Welcome to the Canadian Branch of the International Watercolor Society
NWT area rep Shawna Lampi-Legaree has lived in Canada’s far north for the last 35 years. Her love of watercolour began long before she learned to paint She realized that if she wanted to paint that she had to create a group to help with that objective. So, over the winter of 2005/2006 the Yellowknife Watercolour Society was born. Shawna has been painting full time since 2012. Her passion with watercolour is flowers.
or visit the box office at the theatre:
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts,
10268 Yonge Street
Richmond Hill, ON – Canada
Over 150 of our finalists’ watercolours from over 80 countries around the world have been selected from both our ‘A Symphony in Watercolour’ and our ‘150 Ways to Celebrate’ Exhibitions and will be projected on a huge screen behind the Richmond Hill Philharmonic Orchestra as they play a selection of music inspired by art and nature, which embraces cultural diversity. We will also have two master artists Andy Sookrah and Bonnie Steinberg interpreting the music live as we listen and watch. It is an evening not to be missed!
Art and music bring people together regardless of race, religion, culture, or distance. Let’s embrace that together!
Art has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. It brings people together and IWS Canada’s mission is to do just that – to unify those who live to create and also those who live to love art.
❤ Help us to spread some love around our world today
I would like to thank 7 IWS Canada Symphony in Watercolour finalists, Lorraine Watry, Alexandra Bryska, Jan Min, Carrie Waller, Sun Jiangang, William Rogers and Lianne Todd who spent their time helping me to create this video. You are all AWESOME!!!
As noted in our last post, the entire exhibit is currently located at Boynton House in Richmond Hill (at Richmond Green). The exhibit at Boynton House will close as of October 15, when all paintings will be taken from there, and some will be selected to relocate to the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.
In the meantime, there is plenty to enjoy at Boynton House and it would certainly be worth your while to get there before the end of this weekend! Our exhibit has been so popular that over 1100 people have visited as of Tuesday afternoon!
View the now over 90 paintings on exhibit, (combining those from Burr House as well.)
Experience the magic of Ona Kingdon painting live daily.
Try a watercolour activity this weekend.
See IWS Canada’s “Love Around the World” paint video preview.
Come join in the celebration of watercolour!
Notes from last weekend:
We had a wonderful day today letting the children of our local community in Richmond Hill experiment with Watercolour. Hope you enjoy looking through our Symphony in Watercolour Children’s album, just a small selection from all the paintings created at Boynton House on Richmond Green on Saturday the 6th and Sunday 7th October:
Thank you to Da Vinci Paint Co. for providing a few of your dot palettes for the children to experiment with. They LOVED creating their own #DaVinciMoment and to DeSerres for providing the paper for this activity. You are both AWESOME sponsors of our Symphony in Watercolour.
Renee is a Canadian mixed media landscape artist painting out of her studio in Sherwood Park, Alberta. At a very early age, Renee began to take a strong interest in sketching and drawing often sitting with her mother while she painted in oils. She initially started with drawing but after proving to have a natural talent and a sharp eye for detail, quickly advanced to paintings in watercolor and acrylic. In a short time, Renee started entering in competitions receiving various top awards.
At the age of 17, Picture This Framing and Gallery sponsored her to take a class with renowned artist Sue-Ellen Ross. Almost immediately, Renee fell in love with Sue-Ellen’s mixed media style and decided to implement some of the same technique into her own work.
Since then, Renee has been recognized in various art competitions across North America receiving multiple awards for her work. In 2009, she was chosen by a unanimous panel of judges to commission a painting for the University of Alberta’s Graduate Engineering Department. The piece called “Unity” can be viewed in the ETLC building at the University of Alberta. After this point, Renee took a short break to pursue dancing competitively as a ballroom dancer winning a Canadian Championship and placing in the top 25 at the world championships in Belgium. She retired in 2015.
Currently, Renee is a full time artist creating original paintings and commissions. Being a self taught artist, she brings a unique style and technique to her work. Her love of vibrancy, texture and detail influences her paintings to have a living and breathing feel. Renee’s goal as an artist is to not only stimulate the mind with lucid imagery but to encourage the viewer to use their other senses. They say a picture can tell a thousand words but a painting can transport you to another place. Whether it is a memory of trees swaying in the wind on a warm summer day or a precious moment gazing over a field of flowers with a loved one, she aspires to draw the viewer in to create their own story.
Below is an example of Renee’s watercolour work. For more about Renee, please visit her website.
Sun Jiangang, (孙建刚) male, was born in 1972 in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China. He graduated from Shanxi Normal University, with skills in painting, watercolor, and pen. He is now a member of the Chinese Artists Association, a member of the Hong Kong Federation of Literary and Art Circles Artists Association, a chairman of the Hong Kong International Artists Association pen painting committee and vice chairman of the oil painting art committee. He is a Taiwan World Watercolor Alliance member, an IWS Canada Member, and a director of Chinese pen Painting Association.
Below is an example of his work in transparent watercolour.
Our apologies for the gap in post publishing due to health problems and travel. Please look forward to regular posts in the future!
Our featured member this week is Jan Fraser, of Alberta. Says Jan:
“Art has been part of my life since childhood, with lessons at the Edmonton Art Gallery and encouragement from my Grand-Uncle, Murray MacDonald who was a former member of the Edmonton Art Club and a well known watercolourist. When Murray retired from the University of Alberta, he began teaching me every Sunday afternoon and eventually we had a three generation show with Murray, my Aunt and myself. There have been many shows since. My first job in education was teaching and writing Art courses for the Alberta Correspondence School. From there I moved on to Edmonton Public Schools with a varied career in which Art was always involved. I recently retired as Assistant Principal of an elementary school with a Fine Arts Focus. I have always preferred the spontaneity and experimentation possible with watercolor but in the past year I have been playing with carving modeling paste for a textured foreground with acrylic and watercolour paint. This allows me to play with texture and rock formations in the foreground.”
“The weather, landforms and atmosphere of Alberta have always been my inspiration. One maxim that I have is that painting material is all around us. We do not have to travel far to see and feel. Another is to approach art with a sense of play and experimentation in order to continue learning. I enjoy my three grandchildren (one of whom is autistic), travel with my husband Jud, gardening and golf. I am an active member of the Edmonton Art Club.”
Below is an example of Jan’s work. For more, please visit her website.
Meet Tony Cook!
“I was born in England and worked as a newspaper reporter before serving in the Royal Artillery for my national service. I wanted to go to Korea with my unit – I mean, free travel and all – but wiser heads prevailed and I was given a War Office job testing new recruits. I emigrated to Canada in 1956 and entered the photographic business, intending to make a career out of my hobby. Surprisingly, I spent the following 40 years in the photographic and audiovisual industry in various senior marketing positions. Eventually tiring of the corporate environment, and foolishly forgoing the satisfaction of a regular paycheque, I started my own digital imaging and creative production house in Toronto, where I still live. I am married with three lovely daughters and three grandchildren.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed working in various art forms, in addition to photography and computer graphics. In the late 1970s, I expanded a childhood love of scratching initials on school desks and assorted trees, and began wood carving. I joined the Ontario Wood Carvers Association (OWCA), studied with famed carving teachers Joe Dampf, Benoit Deschenes and Wayne Barton, and somehow developed my own style of interpretive carving. I probably wasn’t paying attention. I was President of the OWCA during the 1980s, and edited their newsletter and website for several years. I showed my carvings in OWCA competitions and at the Canadian National Exhibition, and was completely ignored by the jurors.
I studied drawing at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2004 and subsequently took up watercolour painting. Being a Brit, I figured this was the proper medium for me. I credit teacher Ruth Hayes with giving me assurance that I could handle this medium and Barry Coombs for introducing me to the finer points of brush handling, design and simplification. I have tried to pay attention. I have enjoyed workshops with Art Cunanan, Hi-Sook Barker, Doug Mays and Marc Gagnon, each of whom has been very patient.
More recently, I have begun to work with Acrylics, studying with Lila Lewis Irving and DiDi Gadjanski.
I am very fortunate to have discovered a friendly and supportive environment within the art clubs that have accepted me as a member.”
Below is an example of Tony’s work – “A Winter Walk”. For more about Tony Cook, please visit his website.
Colours are Doris Daigle’s first love. In painting, she aims to depict often near-euphoric observations of the everyday – singular moments – little things that make the world a magical place. She wishes for time to stop so that we can all feel the peace that is possible in all things. She hopes to steer others towards witnessing this enchantment through her eyes. Watercolours are her medium of choice.
Below is an example of Doris’ work. She welcomes you to visit her website for more.
Watercolour is one of Hilary Slater’s many activities, as she says here:
“I am a creative artist and I work in a number of fields. I paint in oils and watercolours, and I produce original pottery, photography, and Landscape Architecture designs. I am a licensed yoga and pilates teacher, and I have also written 23 Novels to date (2 of which are published) as of 2013. I run a variety of retreats at my Georgian Bay Lakeview Retreat Centre, covering everything from Yoga to Art to Writing to Weekend Escapes.”
Below is an example of Hilary’s work. For more, please visit her website.
IWS Canada 