Our Talented Artists
(To see a large view of any painting, click on it!)

Belia Brandow
Lyn  ON
Website

These past two years have forced me to slow down, enjoy, appreciate and be inspired by the everyday world around me. My theme for the show this year will be “Along Country Roads”.  With limited access to my friends and usual venues, on sunny days  I would take long drives throughout the counties stopping to take photos of whatever intrigued me. These photos, along with my memories, have inspired me to paint everyday scenes into places of beauty. I just needed to take the time to truly see and feel with all my senses the light, colour and temperature.

Betty Matthews
Gananoque  ON
Website

I believe I have come to the end of my “old boathouses saga” and while I endeavour to paint local subjects of interest – surely I can find something different. Weather permitting, the great outdoors is available for inspiration. Out of my window, the Gananoque River provides river otters playing on the ice, swans swimming majestically by, and a wide variety of migrating waterfowl coming and going.

Helma Gansen
Gananoque  ON
[email protected]
Website

The beauty of the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands inspired me to paint. Capturing natures beauty is my quest and reinterpreting on canvas colour, light and composition is my ongoing passion and challenge. My training as an Interior Designer provided the opportunity to develop sketching skills and to explore different paint media. I began to paint in 1999. Since then I have attended many workshops and participated in Plein Air Painting Excursions and Competitions. As a past member of VAGA, TIARTS (Thousand Island Artist Association) and the Rideau Lakes Artist Association I have participated in many art shows. I am currently an active member of TIFAA (Thousand Island Fine Art Association) and FMBAA (Fort Myers Beach Artist Association). My paintings vary from landscape to floral and figurative. My preferred medium for landscapes is oil. I use mixed media for my abstract work.

Winter Sun and the Beach

The winter of 2020 / 2021 will be remembered as the Covid Winter. Caution and restrictions kept most of us at home. Socializing with friends was only possible by going for a walk and keeping the 6 ft distance. Walking the beach at Browns Bay, alone or with friends, became a favourite for me.The sound of the waves was ever present. It was always peaceful, and at times grey and overcast.  But every once in a while the sun would come out and where ever it touched, it created miracles. This is one I captured in late November 2020.

Buttermilk Falls on the Salmon River

Some years ago, at a visit to Tamworth, we heard about the Buttermilk Falls and decided to find them.We were well rewarded. It is a beautiful setting, although most of the surroundings are on private land and access is limited.  I took some photos with the intend to use them in a traditional landscape painting. However, when I started painting I decided the capture the spirit of the afternoon and the wonderful late summer colours in an abstracted version of the scenery.

Martha Stroud
Kingston ON
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This past summer I spent a lot of time exploring the area around my cottage near Sharbot Lake, and walking along the Cataraqui River closer to home. There is always something inspiring wherever there are trees, especially in the autumn.

Rachel Legault
Brockville ON
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https://www.facebook.com/Rachel-Legault-Art-100515955102362/

Sometimes I don’t have to go very far to find inspiration. The first painting came about after a walk through the woods just up the street from my home. It was beautiful sunny day and the tree tops were swaying in the cool breeze. The shadows they cast seemed to be dancing on the snow. I felt compelled to capture this tranquil scene on canvas.

Sian Tucker
Brockville  ON
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Spring arrives, the frozen ground has thawed and sap pumps along branches, pushing tender leaves towards the sun. Mother Nature dashes about, waking those still sleeping beneath last year's leaves. 'Stay Connected' is painted from a photo I took of the path through woods on our then property. It was May 2020 and our first Covid lockdown. The trilliums were blooming, and "Stay connected" intoned the radio hosts as texting, Face Time and Zoom meetings entered our vocabulary and replaced hugs. We walked the dog along the path through the woods to the top field in all seasons and I knew the trees well: they are wiser than we are. Deciduous and coniferous grow happily together, giving each other a quick hug as their branches dance in the wind. Their roots, pushing around rock outcrops, reach out to their family members and neighbours sending silent messages back and forth beneath our feet. Around their trunks the dog sniffs out messages left by other animals and leaves a quick message of his own. The trees and the dog know the importance of staying connected.

Solange Leman
Brockville ON
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​“I paint for the pure pleasure of playing with colour, paint and texture ... just to see ... what if.”

I love colour in my paintings but these past two years I have found myself gradually changing to using very little of it.  It has been a  calming feeling to play with only texture (which I love) and just a hint of colour. Slowly I am once again returning to my passion “texture and colour.”