The Art and Illustration Portfolio of Valerie Lesiak
Valerie Lesiak is an illustrator who creates images both for her personal portfolio and on a commission basis through her personal Picture Book Studio. Valerie’s digital drawings and illustrations tend towards a simple, bright aesthetic, but represent the artist’s skill with visual balance and composition.
Valerie’s style is kid-friendly in the vein of Maria Angela Reyes or Denise Tonner, and…
A Portfolio of Symmetrical Compositions by Renée Duval
Renée Duval is an artist who currently lives and works in Montreal. In her artistic practice, Renée has cultivated an interesting technique, using dense, vertically symmetrical compositions of flowers and plants to build images that seem alive with fine detail.
There’s a beautifully lush sense of organic growth that infuses each of these images. Renée’s paintings are…
States of Being: The Art Portfolio of Franck de las Mercedes
Imperfect Symmetry, acrylic on canvas
Franck de las Mercedes is a New York-based Latino artist who uses a variety of media -- from traditional paint, to photography and writing -- to build works that address personal emotions and states of being as much as they do contemporary cultural issues. Franck’s works are unapologetically colourful, and packed with detail and meaning.
For Your Third Eye Only, acrylic on fabric
I really like…
The Art Portfolio of Ron Buttler
Ron Buttler is an artist based in Aiken, South Carolina. In his practice, Ron works in oil paint and mixed media, creating works that are inspired by art history, sometimes appropriating figures and elements from existing paintings and re-mixing them for a contemporary audience.
In our previous feature of Ron’s works, we looked at the artist’s three-dimensional portraits. Ron utilizes…
Fleeting Moments: A Painting Portfolio by Harry Stooshinoff
Little Shower, October 15, acrylic and collage on archival paper
Harry Stooshinoff is a North Ontario-based artist who documents the landscape in a multitude of simple, gestural paintings, capturing fleeting moments and transient states of being. Harry’s landscape works are a breath of fresh air, one that feels very contemporary while owing something to the ideals of early impressionism.
A Portfolio of Choreography, Dance, and Performance by Brice Noeser
Alphabête (photo by Llamaryon)
Brice Noeser is a Quebec-based contemporary dancer who uses the body as his artistic medium, producing works of art and choreography that endeavor to build a new language for dance. The artist’s body of work includes choreography, dance, and performance, with Brice often blending all three.
The artist’s chosen medium is naturally collaborative, and as such many of the…
The Watercolour and Charcoal Art Portfolio of Rayne Tunley
Rayne Tunley is a Canadian artist who, in her current practice, specializes in watercolour and charcoal. The artist’s works are impressionistic, offering dreamlike, slightly abstracted views inspired by Ontario landscapes and other subject matter.
I’m really impressed by the delicate skill and attention to detail demonstrated in all of Rayne’s works. Though the pieces may seem…
A Portfolio of Abstract Sculpture by Serge Mozhnevsky
Serge Mozhnevsky is a sculptor originally from Russia and now based in Vancouver, BC. In his practice, Serge favours abstract sculpture, often building large-scale metal works for outdoor, public spaces, as well as gallery-oriented wood sculpture.
It’s easy to draw parallels between Serge’s metal sculptures and those of 20th century greats like Richard Serra or Anthony Caro. There’s an equal…
The Art Portfolio of Abstract Painter James Lutzko
"BC-1601" Sliding Doors, oil on canvas with high-gloss epoxy topcoat
James Lutzko is an abstract painter who uses washes of bright pigment, blending them across the surface of a canvas to create planes of colour and texture that are then treated with epoxy.
Ethereal, acrylic on canvas with high-gloss epoxy topcoat
In his recent practice, James has been developing a technique of adding character to his paintings by encouraging the…
Psychological and Macabre: The Painting Portfolio of Mary Hayes
Smoking Man, oil on wood panel
Mary Hayes is a Canadian artist who uses oil and watercolour media to explore psychological and macabre concepts. The artist’s works often draw inspiration from Baroque and romantic painting styles, nodding towards figurative tropes from specific paintings and artistic eras.
The artist’s painting tend to lean into a macabre aesthetic, and as we saw in our previous feature of…
The Painting Portfolio of Art Carillo
Mexican American I, acrylic on canvas paper
Art Carrillo is a Los Angeles-based artist who works primarily in acrylic paints. Most recently, art has been creating unexpected still-life paintings of common household objects and detritus of modern life -- in particular, signifiers and objects from the artist’s own Chicano background and community.
HECHO EN MEXICO, acrylic on canvas
I really enjoy the way that Art renders these…
A Still-Life Painting Portfolio by Robert W. H. McCoy
The Back Room, oil on linen canvas
Robert W. H. McCoy began studying art as a child in San Antonio, Texas, building up a skill for photo-realistic, illustrative painting while incorporating inspirations from a variety of American and Mexican artists. The artist’s current portfolio encompasses still-life painting with incredible detail and Western as well as South American influences.
I really appreciate…
Hagenclay: The Sculpture Portfolio of Erika Pazmandi Hagen
Untitled, ceramic with cold finish and patina
Erika Pazmandi Hagen is a ceramic artist who works under the studio name Hagenclay. In her sculptures, Erika blends human, often feminine figures with abstracted detail and an appreciation for novel texture.
I quite enjoy the artist’s recent sculptural pieces, made using clay with a cold finish and patina. The resulting works have a coppery, metallic sheen, dappled with moments…
The Painting Portfolio of Laura Spring
Laura Spring is an abstract painter who works primarily in acrylic, occasionally incorporating mixed media to build up texture and colour. The artist’s works are firmly situated in a contemporary moment, and explore extremes of pigment-minimal, textural painting as well as saturated monochromatic works.
Moving Through the Winter II, oil
I really enjoy the way the artist groups her paintings by hue and…
Natural Spaces and Cultivation: The Art of Bill Basquin
Death Valley Love Letter (still), 16mm film/digital video silent
Bill Basquin is an artist currently based in San Francisco, California. In his artistic practice, Bill works in film and video, as well as multimedia installation, producing thoughtful works that explore the collision between natural spaces and cultivation through an abstracted lens.
Someone Who Is Not You, mixed media
I enjoy the overall atmosphere that Bill’s works…