The Art Portfolio of Mexican Painter Carmen Estrada
Carmen Estrada is a prolific Mexican painter whose practice encompasses a variety of styles and subjects. The artist frequently pays homage to her hometown of Mazatlán and the local culture through paintings that celebrate traditional styles as well as noted Mexican artists.
Carmen switches easily between various styles of painting, sometimes creating works in the style of famous Mexican…
Fantastic Favourites: Peter Borkowicz, Sean Sweeney, Jason Shanaman
Today we’re featuring the work of Peter Brokowicz, Sean Sweeney, and Jason Shanaman -- three artists working in three-dimensional media, from traditional woodwork to abstract sculpture to detailed, realistic modelling.
Peter Borkowicz
Peter Borkowicz is a woodworker who creates custom wood furniture. The artist’s creations are sometimes sleek and modern, and other times emulate art deco and early 19th…
Lush and Layered Textures: Art by Edward Bock
Jukebox, acrylic and charcoal on wood panel
Edward Bock works in mixed media, creating colourful works in two dimensions that express thick, lush, and layered textures. Edward uses a bright and saturated colour palette in the majority of his works, blending cool green tones with warm reds and oranges for a geological, planetary effect.
Capricornus II, acrylic on canvas
In his abstract paintings, Edward takes a particularly wild and…
Variations in the Land: The Photography of William Kent
Photographer William Kent captures images of landscapes both wild and urban all along the Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. The artist’s portfolio is packed with images that celebrate saturated colour and the incredible variations in the land of just a small part of the world.
I really like the way that William emphasizes colour in his photographs. Whether he’s…
Fantastic Favourites: Joel Yatscoff, Kenn Raaf, Robert Milling
Today we’re taking a look at the art portfolios of three artists working in varied media and disciplines, from industrial design to sculpture restoration. Today's features artists are Joel Yatscoff, Kenn Raaf, and Robert Milling.
Joel Yatscoff
Van der Pop/ Weed MD Welcome Kit (Design for Hiku Brands Inc.)
Joel Yatscoff is an industrial designer. The artist’s body of work encompasses original designs for a variety of products,…
Colour and Scale: The Art Portfolio of Ronald George Straight
Ronald George Straight is an artist originally from Winnipeg, who has lived in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and BC. In his paintings, Ronald captures the colour and scale of the prairie landscape, including wildlife and slice-of-life details.
I really enjoy the way Ronald employs colour in his oil on canvas works. Looking at the artist’s portfolio as a whole, it seems that orange and…
The Art Portfolio of Watercolour Painter Jane Crosby
Oregano "Kent Beauty", watercolour on cold-pressed paper
Jane Crosby is a watercolour painter with a love for plants and florals. The artist’s painting style is realistic, and Jane showcases an impressive skill with her medium, producing delicate, controlled works with an emphasis on detail.
Book and Pearls Wabi Sabi, watercolour on hot pressed paper
As we’ve talked about in previous features of Jane’s art portfolio, the…
On Unceded Lands: The Art Portfolio of Sonny Assu
Landlines #4, acrylic ink on Stonehenge Archival Paper
Sonny Assu is an interdisciplinary artist of Liǥwildax̱w/Kwakwaka’wakw heritage, hailing from southern British Columbia. In his practice, the artist addresses and reconciles that heritage with his suburban Canadian upbringing and experiences of life in a colonial state on unceded lands.
Broken Treaties, Maple, copper leaf, paint (video: Clayfighter by Brendon Tang)
Through…
The Acrylic on Canvas Portfolio of Jennifer Sparacino
Coyote Sunset, acrylic on canvas
Jennifer Sparacino works primarily in acrylic on canvas. Jennifer’s current practice is quite prolific, with the artist often taking a single subject as the inspiration for multiple successive works, producing multiple series of paintings that showcase that subject from a variety of viewpoints.
Perch of One's Own, acrylic on canvas
The artist’s recent Wildlife 2020 paintings take bears, wolves,…
Landscapes from Other Worlds: Photographyby Richard R. Ashby
Richard R. Ashby is a photographer who takes a creative approach to his medium, pushing the envelope of photographic composition with abstracted works and shots of flowers and minerals that are close-up so as to suggest landscapes from other worlds.
I find the artist’s series of Rock and Mineral Abstracts especially fascinating -- in these works, Richard photographs slices of rocks and minerals so that the…
Strking Figures: The Art Portfolio of Allyson Malek
Mellow Moments, acrylic on canvas
Allyson Malek works primarily in acrylic paint, creating abstracted works that emphasize bright and energetic colour schemes. The artist’s works tend to focus on simple, striking figures painted on heavily textured grounds.
Bright dots and coloured spheres are a common motif in Allyson’s artworks, as are stacked geometric compositions that could be likened to the work…
Elements of the Natural: Art by Nicole Richards
Nicole Richards is an artist trained in printmaking who works in print and other media. In her current portfolio, Nicole uses her artwork as a way of expressing the sense of awe she feels when confronted with elements of the natural world.
As her inspiration might suggest, Nicole’s subject matter is frequently fauna -- birds and small animals factor into a large portion of her works. I like…
Industrial Architecture: Illustrative Art by Susan Gransby
Tom's House, Granville Island, reduction linocut
Susan Gransby is currently based in Burnaby, BC, where she produces works in printmaking, illustration, and other mixed media. The artist often takes industrial architecture as subject matter, breaking down complex layers of engineered structure into sparing geometrically inclined images.
I like the way Susan takes urban, industrial structures and pares them down…
Collage and Mixed Media Artworks by Chloé Surprenant
Chloé Surprenant lives and works between Montreal and Amsterdam. In her artistic practice, the artist merges collage and mixed media painting, creating dark, grimy images that embrace the unknown and a sense of the Other.
I like the overall sense of texture and visual rhetoric in Chloé’s art portfolio. The artist builds a cumulative mood and atmosphere through works that utilize a very cohesive visual…
Airy Palettes: The Painting Portfolio of Lully Schwartz
Lully Schwartz is an American-born painter whose work is inspired by her rural upbringing and the experiences and settings therein. The artist’s work is largely figurative, painted with light, airy palettes, gestural marks and an impressionist eye.
I really like the balance between detail and immediacy in Lully’s paintings. In some recent works, the artist has focused on…