Joe Foster’s cardboard

 Joe Foster is a portrait painter who calls the Smith’s Falls area home. His subjects are those individuals who no longer have a place to call home. Joe paints his portraits on cardboard, something that gets tossed out all the time and can be found discarded in alleyways. This was

A Maker By Trade

 Photo credit: Sean Sisk Anna Williams seems to always making something. Be it an art piece or a house project, this artist has always loved using her hands to shape her narratives. “I am a maker,” she said. “Once you start making objects, you get sucked into making multiples, and

Canadian artist Patrick John Mills: an expressionist and abstract painter

 Photos courtesy of Patrick John Mills Canadian artist Patrick John Mills is considered an expressionist and also abstract painter. His artwork has been shown in selected exhibitions in cities that evoke art and sophistication such as London, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Montreal and, of course, Ottawa. “Obsessed, intense, creative and also

The Whimsical Worlds of Emily Cooper

 Ottawa Life’s Festival City Series is back! We'll provide a unique look at some of your favourite events. We’ll go beyond the music with artist interviews, volunteer profiles, concert reviews and spotlights on the tastes, sights and sounds of the festival season.  Your city! Your festivals and events! Like a good sunscreen,

Elly Smallwood, Exploring Human Emotion on a Grand Scale

 Elly Smallwood’s artistry is hard to look away from. The vivid, blurry-edged constructs of her work possess both a surreal and commonplace quality. Her visual aesthetic alone is the mark of a natural, yet studied artist, one who is confident in every stroke of her brush. And that is to

Piecing Together the Abstract

 Photos by Alex Mazur. Have you ever let your mind wander while watching passing clouds floating through the sky? Suddenly those white wisps look like a sailboat, or that fluffy cloud looks unmistakably like a cuddly bunny. This psychological phenomenon is called pareidolia, an instance where the mind recognizes familiar

A Portrait of Canada

 Canada is a place of boundless natural beauty, and part of being Canadian means appreciating the natural wonders of where we live. Few understand this better than Leah Pipe, the BC-based artist who pens the awe-inspiring beauty of the Skeena Watershed area in Northern British Colombia. Beautifully arresting, rivetingly detailed and quietly absorbing, Pipe’s

The Wonderful Works of Andrea Warren

 All photos courtesy of Andrea Warren Some artists create their work for fame and fortune, but some, like Ottawa-based visual artist Andrea Warren, create art for much more significant reasons. Warren’s art is unusual and enchanting. In some pieces, Warren combines multiple acrylic colours together to create an almost stained

A Short History of Jeanne Henry Côté

 Jeanne Henry Côté received her first drawing contract at the age of five. “Someone needed a drawing done by a five year old child. I was free to draw what I wanted, so I drew a turkey in a pan ready to go to the oven.” By the seventh grade, Côté

Dear Rouge, From Ottawa

 Falling leaves are not the only noteworthy shade of red in the city this week. Vancouver-based electronic rock band Dear Rouge will be showing its colours downtown with a performance at Mavericks on October 29. Dear Rouge is led by husband and wife duo Drew and Danielle McTaggart. The name

Charm of Charlevoix Part 2 – Hike your Heart Away

 Photos courtesy of Charlevoix tourism. Hiking Before the first snowfall and the temperature drops is the perfect time to hike and take in the tranquility of fall. Charlevoix offers some of the most beautiful hiking opportunities just a few hours away by car, and whether you want to bring the

Art in Fashion 613 Shines Bright

 Photo courtesy of Art in Fashion 613 Art in Fashion 613 is bringing something new to the capital. Taking place on Saturday October 17 at Library and Archives Canada, the event is an inspired fashion and night market created by Kym Brown, the designer and owner behind Bombshell Revival Designs. Brown is an

Kayla Pongrac: Bringing Local Flavour to Life with Art and Design

 Photo credit: Blair Pongrac  When you head to one of Ottawa’s top restaurants, like Ace Mercado on Clarence Street, you go for the experience. It’s not just about the great food, but also the atmosphere, smells and sounds. A lot of thought, planning and passion go into creating that atmosphere

RBC Ottawa Bluesfest Celebrates Festival Fashion in New Campaign

 Photo credit: Alexander Vlad/Captivate Creative Music festivals are all about music…and fashion! Both on the stage and on the street, artists and audience members are embracing festival fashion, from Coachella to Osheaga and now RBC Ottawa Bluesfest! For the first time, RBC Ottawa Bluesfest is launching the I Love #RBCBluesfestFashion

Eryn O’Neill Explores Ottawa’s Urban Side

 Above: “Infrastructure” Oil on Canvas by Eryn O'Neill, 30x48, 2015. If someone asked you to describe Ottawa, what would you say? The first images that come to mind might be the canal, Parliament Hill or one of the many museums in this historic city. But Eryn O’Neill had a different idea. O’Neill,

The Natural Way: Native Artist Peter Bighetty

 For native artist Peter Bighetty, art begins with a memory. Hailing from Nelson House, Manitoba, Bighetty’s family is originally from Pukatawagan Cree Nation. “Growing up, I was always fishing, trapping, and hunting, out and about in the wilderness. That’s where I get the ideas for most of my paintings,” Bighetty

Nepean Fine Arts League Spring Show and Sale: Buying Local Art

 By Melody Duncan Forty years ago, I bought my first painting at a local art show. It was the first of many. Today, I am one of the 124 area artists who belong to that same association. The Nepean Fine Arts League is now 51 years old, still going strong

Café Ex: Celebrating Canada’s Extraordinary Filmmakers

 Join in tomorrow evening as Café Ex celebrates the inventive works of A. Megan Turnbull at Ottawa’s Club SAW! Season 17 of the Canadian Film Institute’s intimate and interactive experimental cinema series, Café Ex, continues with screenings from the works of A. Megan Turnbull, filmmaker and former Ottawa resident. Inaugurated

Jeremy Harder: The Art of Dynamic Doodling

 Photo courtesy of Jeremy Harder For as long as he can remember, Jeremy Harder loved to draw. By the age of five, he was already receiving praise from family and friends for his talent. By the time he reached high school, Harder was constantly filling notebooks with doodles and designs.

Canada on canvas: the art of Julia Veenstra

 ABOVE: Ontario artist Julia Veenstra in her Hamilton studio. Since childhood, Julia Veenstra has been an artist to watch. Her mother would often be told about her daughter’s artistic talent. Veenstra took her calling and attended Sheridan College in Oakville where she studied illustration. She found her niche as a painter through

Jo Mann: An Art All Her Own

 When it comes to seeing artistic possibilities in the ordinary, Jo Mann is unparalleled. Mann’s artwork is in fact unique and is a style completely her own. She acknowledges. Her canvas is not stretched fabric but the most Canadian of objects. Ironically, while deeply Canadian she found inspiration through travels

’Tis the Season for Handel

 More than 250 years after its completion, George Frideric Handel’s joyous Messiah continues to be appreciated by audiences around the world. Coming to the capital region this holiday season, Finest Moments from Messiah will be presented by the combined effort of the Ottawa Classical Choir and the New World Philharmonic

Art Exhibit Showcases Grandeur of Local Environment

 Inspired by nature, award-winning Ottawa artist Margaret Chwialkowska will be featuring her solo exhibition “Gatineau Sublime” at the Galerie Old Chelsea from December 4 to December 31. Ever since Chwialkowska moved to Canada from Poland in 1979, she has been overwhelmed by the natural beauty of North American landscapes. Capturing the magic

Claudia Salguero–100 per cent Artist in Everything she Does

 Claudia Salguero is a photographer and graphic designer. She also paints, sculpts, creates digital images and sings Latin jazz professionally. Salguero moved to Ottawa from Bogotá, Colombia, in 2001. She found opportunity in Ottawa so she never left. “I’ve been able to make my way because I do many things. I

The Art of Russell Noganosh

 “Finding himself through art and using it to heal” Russell Noganosh set off for Plains Indian Cultural Survival School in his early twenties—but the skills he learned didn’t come from his studies. Noganosh’s life lessons came from friendship and art. Noganosh enrolled in school after fleeing from a foster home