Patricia Storms part of Laughlines 2011 at Artway

As part of our 13th annual Laughlines exhibit, we're very proud to announce that 13 Ghosts of Halloween illustrator Patricia Storms is our newest exhibitor in this year's show.

Based out of Toronto, she's an illustrator and cartoonist whose work is featured by publishers including Scholastic Canada, Kids Can Press, Owlkids Books, Bloomsbury US, American Greetings, and The National Post.

Having illustrated many picture books, she both wrote and illustrated a recent title — The Pirate and the Penguin. It and the French 13 Ghosts of Halloween have been named to "Great Books" lists by the Canadian Toy Testing Council.

Her editorial cartoons have won the Cartoon of the Year (over 10,000 circulation) from the Ontario Community Newspapers Association 2008 Better Newspaper Awards.

For more information on Patricia, and to explore her works, visit her blog BookLust, her portfolio website, or fan her on Facebook.

This year's Laughlines will be at both Artway Gallery in April, and Artway Invitational Gallery in mid-April to mid-May; Patricia will be part of the Artway Gallery show in the northwest corner of Shoppers World Brampton mall.

Jim Caswell previewing MonsterMashupTv at Laughlines 2011

Our first announcement of special guest exhibitors, for this year's Laughlines exhibit at Artway Gallery? Jim Caswell.

Jim Caswell, a long resident of Brampton, has worked in the animation industry for over 25 years.  He is currently developing animated projects. The show will preview samples of his current creator owned project: MonsterMashupTv.

Laughlines cartoon and comic show pre-announcement

Just a heads-up for cartoon fans: Visual Arts Brampton is expanding Laughlines to two spaces this year. The 2011 show will run on the normal schedule at Artway Gallery, from 26 March to 29 April 2011, it will also run at Artway Invitational Gallery from mid-April to mid-May. Read between the lines, if you will, with regards to the later timing.

Featured on display will be Steve Nease, whose political cartoons and Pud comic strip appear across Ontario, and caricatures by Peter Emslie, a Sheridan College character design-prof with roots at Disney. Local illustrator Ryan C. Thompson will also display his humourous art.

Who are the other exhibitors? One very interesting reboot is confirmed, and we're trying to finalize an illustrator and graphic novelist. Details to be released in the next few weeks, as things are confirmed.

This weekend: Brampton's Best Undiscovered Comic Artist contest at Stadium Comics' Free Comic Book Day

Think you have what it takes to impress in the world of comic art? Submit a sample of your work to us on Free Comic Book Day. The submissions will go up on Stadium Comics' Facebook page, and the public will vote on which one is the best!

The winner gets a $25 Stadium Gift Certificate, and a two-week exhibit at Visual Arts Brampton's Fridge Front Gallery. The winner gets the "three door" case to themselves, and can display whatever comic art they'd like. The winner chooses the start date for this show, which can be anytime between June and August.

For Free Comic Books Day, Stadium Comics has invited a tons of guests, including Marcio Takara and Alex Milne. Both artists exhibited at Artway Gallery this January, in an exhibit presented by VAB and Stadium Comics. New this year is Ken Lashley, whose titles include Black Panther, X-Men, and The Flash. There's also a ton of stuff on sale in store, an exclusive t-shirt offer, costume creation company Heroes in Tights, raffles, contests, and giveaways.

The most notable giveaway is the reason for the international event, free copies of select comic books. This year's lineup includes titles based on Superman, Ironman, Thor, The Simpsons, Archie, Toy Story and more. But be warned, there's only a limited supply, and they go extremely quickly.

  

Here's two pictures from last year's event, that VAB posted to Twitter.

Two articles in recent Guardian

In case you missed the two articles about Visual Arts Brampton in last week's Brampton Guardian, both are available online.

First is an interview with Ryan Thompson, relating to his comic Villains of Mercy, on display at Artway's annual Laughlines exhibit. Also included in the show are works by Steve Nease, Peter Emslie, Rob Penman, and Debra Ali.

Included on the same page was a mention of additional open studio time at Visual Arts Brampton, taught by OCAD-trained artist and VAB member Jacqueline Veltri.

Between Friends cartoonist to talk in Brampton, Saturday

Between Friends cartoonist to talk in Brampton, Saturday

Welland, Ontario-cartoonist Sandra Bell-Lundy talks about career as part of gallery exhibit

As part of the first gallery showing of her work, Ontario cartoonist Sandra Bell-Lundy visits Brampton's Artway Gallery, to talk to the public about her career and comic. Sandra will be delivering a 30-minute presentation, followed by a short question and answer session.

Following the presentation, Sandra will be available to sign copies of her book, Coffee, Tea and Reality. A limited number of copies will be available to purchase on site.

The event is free to attend.

WHAT:     SYNDICATED CARTOONIST SANDRA BELL-LUNDY 
     TO DELIVER TALK ABOUT HER CAREER AND COMIC

WHERE:    STAPLES COURT           SHOPPERS WORLD BRAMPTON          499 MAIN ST S, BRAMPTON  WHEN:     SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2009           TALK AT 1 PM           Q&A TO FOLLOW AT 1:30 PM

The exhibit "Sandra Bell-Lundy's Between Friends" runs daily at Artway Gallery in Shoppers World Brampton, until November 27, 2009. The exhibit features some of the most memorable and relevant storylines, as chosen by the artist. Along with humourous plot lines about work and family life, the exhibit highlights her serious plots regarding fertility, adoption, and domestic violence.

“Between Friends” is celebrated for its contemporary portrayal of three forty-something women friends, their essence and angst. “Between Friends” runs internationally in over 150 newspapers, through King Features Syndicate. The comic is seen locally in the Toronto Star.

ABOUT ARTWAY AND VAB
A community project of Visual Arts Brampton (VAB), Artway Gallery features monthly exhibits of its members and other area artists. VAB started Artway Gallery in 1997, moving the space to Shoppers World Brampton in 2005. Visual Arts Brampton is a 23-year-old non-profit group, which also runs youth art space Fridge Front Gallery and the World Art Gallery, featuring postcard-sized works.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
SHOW INFORMATION: http://www.visualartsbrampton.com/aw-bf.htm
BETWEEN FRIENDS WEBSITE: http://www.betweenfriendscartoons.com/
BETWEEN FRIENDS BLOG: http://betweenfriendsblog.typepad.com/

1969 at Fridge Front

For quite a few weeks now, Fridge Front Gallery has featured portraits, animal art, and still lifes by Visual Arts Brampton youth students to the theme of 1969. Why was the year 1969 chosen? It's actually Shoppers World Brampton's 40th anniversary this year. (Their branding has had a fresh, yet retro makeover.)

Also on display right now are cartoons by the Visual Arts Brampton youth art students.

Finally, there's a selection of art between the fridge doors, created by young mall visitors on Saturday, April 4 during our Laughlines exhibit celebration event.

Keith, Pud on Rogers Daytime

Keith Moreau and Pud appeared on Rogers Mississauga/Brampton's Daytime yesterday, talking about Laughlines 10th anniversary, Steve Nease, and the group in general. The clip should appear, as streaming video, on the Daytime webpage archive.

Daytime is a "Local talk-show featuring community guests from Brampton and Mississauga." It's hosted by Gurdeep Ahluwalia and Kim McCleary.

Steve Nease helps launch Laughlines 10

Steve Nease was photographed drawing Pud at the Oakville Beaver this week. A similar photo was taken by the Oakville Beaver itself, with the possibility of appearing in the press.

This, as mentioned before, is the tenth Laughlines exhibit so far, and all ten have featured Steve's works. On April 19, Pud will star at an event, at Shoppers World.

This event is listed in April's City Parent magazine.

Laughlines event moved to April 19

April 19th at Shoppers World, Visual Arts Brampton celebrates 10 years of Laughlines, an annual exhibition of cartoon and humourous art. Every year of the exhibit, we've featured Steve Nease, whose editorial and political cartoons appear in papers province-wide.

• Draw your own comic strip, to take home, or leave it for display at Fridge Front Gallery.
• Colour a picture of Pud and his family.
  
• Meet Pud himself, courtesy of City Parent magazine.
• Meet the Brampton Arts Council mascot, Millie the Artbug.

Pud to appear at Shoppers on April 12

Please note that this event is now on the 19th.

We've just tentatively confirmed that Pud, who appears in the Brampton Guardian's PUD comic strip, will be appearing on April 12, 2008 at Shoppers World Brampton mall. Pud will be greeting visitors to Artway, along with a colouring table.

This appearance, courtesy of City Parent magazine, will be in conjunction with the annual Laughlines exhibit. Annually since its creation in 1998, Laughlines has featured the editorial cartoons and PUD comic strips by Steve Nease.

(Also at the mall that day is the 21st Annual Brampton Regional Spelling Bee, in cooperation with the Spelling Bee of Canada.)

Steve Nease talk attracts an audience

I'll post more later, but here's an interesting story about the name of the Pud comic strip. It was posted in response to this blog post, which questioned the reason Steve used the name:

As a kid, Steve loved the Lionel Barrymore movie "On Borrowed Time". When he had a child named Ben, he started calling him "Pud" (Bobs Watson as John "Pud" Northrup), after the child in the film.

In the 1980s, he did an editorial cartoon about how children flock to advertisements. The editorial was illustrated in two panels, and received great response from readers and newspaper co-workers.

He decided to do up some more samples, which he showed the editor. The editor decided he could use extra content to fill up the space on the editorial page, and the strip's been going strong since.

At the time the strip started Fleer had stopped putting their "Fleer Funnies starring Pud" strip in the Dubble Bubble gum packages. He decided he could safely name the strip after this character, without confusion. Four years later, the comics in the gum packages restarted.

He says he's considered renaming the strip, and has a title that he's batted around in his mind (which he didn't reveal to us), but he's just never got around to it.

VAB in "What's On" section of the Star

Editorial cartoonist Steve Nease talks about his works Wed. 7 p.m. (free). Visual Arts Brampton, 1 Bartley Bull Pkwy #10.

Let's hope this brings in the crowds.

Yes, that is our corridor on TV.

An argument started inside Shoppers World mall last night at 7:15 pm. Whether it was between either three or four males, and whether they were in their teens or 20s, you take your pick, the news reports have been thoroughly ambiguous. The fight soon spilled outside to the parking lot, and things got "louder and angrier", according to Citynews.

The corridor they went through to get to the parking lot? It was the Artway corridor.

As a result, Torontonians watching Global News Morning got to see Peel Regional Police wander past the Steve Nease Laughlines exhibit. People watching Citytv's Breakfast Television only got to see the doorway.

Editorial cartoonist Steve Nease to talk at VAB Studio

Editorial cartoonist Steve Nease will talk about his works, at on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the Visual Arts Brampton Creative Studio.

Nease began creating political cartoons in 1978 for the The Oakville Journal Record, launching his PUD comic strip at the Oakville Beaver in 1984. His reflections on the news and on family life appear in Metroland newspapers across Ontario, including the Brampton Guardian.

Steve’s political cartoons hang on the walls of people such as former PM Paul Martin, Mike Harris, and Don Cherry.

His works are on display at Visual Arts Brampton's Artway Gallery until May 25. Artway is located at the northwest entrance to Shoppers World mall, and is on visible regular mall hours. Shoppers World is at 499 Main Street South in Brampton, Ontario (at Steeles Avenue and Main Street South (Highway 10)).

Visual Arts Brampton has shown his most recent works every April at Artway since 1999 in their "Laughlines" show.

The studio where the talk will take place is across the road in the Bartley Square Mall, 1 Bartley Bull Parkway, located on the corner of Steeles Avenue and Main Street South (Highway 10).

Both the exhibit and the talk are free.