1812 event at Shoppers World Brampton, March 31

Visual Arts Brampton youth students and select adult artists will be drawing from War of 1812 reenactors. Adult member artists from the group are also invited to come and create.

The event will be at Shoppers World Brampton, in Centre Court, on March 31 from 1 to 5 pm. (Appropriately, Centre Court is also home to Laura Secord.)

The  reenactors at the event are being organized by Richard Feltoe, the curator and corporate archivist for Redpath Sugar Limited and is active as a living history reenactor, re-creating the life of a Canadian militia soldier from the War of 1812. His latest book, Redcoated Ploughboys: The Volunteer Battalion of Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada, 1813-1815, will be released in March.

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.

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.

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.

VAB to be at 3rd annual Street Festival

Visual Arts Brampton will the 2009 Communities in Bloom Street Festival. It will be held on Thursday, July 23rd from 6 - 9:30 pm in Garden Square at the Rose Theatre.

When the event started in 2007, VAB artists worked on a portrait of Jessica Miller, Miss Independent Florists of Brampton 2007, the eventual Miss Brampton 2008. VAB also hosted Brampton Arts Council mascot Millie, and a colouring table. Last year, Marian Simpson and Maria Dlubak painted from woodcarver John McCartney, while Debra Ali worked on a floral painting.

This year, Visual Arts Brampton will have some adult and teen members working on a portrait. We may also have other activities, for the public to participate in. If you'd like to participate, email us ahead of time, as we have limited space.

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

VAB participates in Shoppers World Looking Up to the Arts

Visual Arts Brampton was one of many participating in Shoppers World's second Looking Up to the Arts event, which featured arts groups, artists, musicians, and authors all around the mall. Visual Arts Brampton's booth featured the portrait bunch on Friday, drawing from a model dressed in Victorian era clothing.

On Saturday afternoon, Joud (Jude) Hakim, Alex Rodway, and Kurt Refling all drew in pencil at the group's booth.

VAB members in PHC/AGP Juried Show

VAB member Mary Noble and Debra Ali were both accepted into the Art Gallery of Peel Juried Art Show.

Using a background created in the workshop she taught at the studio, Mary painted a portrait of a model who posed at the Wednesday portrait sessions. Debra's flower painting was a Christmas gift to her sister, that Debra has continued to work on months after the holidays, including during an event at Shoppers World. Both paintings are in acrylic.

Also accepted were former VAB vice-president Kate Taylor, now a Hillsdale resident, as well as former members Kal Honey and Kim Lee Kho.

Every weekend in May, the Peel Heritage Complex will be offering free admission.

The Peel Heritage Complex is operated by the Region of Peel and is located at
9 Wellington St. E. in Brampton. The Complex is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; weekends from noon to 4:30 p.m.; and Thursday evenings from
6 to 9 p.m. Admission fees are $2.50 for adults; $1.50 for seniors; $1 for students; and $7 for families.

Crisis Centre of Peel benefit

The Sexual Assault / Rape Crisis Centre of Peel is holding a benefit for their services. According to Community Information Partners Peel (part of PINET), the Crisis Centre:

Serves women who have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives. Services include 24-hour crisis and support telephone line, individual and group counselling, accompaniment services to hospital, police station and court, public education and awareness, information and referral.

We don't have the event information with us here, so we can't share the details of when, where, and how to buy a ticket just yet.

However, Visual Arts Brampton's portrait sessions is offering prize; one attendee will win the chance to be painted by all of the portrait bunch. They get to keep whatever their favourite painting of the day is.