Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition 2011

The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition celebrated it's 50th year this past weekend. I didn't participate this year but I did attend as a visitor and was blown away with all the talent. It's always fun to see fresh new artists and some regulars exhibiting their work. 

I'm happy I took the long walk north to the students section and discovered the figurative paintings of Adrienne Dagg. Fresh out of Concordia University her paintings-especially this one, had me in her booth for quite awhile.

I was also really impressed by Laura Culic's new encaustic work. Well known for her moody landscapes Laura's new encaustc paintings speak to my soul.

Other artists' work that I really enjoyed were Marie Rioux, Lauren Satok, Elizabeth Lennie, Peter Rotter, Dorion Scott

Figment, Flight and Fancy.

Supria Karmakar and myself at Supria's opening at Arts on King.

Pages created by Supria in my book Gifts From the Sea, part of the Inner Works collaborative.

This past Saturday I had the wonderful pleasure of finally meeting in person Supria Karmakar. Supria is a fabulous, very talented encaustic artist, and a beautiful soul. We've been online friends for a few years and I participated in a mixed media altered book round robin, which was Supria's creation.

Supria's show, titled Figment, Flight and Fancy opened last week at Arts on King in Toronto and is a must see. Encaustic painting involves using hot wax and pigment applied to a surface. Supria adds mixed media elements to create paintings that are highly textured, vibrant and translucent. Her work is layers upon layers of beautiful imagery that must be seen in person. Although it looks great on screen, a computer monitor really does not do her work justice. In looking closely at one of Supria's paintings elements appear to be floating in the luxurious colors and textures and the work has that wonderful smell of the wax-it all adds to the experience. You can see paintings from the show and more of Supria's encaustics on her blog and website. Figment, Flight and Fancy runs until April 30, 2011.

A Beautiful Purchase.

It's been a busy week so far but not for making art. I've been taking care of a long list of things that have to be taken care of during this last official week of summer. As well, I've been helping one get ready to go back to school next week. So the art making has been put on hold for a short while. I'll be back at it 100% after this long weekend.

I did have a delightful surprise in the post today. A parcel from my virtual friend Supria had arrived. I was checking out her blog last week and noticed that she had listed more items in her Etsy shop. New limited edition print art greeting cards. I spotted "B Still" and I new I just had to get one for myself. The card is a beautiful print of her original mixed media encaustic piece and I have just the perfect frame and spot for it in my home. I'm hoping that I'll have a chance to get out to the Elora-Fergus Studio Tour this fall to finally meet my fellow blogging artist and see her beautiful encaustic paintings in person. Thank you Supria.

Tha above painting is "Mocha Latte" a 12 x12, acrylic on paper. Just a fun piece that I completed not too long ago.