks Gallery on Monday, when representatives from the school will arrive with student artwork, including pieces themed to Easter.

While most art at Silver Clips will be reproduced, the hanging system also allows for works on paper and light board to be hung, as is the case with this upcoming show.

John Knox is a multi-denominational Christian school founded in 1959, that offers junior kindergarden through grade 8. They exhibited at Silver Clips' predecessor, Fridge Front Gallery, in 2009, and twice in 2010.

The student section of Silver Clips is open to all local schools; the rest of the cases are open to all, of any age, from anywhere, see website for details on the process. The gallery space is located in the northwest corner of Shoppers World Brampton, in the entry corridor between Winners and Bluenotes.

VAB at Shoppers World for 25th event, April 20, 21, 23

For one week, Visual Arts Brampton will be taking many of its weekly sessions from its studio across the road to Staples Court in Shoppers World. The events celebrate Visual Arts Brampton's 25th anniversary.

Wednesday, April 20
Visual Arts Brampton's portrait group will be drawing and painting from a costumed model, from 10 am to 2 pm. Come view the creative process, which happens most weeks at the VAB Creative Studio.

Thursday, April 21
Open studio sessions come to Staples Court, from 10 am to 2 pm, and from 7 to 9 pm, where artists will be creating floral art for their second annual travelling show. Come meet the artists, and learn about how you can participate at the weekly painting drop-in times.

Saturday, April 23
VAB's weekly Open Studio Saturdays are expanded for the Shoppers World visit, from their usual 3 to 5 pm slot to 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.

While at Shoppers World Brampton, see Visual Arts Brampton's monthly, in two corners of the shopping centre. Laughlines, an exhibition of cartoon artwork, is featured in both Artway Invitational Gallery (mall entrance near Zellers) and Artway Gallery (mall entrance between Winners and Bluenotes). Across from Artway Gallery, see a continuously changing selection of works at the Silver Clips Artworks Gallery.

Visual Arts Brampton is the longest serving community visual art group, serving adults and youth of all levels, from Brampton and surrounding areas. Visit visualartsbrampton.com for more details.

Silver Clips featured at BBOT/BAC event, last night

Ryan C. Thompson joined Keith at the
after business event.

Last night, we previewed the Silver Clips Artworks Gallery during the Brampton Board of Trade/Brampton Arts Council After Business event. Lasting from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, the event featured various groups and individual members from the BAC.

Many of the guests went upstairs to view the Visual Arts Brampton at 25 art exhibit, on now until June 3.

For more photos from the event, visit our Facebook fan page photo album of the event.

Rose Theatre hosting BBOT after business event, tomorrow

Cindy Langdon is among the VAB

member artists on display at

the Rose Theatre until June 3.

From 4:30 to 6:30 pm tomorrow afternoon, the Rose Theatre Brampton and Brampton Arts Council are hosting an After Business event for Brampton Board of Trade members. Visual Arts Brampton will be there with a booth to feature member artworks, and its programming.

While there, check out Visual Arts Brampton at 25, an exhibit of member work on the second floor.

For photos from last year's event, visit the Brampton Arts Council's Picasa gallery of images.

VAB artwork to return to the CNE this year

Visual Arts Brampton is extremely proud to announce that our floral art show is invited back to the Canadian National Exhibition for 2011. One of Canada's most iconic and most active events, it's fantastic to be a small part of this big event.

As with last year, VAB will be in the Heritage Court of the Direct Energy Centre, right outside the Ricoh Colliseum entrance. This high-profile spot leads towards the annual Garden Show, a tradition at the fair.

This year will feature all-new artwork by Visual Arts Brampton members. Instead of being 24 inches by 24 inches, as we had last year, we've gone with an 18 inch by 24 inch format to offer more variety for our artists. Below is our first entry for the year, by Yulia Duchenko; she's actually a relatively new member, and this is her first time participating in the show.

The first entry into our show,

by VAB member Yulia Duchenko.

Anand Vaid showing works at Brampton City Hall

A sample of Anand's artwork.

Visual Arts Brampton member artist Anand Vaid is now on display at City Hall Brampton's atrium gallery (2 Wellington St West, Brampton).

Titled Retrospect, the exhibit lasts for the month of March.

Anand has been a member of Visual Arts Brampton for the last few years, regularly attending and creating at our open studio sessions, and participating in our shows at Artway Gallery and our touring floral exhibit.

For more information on Anand, visit his website www.anandvaid.com

VAB at Rose Theatre: schedule change

The current set of artwork, 25 Works, will be on display until Friday, March 11. (Originally, it was to continue to March 3.) The next exhibit, VAB @ 25, will start on Monday, March 14.

Our exhibit transition has been modified by a surprise event.

VAB at Battalion game, 3-0

Visual Arts Brampton would like to thank the Brampton Battalion and CN for their generosity. Through the CN Community Ticket Program, Visual Arts Brampton members were able to able to attend a local OHL hockey game for free. The game, covered online at the Brampton Guardian, was a 3-0 shutout for Brampton versus the formerly Mississauga IceDogs, now of Niagara.

For the 8th season in a row, CN has teamed up with the Brampton Battalion in 2010-11 continuing the CN Community Ticket Program which recognizes and offers hockey tickets to people who volunteer and work for local charities and community organizations.

VAB youth classes announce 2011 home assignment lists

Click here for the 2011 home assignment list, for all youth classes.

These categories are for ease of use only, you can pick and choose 12 favourites from these 32, regardless of what category they’re in.

Around the kitchen

1. Crumpled drink container
2. Kitchen appliance
3. Kitchen tools
4. Place setting
5. Sink, tap, dishes

Wear it

1. Beauty products
2. Hat with glass, sunglasses
3. Shoes hanging on a door knob
4. Backpack on staircase

Things In Things

1. Items in recycling box
2. Pet in a container
3. Three different sizes of jars, with items in them
4. Dresser or cabinet, door open, items in it
5. Footwear in pile
6. Plant in container

Open-ended

1. Rhyming objects
2. Same object, twice, the second time changed in some way
3. My favourite treat(s)

Etc.

1. Electronic device
2. Video device (video recording or projection)
3. Board game pieces
4. Cleaning products (floor, laundry, mouth)
5. Crumpled money
6. Fasteners
7. Household room interior
8. Items showing wheels
9. Lamp with a book and a glass
10. Mode of travel (multi-person)
11. Reflection of yourself on an item
12. Set of keys on a lock (keyring or keychain)
13. Sports or recreation equipment
14. View from a window