Artistically Busy !

So this month the SOVA artists have been busy setting up a new exhibition at the Hittite Gallery in Yorkville. Artist Helen Duplassie's painting "Windy Day" was selected by the gallery owner to be displayed in the window.

Hanging the artwork takes a lot of time. Here you see SOVA artist Steve Wilson getting one painting properly set.

SOVA artist Lynden Cowan and Robert Chisholm take a brief moment after the artwork is hung.

Steve Wilson enjoying a musical interlude 

All of the Southern Ontario Visual Artists are participating in this exhibit, so hope you get a chance to come and enjoy the artwork.

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HELEN DUPLASSIE

SOVA artist Helen Duplassie has spent time working on locations doing her artwork, because she enjoys the vibrancy of the subjects when she "is right there".  Here you see Helen working on a painting in Elora in late May.

As well as keeping up with her painting hours, Helen is pleased to announce that her painting " Rattlesnake Point" has been selected to be exhibited in the Legislative Assembly in Queen's Park until Dec 31st. Congratulations Helen :)

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MARGARET SARAH PARDY

First of all, Congratulations to Margaret are in order because she  has just been  accepted as a Signature member by the International Society of Scratchboard Artists. This will allow her to use the designation of SSA after her  name. Quite an honour.

Margaret has been working long hours on her artwork preparing for future shows. Two pieces beautifully detailed just recently accomplished are "Splash of Yellow", and "Wolverine.

This talented artist has a painting titled "Just Hanging Out' in the Yosemite Renaissance exhibition in Hanford, California.

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STEVE WILSON

This very talented SOVA artist has been accepted into the prestigious Society of Canadian Artists 50th International Juried show with his detailed painting  "King and Yonge . The exhibition runs  July 25th -Aug 20th with an opening Reception Thurs July 26th from 7-9:30 at the Papermill Gallery, Todmorten Mills. Congratulations Steve :)

Artist Steve Wilson showing his artwork at the opening of the Hittite Gallery show.

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JOANNE LOMAS

As well as participating in the SOVA shows, Joanne has been involved in other exhibitions. Here you see Joanne at the opening of the " Painting With the Past" exhibition at the Double Door Gallery in Anten Mills. 

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CHARLENE NICKELS

Charlene is a highly skilled water colour  artist. This SOVA artist has spent weeks working on this beautiful detailed artwork, which is now complete.

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LYNDEN COWAN

Artist Lynden Cowan  was selected as one of the top 12 finalists ( apparently out of several hundred International entries) of the recent “Solo Art Series” #9 Art Competition for the Light/Space & Time Gallery and is one of the 8 that will be featured in the gallery's Artist Showcase Section. The 8 Artist Showcases were awarded to the following artists and will be posted in the following order every 2 weeks starting on May 15, 2018; Julia Michry 5/15, Ilona Abou-Zolof 6/1, Ramana Karkus 6/15, Sheri Emerson 7/1, Lynden Cowan 7/15, Leif Sohlman 8/1, Stephen Way 8/15 Julia Harwood 9/1 Here is a link to this section of the Light Space & Time website www.lightspacetime.art/artist-showcase .

As well, Lynden   won a "Special Merit Award" in Light/Space /Time 8th Annual "Landscapes " competition.

Lynden 's  painting "Fiddleheads" has been accepted as part of the Society of Canadian Artists 50th International Open Juried Exhibition at the Papermill Gallery. Opening reception is July 26th from 7 to 9pm. The notification states they had a lot of entries and selected less than 1/3rd.  Congratulations.

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ROBERT CHISHOLM

Artist Robert Chisholm has been creating several new paintings , and participating in the SOVA exhibitions.

As well, Robert participated in a special exhibition at the Eloria Distillery.

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Hope you are able to see the new exhibition in Yorkville and see the work by your favourite SOVA artist.

Back to the Easel, 

SOVA

Spring is Here

Spring appears to have finally come, and this starts the busiest months for the SOVA artists. We have our group shows, but also private shows and competitions. This month we are in the Joseph D. Carrier Gallery , and had a wonderful opening reception.

The "hanging crew" above.

A lot of work is involved when setting up an exhibition. Labels have to be organized, the artwork needs to be curated, and everything has to be measured so that the exhibition displays all artwork in the best available lighting.

SOVA artists... Standing from left to right, Janice Ykema, Margaret Pardy, and Joanne Lomas.

Seated left to right, Helen Duplassie, Charlene Nickels, Robert Chisholm, Lynden Cowan and Steve Wilson.

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STEVE WILSON

Steve has been exceptionally busy lately  in the art world.  He was pleased to be exhibited at the Dragonfly Arts on Broadway in Orangeville from April 5th to May 1st, as well as being involved in the SOVA exhibition at the Joseph D. Carrier Gallery.

Competitions are always important to an artist to "get their work shown", and Steve is  excited to be a part of the Artworks Oakville Juried show with his piece "the Maple Leaf Forever" (shown below on the invitation) that runs from may 7th-25th with a opening reception May 10th.

As well as being in the other exhibitions, Steve is showing in the Pelham Art Festival this Mothers day weekend, May 11th/12/13th with a  Friday opening event from 7-10 pm Both Saturday and Sunday from 11am-5pm. 

Opening night at Pelham Art Festival 2018.

Between times with all that is going on, Steve is keeping his painting hours up. One very creative and beautiful artwork that he just completed is titled "SAM the RECORD MAN".

Take a close look at this unique painting

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MARGARET PARDY

Margaret had all three submitted pieces accepted for the  Society of Canadian Artist's International On Line Juried exhibition that will be  showing on the site from March 15 til June 15th.

As well as being in the Joseph D. Carrier with the other SOVA artists, Margaret attended  a weekend in Ohio, where the opening was held in Middletown, for the  7th Annual Juried Show for the International Society of Scratchboard Artists. The exhibition comprised of over 80 pieces of work of which two were Margaret's, Birds Eye View and What Big Teeth . The show comprised of members from around the world including, Germany, Australia, Iran, Canada, China, Switzerland and largest quantity being from the USA. The weekend included show reception and two days of workshops with lots of tid bits of information to help the artists. Last but not least was a visit to the Cincinnatti zoo where the group was allowed a special visit to see two year old Cheetahs where the artists could get exclusive pictures for reference. Fun was had by all.

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JOANNE LOMAS

Joanne has been extremely busy with her artwork. This SOVA artist is not only in the Joseph D. Carrier Gallery exhibition, but she is involved with an exhibition at the Project Gallery in Midland, that started March 23rd and ends May 12th. As well, Joanne is in an exhibition at the Double Door Gallery , in Anten Mills,  running from May 25th to June 10th. 

Here you see Artist Joanne Lomas with her artwork at the Joseph D. Carrier Gallery.

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LYNDEN COWAN

SOVA artist Lynden Cowan is also in the Joseph D. Carrier show, and has been preparing artwork for upcoming competitions and exhibitions. Lynden was one of a limited number shown in the Ontario Society of Artists exhibition at the John B Aird Gallery , out of 478 entries, from April 10th to May 4th.

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LYNNE SCHUMACHER

Artist Lynne Schumacher was pleased that she won the Diamond Award of Excellence from the Gallery Ring Online Art Gallery in April, for her landscape "Forest of the Headwaters".

View fullsize

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Well it is time to head back to the easel. Hope everyone finds a moment to visit their favourite artist.

Artistically yours,

SOVA

Sliding into Spring

The Southern Ontario Visual Artists have been keeping very busy, lately.

Their exhibition at the Etobicoke Civic Centre wraps up this week, March 22nd, and they are preparing for their upcoming exhibition in the Carrier Gallery at the Columbus Centre beginning after May 3rd. More on that later.

Both artists Steve Wilson and Lynden Cowan were  interviewed by Fairchild TV for their "Whats On" segment today at the Etobicoke Civic Centre, show airs beginning of March, regarding the SOVA group.

As well, Steve Wilson also finished shooting a promo video with the Niagara Arts Showcase organization for the Carmel Fine Arts Festival in Niagara Falls Ontario

MARGARET SARAH PARDY

Margaret was selected for the fourth time , into the International Society of Scratchboard Artists juried exhibition. This is the Society's 7th annual exhibition with close to one third of the show comprised of artists from outside of the US including Australia, China, Canada, Germany, Iran and Switzerland. This one of a kind exhibition, of some of the finest scratchboard art globally, opens May 4th and runs to the 31st at the Middletown Arts Center, Middletown, OH.

 Birds Eye View and What Big Teeth were the two artworks selected.

Bird's Eye View and two others of Margaret's wonderful artworks were selected for the Society of Canadian Artist's   International On Line Juried exhibition and will be showing on the site from March 15 til June 15th.

LYNDEN COWAN

Artist Lynden Cowan was pleased that she received notification and Congratulations that her painting titled “GULLY", was accepted for the Ontario Society of Artists 145th Annual Open Juried Exhibition. Out of 462 images, the jurors selected only 38 works in various media, including painting, photography and mixed media and 9 sculptures.

Exhibition Dates and Location
April 10 – May 4, 2018
John B. Aird Gallery, Toronto
900 Bay Street (at Wellesley), Macdonald Block
Toronto, ON M7A 1C2

opening reception April 12 from 6 to 8pm.

Hope to meet you at one of our exhibitions or visiting our studios.

Bye for now,

SOVA

Congratulations STEVE WILSON !! SCA,CFS,SOVA,OSA

Well known SOVA artist STEVE WILSON  was notified today that he has been accepted as an elected member to the ONTARIO SOCIETY of ARTISTS.

This is a major for artists. To get into this society, some artists try multiple times , (membership openings only once a year). The process is arduous, where they check your artistic accomplishments, exhibitions , bio, and whatever else, and that is just step one. 

If you are fortunate to be juried past all of that, then you make it to the second stage , where you must present several individual pieces of your artwork to the society membership and then they inspect your work, and vote on whether or not they wish to admit you to the society  . The vote itself is also a process, and is not done when the artist is there, so you go home and wait, and wait, and wait, for a decision.

Founded in 1872, the Ontario Society of Artists is Canada's longest continuing art society.

They  are a  professional association for visual artists living and working across Ontario with a mandate to promote the visual arts through exhibitions, special projects and arts advocacy, and their membership roster includes many of Canada’s best-known painters, sculptors, printmakers and photographers. Currently they have an active membership of over two hundred artists, working in a wide range of media and from diverse backgrounds and culture.

Steve says he is "thrilled and honoured to announce I have been accepted as an elected member to the Ontario Society of Artists". 

Stunning accomplishment! 

Congratulations !!!

Margaret Pardy

Congratulations again to SOVA artist Margaret Pardy for her beautiful artwork "Lone Bison", being accepted for the VAM 40 Juried show . This show at Visual Arts Mississauga runs from January 11th to February 10th at the Art Gallery of Mississauga.  

Introducing

The Southern Ontario Visual Artists are pleased to announce that we have a new artist in our group.  We rarely accept new members, but are happy to say that Joanne Lomas from Alliston, Ontario is joining our group and will begin exhibiting with us in the Carrier Gallery at the Columbus Centre, later in the spring.

Joanne"s studio is in the Alton Mill Arts Centre, studio 208.

From Joanne.....

ARTIST STATEMENT

Though many of my works have an unconventional feel I am an avid En Plein Air painter of more traditional scenes.  Working from many locations as close as my backyard to my favourite hideaways on the North Channel I feel a connection with my surroundings as I paint. Loosely rendering, with multiple layers I express in my landscape compositions, not only the visual but emotional moments I experience outdoors.

Hope you have a chance to visit her.

Now a New Year

We are all looking forward to 2018, and are starting off the year with a wonderful exhibition at the Etobicoke Civic Centre running from January 31st to March 22nd, and a Meet the Artist January 31st from 7 to 9 pm.

Other exhibitions are also planned with new work, at the Carrier Gallery in the Columbus Centre May 3rd to May 29th, and the Hittite Gallery in Yorkville June 20th to July 3rd. More on those later.

SOVA artists Steve Wilson and Robert Chisholm planning which artworks will be shown at the upcoming exhibition.  There is always a lot of "behind the scenes" workload for any art show.

MARGARET SARAH PARDY

Margaret was kept very busy at the later part of 2017 and announced that she is " both thrilled and proud that my piece titled 'Just Hanging Out' was accepted into a prestigious juried show out of 820 entries that will be held at Yosemite National Park in California. It will then travel on to Sequoia National Park, Sierra National Forest, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Mono Lake, Bodie, the White Mountains and more. This is an amazing way to end a great year for my art career. Feeling very blessed.

As well as this wonderful news, Margaret was exhibited at the prestigious McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg for their fall show, and joined other SOVA artists exhibiting at the Art Square Gallery , with an opening reception during the Toronto Nuit Blanche Festival.

This wonderful artist also participated in the Carmel Fine Art Festival. September 15th to 17th. and was involved in an exhibition at the Alton Mill Arts Centre Falls Gallery, with the North Brampton Watercolour Society in November.

Margaret with her artwork at the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinberg.

The artist sitting her booth during the Carmel Fine Arts festival.

Margaret standing beside her artwork, LONE BISON, at the Colour and Form 2017 juried exhibition, held at the Etobicoke Civic Centre.

STEVE WILSON

Steve has been involved in the Carmel Fine Arts Festival and also was selected for the Colour and Form Society 2017 juried exhibition.  September 26th to October 9th, Steve was one of the four SOVA artists showing at the Art Square Gallery in Toronto.

It takes a lot of work to get from here........to the image below.

Come out to the exhibitions and see the wonderful artwork from this fine artist.

Artist  Steve Wilson being interviewed for the Niagara, at the Carmel Fine Arts Festival. One of Steve's artworks was selected for the Festival's calendar.

LYNDEN COWAN

Lynden has had a very busy fall. This artist had one piece selected for the ADC 2017 International juried show in Cincinnatti (out of a field of over 2000 pieces), but also had her painting UCLUELET selected for the Uxbridge juried show.

This artist also had two paintings , TWISTED TREE and GULLY selected for the Colour and Form's 65th Juried show. Twisted Tree was also selected for the cover of their catalogue. as you can see in the top left image.

Lynden was also one of the four SOVA artists exhibiting in the Art Square Gallery in Toronto.

HELEN DUPLASSIE

Helen has been very busy painting , preparing for the 2018 shows, but also involved in exhibitions in the fall of 2017.

One of the exhibitions was with the North Brampton Watercolour Society , that she belongs to in the Falls Gallery at the Alton Mill Arts Centre.

In this photo of the North Brampton Watercolour Society artists, you can see SOVA artists Margaret Pardy, first on left, and Charlene Nickels fourth from the left with Helen beside her fifth from the left.

CHARLENE NICKELS

Charlene was also involved in the Falls Gallery exhibition at the Alton Mill Arts Centre, as you can see in the photo above.

This artist can be visited many weekends in Studio 202 in Alton Mill , working hard to prepare artwork for upcoming exhibitions.

Charlene was also one of the four SOVA artists in the Art Square Gallery in Toronto.

SOVA artists at the Art Square Gallery in Toronto during the opening reception. Left to right, Steve Wilson, Lynden Cowan and Charlene Nickels.

ROBERT CHISHOLM

You will find Robert  many days of the week in his shared studio at the Alton Mill Arts Centre, painting, sometimes very late at night, preparing for exhibitions. 

This artist had successful shows in the fall at Fenelon Falls and also in Hockley Valley. 

Robert was also busy with several commissions that had seasonal deadlines for when they needed to be done.

All SOVA artists accept commissions.

LYNNE SCHUMACHER

Lynne has enjoyed multiple sales in multiple galleries the past few months, and looks forward to exhibiting in the SOVA exhibitions this year. This artist was also a participant in the prestigious McMichael Gallery show in Kleinberg in October.

Here you see Lynne's husband Grant showing some of her work.

JANICE YKEMA

Artist Janice Ykema  has been involved with the different SOVA shows in the  2017, as well as exhibiting at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. The artist will be joining her fellow SOVA members in the ECC exhibition coming up at the end of January, but also has a Solo   show at the Assembly Hall, in  Etobicoke,,  February 26, to April 13 as well as an exhibition at
Arts on the Credit    April 13-15.

Janice Ykema  on her new painting "Meow Mixer ".

"Ralph and the Mackenzies"  24 by 36 inches

The Southern Ontario Visual Artists welcome all of you to join us at our exhibitions, or visit us in our studios. If individual galleries wish to talk to a particular artist, contact information is listed on their art pages on this website.

Please keep checking back for updates on your favourite artists.

Artistically Yours, 

SOVA

Exhibitions

Four of our wonderful VA artists are in an exhibition at the Art Square Gallery in Toronto, duringNuit Blanche.

Lynn Schumacher and Margaret Pardy are also working hard to finish work for the prestigious , upcoming McMichael Volunteer Committee, Autumn Art Sale Oct 20 to Oct 22.  More information as we get closer to the date.

Lynden Cowan was selected for the prestigious ART COMES ALIVE 2017 Juried exhibition at the ADC FINE ARTS gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lynden's painting FIDDLEHEADS was one of the few artworks selected from over 2,000 entries.

Steve Wilson is also exhibiting one of his fine art pieces at the GALLERY HITTITE , September 28th to October 11.

107 Scollard St. TorontoM5R 1G4
416. 924. 4450

Wednesday - Saturday ( 12 - 6 PM )

Facebook:Gallery Hittite Toronto
416. 924. 4450

Helen Duplassie is involved in two exhibitions, 

The Tree Show”
Sept. 25 to Nov. 26, 2017
Neighbourhood Gallery
79 Hiawatha Road,
Toronto, ON
416 686 6809
Opening: Sun. Oct. 1, 12:00 to 1:00


“Portraits and Landscapes” Exhibition and Sale
Wed. Oct.4 to Sat. Oct. 14, 2017
Beaux-Arts, Brampton Gallery
70 Main St. N.
Brampton, ON
905 454 5677
Opening: Thurs. Oct. 5., 7 to 9 pm.

ROBERT CHISHOLM

Having just finished a successful show in the Kawarthas, Robert has been very busy preparing for his Thanksgiving Hockley Valley Show October 7th to 9th.

Hope everyone gets a chance to meet our artists and enjoy their art.

September Crept In

Where did the summer go? September has dropped suddenly on us, and the SOVA artists are fully involved in exhibitions right now.

SOVA just completed a group exhibition in the Sisnett Lobby at the Halton Hills Cultural Centre. A lot of positive comments came our way, and the exhibition was very well received.

STEVE WILSON

Steve has just completed this wonderful painting which will be hung in the Abbozzo Gallery .

This piece entitled "Reflecting" is a memorial to the Twin Towers and a tribute to mankind's resolve to pick up and move forward. The piece is 48" high by 28" wide Acrylic on Canvas, and has  several hidden images within this piece so drop by Abbozzo Gallery Sept 1st - 9th . Steve will be at the gallery Friday Sept 8th from 5 to 8pm.

MARGARET PARDY

Margaret is busy preparing for the Mcmichael Autumn show coming up in October. One of the beautiful new artworks this artist has accomplished is " LONE BISON".

LYNDEN COWAN

Artist Lynden Cowan was pleased that her oil painting "UCLUELET" was one of 55 artworks from 289 juried into the the upcoming Uxbridge exhibition Celebration of Hearts being held September 19th to Sept 24th at the  Uxbridge Municipal Building 51 Toronto St. South.

HELEN DUPLASSIE

Helen has several art shows on her horizon, and the closest one is  “The Tree Show”
Sept. 25 to Nov. 26, 2017
Neighbourhood Gallery
79 Hiawatha Road,
Toronto, ON
416 686 6809
Opening: Sun. Oct. 1, 12:00 to 1:00

In the recent exhibition at the Sisnett Lobby, this SOVA artist unfortunately had one of her artworks stolen. The artists work hard on their creations, spending long hours to complete their work before they are able to share their work with the public.

Stolen Artwork

Hope everyone gets a chance to meet our wonderful artists at their exhibitions.

Back to the easel :)

Active Artists

All of us are extremely active artists, creating artwork every day, or being in shows, active in our studios, or doing the time consuming book work (which non of us enjoy). 

STEVE WILSON

SOVA artist Steve Wilson has been actively preparing for several upcoming shows. He will be joined by other SOVA artists  during Nuit Blanche at the Art Square Gallery, 334 Dundas St. W. in Toronto . The exhibition actually runs from Sept 25th to Oct 9th, with a " MEET THE ARTIST " event Saturday Sept 30th. 

Steve has also been invited to be in a special exhibition at the prestigious Abbozzo Gallery at 401 Richmond Street West, so take the opportunity to view this artists exciting new works of art.

MARGARET PARDY

This has been an exciting time for Margaret. 

She reports.......

Well this has been a good week for my Art Career. First, my two pieces titled "The Hunt"and "Protecting the Nest "have been accepted into the Animal Kingdom show in Toronto at Artusiasm. Second I have been invited back to the McMicheal 2017 Autumn Art Sale Fundraiser. Third my piece titled "Threes Company" has been accepted in the Society of Canadian Artist Open Juried Show. Feeling Blessed.

As well, Margaret will be in the Buckhorn Fine Arts Festival coming up Aug. 18th to 20th, and getting ready for the Art Square Gallery.

In June Margaret was pleased to have one of her pieces " How You Doing", an outstanding scratchboard artwork , receive Honourable Mention in the Light,Space & Time Gallery, in their Animals Art Exhibition. 

This wonderful artist has many exciting new works on the way, which you can see in her studio at the Alton Mill Arts Centre. For those who are creative, Margaret regularly runs two day workshops to teach people some of the techniques, so if you are so inclined, just contact the artist.

PAULETTE MURPHY

This talented SOVA artist favours fabric artwork, and is busy preparing pieces for upcoming shows. Paulette enjoys creating her own fibre, and at the moment is using Gotland (grey), natural wool from a sheep called Meadow and the same wool hand died using sumac flowers.



Natural and dyed wool spun together.

JANICE YKEMA

This busy SOVA artist was quite popular at the Toronto Outdoor Art festival held recently in Nathan Phillips Square, and sold several pieces.

" Pinup Chicks " ( pictured above), was awarded second place last January in the Etobicoke Arts Juried competition at Etobicoke Civic Centre.

The artist's painting titled "Blue Moose"  won "Best in Show" at the Landscapes 2 Colour and Form Society exhibition held last May in the Holcim Gallery in Milton.

 A young collectors purchased her first original artwork with her own money to start her personal collection.. Wonderful to see the development of Fine Art appreciation.

As well, Janice will be in the Oakville Art in the Park August 12th in booths 103 and 104,   Bronte Heritage Waterfront Park, Bronte Road and Ontario Street, and is getting ready for the Buckhorn Fine Arts Festival Aug 18th to 20th, at the Buckhorn Community Centre.

Further exhibitions are scheduled for later in the fall, but Janice will also be participating in the Supercrawl in Hamilton, Ont, Sept 8th and 10th, on James Street North.

ROBERT CHISHOLM

Robert has been spending a lot of the past few weeks out in the woods, painting and subject hunting, but you can find him at times in his studio in Alton Mill where he is preparing artwork for his upcoming exhibitions in the Kawarthas Art Show September 2nd and 3rd, and the Thanksgiving Hockley Valley Show.

LYNN SCHUMACHER

Recently SOVA artist Lynn Schumacher has had multiple sales such as "Early Spring Day", sold through Dragonfly Arts on Broadway in Orangeville , and the Westmount Gallery, as well as the Edge Gallery in Barrie.

"Adventure on the Bruce Trail" has been accepted to the Painting 2017 Juried Exhibition at the  prestigious John B. Aird Gallery in Toronto.

Lynn has also been spending long hours at her beautiful artwork, trying to complete paintings in preparation for the McMichael Autumn Art Sale Oct 20th to Oct 22nd in Kleinberg where she has been invited back again.

LYNDEN COWAN  and CHARLENE NICKELS

The Alton Mill Arts Centre is a very popular destination for people coming from all over, as recently demonstrated at the Wine and Food Festival where hundreds came for Toronto, and other cities across Ontario. A few ventured in from the United States.

 These artists are preparing to exhibit in the Art Square Gallery during Nuit Blanche . The exhibit runs from Sept 25th to Oct 9th , with a "Meet the Artist " event Saturday Sept 30, 334 Dundas St. W. Toronto. 

Lynden Cowan with her recently finished painting titled "Gully", 24 by 30 inch ,oil on canvas.

HELEN DUPLASSIE

Helen has been working hard creating a new body of work for exhibitions. This SOVA artist enjoys working outside away from the confines of the studio, soaking up the natural lighting which lends itself to a softer approach in her artwork.

Above is artist Helen Duplassie painting plein air at Scottsdale Farm.

Helen has also taken on a different sort of artwork. The SOVA  artist will be creating a painting on a maple leaf background for charity.  

Don't forget there is still an exhibition with all nine of the SOVA artists taking place right now at the Sisnette Lobby , in the Halton Hills Cultural Centre, 9 Church St., Georgetown , until August 19th. 

Hope you are able to enjoy some  of these exhibitions.

Back to the studio now :D

Creative SummerTime :)

Above you see four of the exhibiting SOVA artists setting up our exhibition in the Sisnett Lobby at the Halton Hills Cultural Centre. Left to right is Steve Wilson, Robert Chisholm,Helen Duplassie and Lynn Schumacher.

All nine members of the Southern Ontario Visual Artists are involved in this special exhibition .

The tags on the wall are just to mark the names of the artwork before the formal labels are applied. A lot of work goes into setting up an exhibition, so we hope you will be able to come and see the SOVA EXHIBIT.

Margaret Pardy

SOVA artist Margaret Pardy's scratchboard titled "How you Doin?" has won Honourable Mention for a second time in a row with an additional Online International Juried Show. This time it is with Light Space and Time's Online Gallery, 7th Annual International "Animal" Art Exhibition show.

The gallery received 674  entries from 20 different countries from around the world, including Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.  In addition, the gallery received entries from 35 different states. 

STEVE WILSON

SOVA Artist Steve Wilson was Honoured that his beautiful artwork titled  "The Maple Leaf Forever" has won HONOURABLE MENTION at the SCA Members Juried show at Gallery 78 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The jury process for the Society of Canadian Artists is quite stringent, so this is a wonderful accomplishment of significance!! Well done !

                      "The Maple Leaf Forever "  by Canadian Artist Steve Wilson

All artists are working hard because they are all involved with several upcoming shows, so keep checking back to see what's up !!

Busy Artists, Busy Group

The past few weeks have just flown by, but we will try and bring everyone up to date with some of the latest news about SOVA.

First off, the Southern Ontario Visual Artists are pleased to announce that we have added a very talented new member to our group. Janice Ykema joined us in April, and participated in a group exhibition at the Holcim Gallery at the Milton Centre for the Arts, from April 10th to the 30th.

You will see more of this wonderful artist's work at the SOVA show at the Sisnett Lobby, in the Halton Hills Cultural Centre, 9 George Street , Georgetown , from June 12th to August 19th, and meet several of the SOVA artists at a "Meet the Artist's", June 24th, 11am to 1 pm.

Janice is also involved in the  Mosaic exhibition with the Ontario Society of Artists, and the Landmarks exhibition with the Colour and Form Society as well as working hard preparing for several other upcoming shows, including Buckhorn in August..

Artist Steve Wilson will be closing his studio in Alton Mill and we will let you know at a later date  where his new studio will be. Steve has been involved in several recent shows, beyond SOVA, including the Pelham Arts Festival in Fonthill, and as well was just notified by the Niagara Arts Showcase as one of the 12 artists for their 2018 Showcase Calendar (out of over 160 wonderful works of art.)

The calendars will be sold for $15 at Carmel Fine Art and Music Festival on September 15th to 17th at Firemen’s Park and at The Night of Art at the Niagara Falls Museum on September 21st.

SOVA artist Margaret Pardy was honoured to be juried into the Manhatten Artist Exhibition called "Her Story." This  Online Exhibition to Promote Outstanding Women Artists runs from April 27th - June 27th,2017 consisting of 63 artists selected from a field of over 1000 art pieces, and it was "Three's Company" that the jurors selected.

  http://manhattanarts.com/herstory-exhibition-2017/

"Three's Company", was the spectacular artwork selected .

If you are keen on trying scratch board art, contact Margaret, as she regularly runs two day workshops.

All SOVA artists are involved with multiple upcoming shows , as well as some being involved with commissioned work.

Artist Robert Chisholm at his Hockley Valley Spring Show , May 20 & 21/2017.

You can contact any of the artists , or see us at the exhibitions, or join us at our studios.

Studio 202 at the Alton Mill Arts Centre , showing an unfinished painting by SOVA artist Lynden Cowan.

Hope to meet you soon. 

Artistically Yours :)

Scratchboard Workshop

Feeling artistic ? Want a chance to try something new? Margaret Pardy , who is well known for her Scratchboard artwork ,will be having a rare chance to be involved. 

"Margaret is  running a 2 day workshop out of her studio located at the Alton Mill Art Centre at 1402 Queen St., Alton, ON Studio 203. Participants  will work on a small 5x7 scratchboard together from beginning to end. Margaret will  demo how to use the tools and the process she uses to create her art work. Dates and time are Saturday January 28th 3:30PM – 6:30 pm and Sunday 10:30 - 1:30pm. Limited number of spaces available and will be on a first come first serve basis so don't delay if you are interested. Contact Margaret   for more details."sarahs.art@bell.net

Fire and Ice Festival

This coming weekend will be an exciting time at the Alton Mill Arts centre. It's the annual Fire and Ice Festival, and many of the SOVA artists will be in their studios. Come out and have a chance to meet Robert Chisholm, Steve Wilson, Margaret Pardy and Lynden Cowan, as well as join in all the other activities going on.

Rediscover Canadian winter traditions with friends and family at the 8th annual Fire & Ice festival. Jazz up January with a variety of interactive indoor and outdoor activities from pond skating & curling, to art workshops, ice carving and a fire sculpture, plus tasty treats, cool exotic drinks and hot shots. There is something for everyone to enjoy. On January 21st & 22nd have fun with all the things that make winter a whimsical season by participating in the Mill’s winter wonderland!
For full details click: http://altonmill.ca/visit/events/FireIce_2017_event/

Hope to see you there :)

August Slipped into View

So August has slipped into view and all of the SOVA artists are working hard.

Lynne Schumacher is busy preparing for her upcoming show as the Featured Artist for Toronto's Westmount Gallery as part of the gallery's 40th year celebration. The invitation can be viewed in the exhibitions section.

Margaret Pardy with her amazing scratchboard artwork has been selected for the October show at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg and we will tell you more about that as we get closer to the date. As well, Margaret will be exhibiting at the well known Buckhorn Festival in August. The artist is spending long hours trying to accomplish the artwork needed for both of these prestigious events.

Paulette Murphy is part of a group exhibition at the Red Door Gallery coming in the fall and the artist is preparing for this. 

Artist Helen Duplassie just won second prize in the "Rose Show" at Beaux-Art Brampton in July, for one of her stunning dye on silk artwork titled "Sumac"and is busy preparing for the SOVA August Show at the Headwaters Gallery in Alton Mill.

Artist Helen Duplassie with her award winning dye on silk artwork, "Sumac".

Robert Chisholm has gone to Nova Scotia and Charlene Nickels has left for Prince Edward Island to do some subject hunting for their artwork. 

Artist Lynden Cowan has just returned from a northern subject hunting trip which included Tobermory, Manitoulin Island, Agawa , Sault St. Marie, and Mackinaw Island and has several future canvases coming from her travels.

Steve Wilson had an exciting graphite on paper titled "Canadian Treasure", accepted for the Leyton Gallery in St. John's, Newfoundland , in the Society of Canadian Artists show. Congratulations! As well , the artist is extremely busy preparing for the one day special exhibition  at the Country Heritage Park August 21st. Information can be found in the exhibitions section of this website.

Several of the SOVA artists will be having an exhibition at the Headwaters Gallery in Alton Mill from August 17th to September 11, so we hope to see you visit. 

You are always welcome to visit our studios to see "work in progress", or contact your favourite artist .

In All Directions

Our Artwork pulls us (happily) in all directions. A lot has happened in the past few weeks... Steve, Lynn and Lynden have prepared their entries for the Colour and Form Society's upcoming juried show at the Papermill Gallery at Todmorden Mills. As members, all three are able to submit a piece, but the exciting news is that both Margaret Pardy, and Robert Chisholm had artwork juried into the show. Congratulations to both!

Helen Duplassie is taking advantage of the beautiful weather to paint on location in preparation for upcoming exhibitions.

In a few short days Steve Wilson will be traveling to Turkey for the special invitational (24 invited out of multiple countries) art week. More about the trip on his return.

Charlene Nickels is in Prince Edward Island subject hunting, and we look forward to her new artwork in the studio.

Paulette Murphy is preparing for an upcoming art exhibition in the Red Door Gallery in Georgetown.

Lynden Cowan was juried into the Federation of Canadian Artists International show with her painting Wetlands.

Margaret Pardy was juried into the 5th  annual International Society of Scratchboard Artists at the Arizona Sonara Desert Museum - Ironwood Gallery running from April 8th - May 29th in Tucson ,Arizona, USA. This show represents the best of the best international scratchboard artists.

Protecting the Nest... scratchboard by Margaret Pardy

How You Doin... scratchboard by Margaret Pardy

Hope to meet you at our shows or in our studios . You may contact any of the artists directly if you wish and their contact information is on their individual page.

Bye for now :)

Artistically yours :)

Busy Artists

April has been extremely busy for everyone in the group. Pictured here is Lynden Cowan,Robert Chisholm and Charlene Nickels who have a small exhibition in Theatre Orangeville, and artworks will be on display until June 3rd. Address is 87 Broadway, Orangeville.

Artist Steve Wilson is involved in a show at the Carrier Gallery in Toronto at the Columbus Centre. Steve has also received the exciting news that he has been invited to participate in the 8th Portakal Cicegi International Plastic Arts Colony that takes place in Dogapark, Turkey in June. Only 48 artists were invited from a pool of 2000 applications and from 48 countries . An wonderful honour ! Each participating artist will donate one of the artworks that they create there during their stay to the museum.  Art supplies are provided and are waiting for each artist from the list that the artist submits prior to their arrival of what they require to work.  Dogapark is located near Sapanca Lake , a 2 hour distance from Istanbul, and is a special living area housing hundreds of different types of plants and trees, and over 70 different species of animals.
 

Lynn Schumacher has a piece involved in the supportive auction for Gilda's Place, an amazing charity.

Of course everyone is working daily on their art, whether it is traipsing through the woods subject hunting, spending long hours in the studio , usually alone , painting,  setting up shows, or even doing the booking or paperwork needed for exhibition proposals , or in the case of Paulette, spinning and dyeing her own wool for fabric artwork. Long hours... a lot of work... and we love it !

Hope you have a chance to visit us in our studios or enjoy our exhibitions.