Featured Artist - Barbara Young

"I work in acrylics and do collage. My work has a very graphic quality. I prefer abstracting images of people and animals. I also do still life of fruit with an abstract theme. The colors are bold and exaggerated, but I also do pen and ink drawings which may be incorporated into collage."

Barbara Young studied Graphic & Package Design at Humber College and worked as graphic artist for 20 years. She has taken painting classes at Cambridge Centre for the Arts & Dundas Valley School of Art, and participated in various juried shows. Her paintings are currently on exhibit at Gran.

Featured Artist - Valerie Chvedovski

Valeri Chvedovski graduated from Odessa's school of fine arts in the Ukraine. There he developed his skills painting with oil and watercolor. Most of his works include landscapes and portraiture, although some of the recent pieces are very abstract.

In 1992, my family and I left the Ukraine for Canada, where we settled in Kitchener. Many of my recent paintings were inspired by Canada's countryside. I enjoy painting portraits of my friends and co-workers. I am often asked to re-create portraits from an old black and white photographs.

Presently, I am a member of Kitchener-Waterloo Society of Artists. My paintings are exhibited in Double T Gallery, Iris Gallery, Waterloo Community Art Center and MacDonald Stewart Art Center.

For more of Valeri's paintings, see his website execulink.com/~valerach

Featured Artist - Jennifer Depencier

Jennifer Depencier's love of art was fostered from a young age while growing up in the northern town of Sudbury, Ontario. It was here that she was given the freedom to explore the nature of the area and its bountiful lakes and forests. She has worked with many different forms and mediums, but has favoured acrylics in recent years.

Although she loves painting landscapes and still life, she has recently discovered her passion for painting urban landscapes, in particular the village of Hespeler where she and her family have lived for the past ten years.

Whether it is a wilting sunflower, fallen leaves or an abandoned factory, Jennifer feels the need to capture the essence of the space on canvas.

Jennifer's work has been in various juried shows, the Mayors Celebration of the Arts, Grand Cafe, Sunrise Gallery Hamilton and is currently on display at Phidon Pens in Galt.



For more of Jennifer's work, see her website jenniferdepencier.fotopic.net

Featured Artist - Katrina Schaman

Katrina Schaman paints using a semi-abstract style that celebrates the deep connection between abstract and real forms. Her work begins without agenda, using abstract shapes and patterns, rich in both line and colour. The artist then looks within these patterns and textures discovering recognizable shapes and arrangements from which she creates her compositions. She does not set out to paint specific forms but instead finds them within her work and brings them forward, allowing them to emerge organically on the canvas with the piece itself dictating its own outcome. Katrina uses many complex layers in her search for the perfect balance between abstract and actual shapes.

Although primarily a painter, Katrina also enjoys illustration, photography, cooking and traveling.

I love to travel and experience new cultures. I've been to Israel, Turkey, Greece, Scotland, France, Italy and Germany. I believe this exposure to the world has helped me grow as a person as well as an artist.

Katrina received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours from Queen's University in 2005 and her Graduate Certificate in New Media Design from Sheridan College's School of Animation and Design in 2007.

To see more of Katrina's work, see her website katrinaschaman.com

Featured Artist - The Gnarled Branch

A graduate of Sheridan College, David Irvine is a multi-faceted artist that likes to face new challenges and experiment in many different mediums. From painted furniture to bottlecap pins to painted vinyl records, there is never a plateau in his work. He likes to mainly work with pop art imagery as well with low brow and horror themes with a focus on repurposing and reusing materials destined for possible landfill.


About his Work
Vinyl Record Paintings: I paint on damaged or badly worn records. A pushpin through the middle is all that is required to mount on the wall. Themes range from low brow, pop art and horror.

Bottle Cap Pins/Magnets: An image + caption cutout from junkmail, magazines or flyers are inserted into discarded bottlecapas to make a unique pin--usually funny and quirky. Resin (so it looks just like glass) and a pinmount or magnet are added to complete the look. Each pin is unique.

Jarlid Pins: I insert an original painting and resin into a discarded babyfood jarlid and add a pinmount to the back. Themes vary from cute monsters to pop art imagery.

Fine Art: I also do fine art that is framed and range in themes from pop art, low brow to gothic.

Monster-A-Day facebook group: Each day I illustrate and post a new monster. Each piece is 5.5" x 8".

To see more of David's work, visit his webpage thegnarledbranch.com

Featured Artist - Gisèle Grenier

A wildlife conservationist at heart, Gisèle specializes in landscapes and wildlife with a impressionistic feel. Her work has been published in Paintworks magazine, and she is a regular contributor to Interactive Artist Magazine. Videos of her designs are distributed by Martin/F.Weber. And her wildlife paintings have been on display at the Intollerant Gallery in Hamilton, Station Gallery in Brantford, and the Brantford Arts Block.

Gisèle is an Alexander Art Certified Instructor. She teaches annually at the Coast to Coast Creative Arts Convention in Mississauga. Under Art By Nature, Gisèle offers online, private, and in-person classes to beginners and intermediates using oils, pastels and acrylics.

For more of Gisele's work, see her website giselegrenier.com