Jacqueline Veltri featured in solo show at Artway

Visual Arts Brampton Artway Gallery's biannual Invitational Show "Through the Years" features Jacqueline Veltri's portaiture of her two daughters. Veltri's children are a common subject matter in her work over the year, and the show chronicles both the growth of her art and her daughters themselves.

Visit Jacqueline's official site for more information, or read more about the show in The Brampton Guardian. Many thanks for the Guardian for their coverage!

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.

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.

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.

Brampton Guardian relaunching Thursday edition, dumping Booster

News in today's Guardian: The Brampton Booster has published its last issue. The Thursday newspaper was the last, starting next week, it's back to the traditional format.

The Brampton Guardian ran one article

online about 'Tis the Season, and one in

print and online about Artway Invitational's
Runs in the Family.

In related news, the Artway Invitational Show Runs in the Family includes artwork by Christine Montague and her son, Corporal Nate Montague, who recently returned home from being stationed in Kandahar. They were profiled in print and online recently ("Soldier returns home", December 25, 2010). An article about 'Tis the Season at Artway Gallery was published online-only, featuring artwork by Ryan C. Thompson ("Artist hides a tale in the reindeer", December 25, 2010).


'Tis the Season ends its run tonight, catch it at Shoppers World Brampton before the 6:30 pm take-down.

"Alysa Bartha: Petal's Wish" on display this June at Artway Invitational

We've just finalized the dates for Alysa Bartha's show at the Artway Invitational Gallery, at Shoppers World Brampton. Bartha is the author and illustrator of a picture book called Petal's Wish, about a fairy who learns a lesson in self-confidence. Her book is available for $10.99.

Alysa Bartha is a professional photographer who began writing in 2009, as another vehicle of her creativity. She was interviewed by The Brampton Guardian, for an upcoming article.

Alysa expects to be appearing at the mall in advance of the exhibit, at a soon-to-be-announced VAB event.

The new display space is located on the southeast corner of the mall, near Zellers, whereas the original Artway Gallery is still in the northwest corner of the mall.

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.

Jack Reid's passing makes year in review

The passing of Art Gallery of Peel curator David Somers and watercolourist Jack Reid are both mentioned in Ashley Goodfellow's year in review, for the arts. Published in the most recent issue of The Brampton Guardian, the article looks at various happenings in the City's entertainment scene.

WinterLights tonight; Paralympic mascot to attend for VAB

Chinguacousy Park will be a hub of action tonight, filled with activities in celebration of WinterLights. From 6 to 9 pm, come see Christmas trees decorated by local elementary schools, and jumbo postcards by local high schools. Free activities include cookie decorating, crafts, horse and carriage rides, and live entertainment including a Nativity pageant (6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 pm). There's even going to be a reindeer!

Podi, the Canadian Paralympic Committee mascot, will be attending on behalf of Visual Arts Brampton. VAB will be having a Fridge Front Gallery exhibit this coming March, focusing on the Canada's Paralympic team and their sports. Among the guests at tonight's event, Billy Bridges, part of the gold medal-winning 2006 Torino Paralympic sledge hockey team.

The event will be judged as part of Brampton's bid in the annual, national WinterLights competition. WinterLights is run by the same organization as Communities in Bloom. We encourage you to bring non-perishable food items and/or unwrapped new toys for the Peel Regional Police's Toys for Tots.

Complete details can be found at The Brampton News, and The Brampton Guardian.

'Tis the Season, John Knox on exhibit at SWB

In today's issue of The Brampton Guardian (the Weekend edition), check out the article on John Knox Christian School's exhibit of Christmas art, "Fridge Front gallery gets festive".

Both the John Knox show and 'Tis the Season, our adult exhibit, went in today. On display are Stan Adams, William Band, Stephanie Czolij, Marguerite Finlayson, Conrad Mieschke, Dolores Miron, Marian Simpson, Warren Simpson, and Jacqueline Veltri.

Both exhibits run until January 4, 2010.

Craig Fleming featured in Guardian

Check out Ashley Goodfellow's interview of Drawing in Black and White featured artist Craig Fleming, "Local artist an expert with a pencil". The article appeared in the most recent issue of the Brampton Guardian, and of course can also be read online.

The exhibit runs until June 26, 2009.

Guardian report on posing for a portrait session

VAB's portrait sessions were one of the first "Behind the Scenes" columns, by Brampton Guardian arts reporter Ashley Goodfellow. A sample quote from the article "Portrait of an arts reporter":

I'll admit it was a tremendous feeling to be at the pinnacle of all of this; my appreciation for portraiture was greatly enriched by my exposure to this group. I was able to experience first-hand the way artists work- and they were able to reveal interpretations of me I may never have seen...or considered...before.

Although I mostly sat still for the better part of four hours, it was extremely exciting. And, the results were beyond impressive.

According to the online version of the article, there's actually a video feature on the portrait bunch, upcoming.

Portrait exhibit "Making Faces" now on display

Last night, the annual portrait exhibit Making Faces went on display. On display this month are Mary Chorniuk, Marguerite Finlayson, Craig Fleming, Tony Jenkins, Mary Noble, Elizabeth Patrick, Marian Simpson, and Devere Wint.

Ashley Goodfellow posed for a portrait

Also on display is a section of portraits of Ashley Goodfellow, the arts reporter for The Brampton Guardian. She actually posed for the portrait bunch last Wednesday, from 10 am to 2 pm. While you always get a fantastic variety of styles and mediums when you visit Artway, this is especially interesting, to see six different takes on the same face.

Her posing for the portrait bunch was embedded journalism, if you will, as Ashley was doing research for a story on the portrait exhibit and on our weekly portrait session.

The Globe's Tony Jenkins on display
Later this afternoon, we'll be displaying Tony Jenkins' portraiture. Tony is best known as the editorial cartoonist for The Globe and Mail, for which he also does various illustrations. He was a finalist for the National Newspaper Award for Editorial Cartooning, an award administered
by the Canadian Newspaper Association.

From Toronto, Tony’s black and white cartooning has influenced his painting, in his search for line and structure. His travels through the Third World have engendered his love of dramatic colour and heightened his fascination with the human face. Some of his roadside sketches appeared in early editions of the Lonely Planet travel guide series.

Jenkins has previously exhibited at various galleries and restaurants, including Toronto music pantheon Hugh's Room, where he showed his folk, blue, and soul musician caricatures. His caricatures will be part of next month's Laughlines exhibit.

Tony's site: jenkins draws

A few links about Tony's cartoons:
Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists: "Anthony Jenkins: An interview with resident Globe & Mail illustrator"
Association of American Editorial Cartoonists: "Slightly Wryer in Canada"
Drawn.ca

National Youth Week 2009 Art Showcase

As seen on The Brampton Guardian and Orangeville Banner websites this past Thursday, and presumably in the paper editions very soon, Visual Arts Brampton is hosting the National Youth Week 2009 Art Showcase.

The City of Brampton and Visual Arts Brampton are calling young artists, asking them to show off their work as part of National Youth Week in Brampton.

The National Youth Week 2009 Art Showcase is open to local youth between the ages of 10 and 19. For the first three weeks of May, Fridge Front Gallery will feature the works, in this Canada-wide celebration of youth.

Guidelines:

- art work needs to featured on a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper (do not bend or fold the sheet)
- no art will be returned, so photocopies are suggested
- youth must be between the ages of 10-19
- multiple pieces may be entered by one artists; there is no guarantee that all the pieces will be featured as space is limited
- there is no theme to the showcase, although the National Youth Week Committee has the right to withhold art from being shown

Artwork may be submitted by mail to:

Konrad Skorupa
1 Theatre Lane
Brampton, Ontario
L6V 0A3

Or it can be dropped off in person at the Rose Theatre Box Office or Lester B. Pearson Theatre Box Office.

Rose Theatre Box Office
Monday – Saturday 10:00AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday: Closed if no event

Lester B. Pearson Theatre Box Office
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Wednesday: 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Sunday: Closed if no event

Guardian: "Former resident featured in art exhibit"

Artway guest exhibitor John Bindon was interviewed by The Brampton Guardian recently, and the article is now available on the Guardian website as "Former resident featured in art exhibit".

Thanks to the South Asian Voice

tA quick thanks to the South Asian Voice, a Metroland newspaper distributed with the Guardian to some areas of the town. They mentioned our Fridge Front Gallery in the latest "In Brief" section, looking for exhibitors.

Guardian: "Designer featured at Artway"

Back on the 19th, Devere Wint was mentioned in The Brampton Guardian. On page 10 of the paper, it talks about Devere being the featured artist in 'Tis the Season.

Strangely, the article doesn't appear on the website. We're investigating.

Guardian Arts blog on VAB workshop

Back on Friday, Ashley Goodfellow at the Guardian posted "Me? An artist?" to her blog, where she comments on a Christmas card making workshop she took at the Visual Arts Brampton Creative Studios, talking about the process involved in creating the cards.

Guardian writer blogs about the arts

Ashley Goodfellow, The Brampton Guardian's arts and entertainment reporter, has started a blog named What's On in the Arts. Started on October 30, the blog is already three posts in, and allows for comments.

EnviroArt winners announced

As promised, here's the list of winners for the EnviroArt contest.

First place went to Ethan Peluso for "The earth cries out, won't you help?"

Runner ups

• Olivia Pietrangelo for "Putting paper back into trees"
• Daniel Battaglia for "Without care today could become tomorrow"
• Ian Eubanas for "World BBQ Day"
• Paulina Su for "City Imprisons Nature"
• Stephanie Czolij for "Untitled"

For more coverage, check out The Brampton Guardian article "Enviro-Art winners announced".