Grace MacPherson

Grace MacPherson is part of a family of three generations of artists that are members of the Stouffville Studio Tour.  In her late 80’s she is a prolific artist who still enjoys painting in watercolours.

She has always been interested in the creative arts and pursued her interest in watercolour painting since her retirement from the business world. Grace attended workshops with many prominent artists through the Elderhostel program, classes at the Haliburton School of Fine Art, and the Loyalist College, Bridgewater Retreat.

She is an active member of the Art Guild of Scarborough, Cedar Ridge Creative Arts Centre, Kinmount and Area Artisans Guild and Scarborough Arts. Her paintings have appeared in juried shows and won several awards including Best in Show.

Images from the Haliburton Highlands where her family roots reach back to the early pioneers is a constant source of material. Traveling coast-to-coast in Canada, and visiting Montaigut-le-blanc (France), Israel, and the Caribbean has also been a great inspiration.

Grace has lived in Scarborough over 50 years. She enjoys her family and all the opportunities retirement has offered.

Glowing

To see Grace’s latest work don’t miss the Art Guild of Scarborough 50^th Anniversary Show this upcoming weekend. 

Centennial Recreation Centre, 

1967 Ellesmere Rd., Scarborough

http://theartguildofscarborough.com

Ray McNeice

At the Cornerhouse on Main in Stouffville are 11 of Ray McNeice's recent watercolours.

Ray is, first and foremost, a painter in the “plein air” tradition. His style is a product of a long career in graphic design… a concern for shape and form, eye movement and spatial relationships. His medium of choice is transparent watercolour. He likes its brilliance, its immediacy and its transportability for field sketches. Ray paints with controlled washes, working smoothly with an eye toward the balance of forms and shapes that give his work its distinctive character. His strong design and composition sense leans toward an objective abstract approach.

Visit Ray's new blog to see his work.

A blog about blogs

Several of our Tour artists are now blogging..... for some they have been doing this for awhile and others are just beginning to chart their artistic journey. Blogs are an excellent way to follow the progress of an artist. Take a look. 

Valerie Ashton          http://valerieashton.blogspot.com/
Allison Bullock        http://allisoncreativelicense.tumblr.com/ 

Diana Bullock           http://dbullockalternativesinart.blogspot.com/

Jennie Creeggan        http://www.creegganclay.blogspot.com/

Jan Dolby                  http://jandolby.blogspot.com/  
Wendy LaValle          http://WaxyandWords.blogspot.com
Ray McNeice            http://www.raymcneice.blogspot.com/ 
Steve Noorhoff          http://stevenoorhoff.blogspot.com/ 
Colin Whitebread      http://www.colinwhitebread.blogspot.com/

There are also several who Tweet 

Allison & Diana Bullock  https://twitter.com@alternativesart 

Jennie Creeggan                https://twitter.com@CreegganClay

Jan Dolby                            https://twitter.com@jandolby 

Steve Noorhoff                  https://twitter.com@sn_artist

Robin Rees                        https://twitter.com@WireandBead

and of course the official tour tweets

Studio Tour                        https://twitter.com@Studio_Tour

Follow us and/or keep coming back to stay in touch with our artists!

James Wilkes

James Wilkes is an award-winning environmental photographer whose work has appeared in Canadian magazines and gallery exhibitions. He has been fortunate to visit and live in several remote communities, photographing the natural and cultural worlds across Asia and the Americas. Behind the lens, James sees ecological and cultural diversity as inextricably linked and he is inspired by the communicative ability of images to raise awareness and deepen our appreciation of the planet and its peoples.

This  work can be viewed at the Love of Jo, downtown Stouffville until March 1 and then at the Cornerhouse Restaurant for the month of April. Make sure you stop by and see this beautiful photography!

http://www.visualvoices.ca

Rita Staniforth

Rita creates wonderful whimsical pottery and has been busy since the Tour.

Rita would like to report

"As a result after the last show, and as a result of our advertising,  I got a commission to make 6 of my sheep.  The client had recently returned from Ireland where she'd spent a vacation with 5 lady friends.  She requested 6 sheep, each with a shamrock on their bellies, which she wanted to give as Christmas gifts.  I was happy to oblige.  I'm currently working on a whimsical Scottish terrier which has been requested by a lady whose mother bought one of my pieces several years ago - again because of the Tour."  

Great work Rita!

Marie Messina

Marie had a serious issue to deal with before the Studio Tour last fall ..... her studio space was gone! Here is her story.

This summer I had a sewage backup in my basement.  My studio was down there.  All my shelves, clay boxes, table, and everything else we had down there was totally gone.  

We have a partially finished basement with carpet, drywall build in cabinets and an adjoining bathroom.  It all had to come apart. Drywall had to be replaced 3' up the wall, all carpet and sub floor out.  Beautiful bathroom cabinet gone.  Anything that was wood or any material that can absorb had to be disposed.  

The whole area had to be disinfected and then we waited for this trade and that one to come and fix and paint and install everything back again.  It took 3 months, finally all done and looking good and I was able to start producing some pots for the tour.  What an ordeal!!!!! 

Notice the snake by Marie's grandson

The finished product

 









So now I have a new and improved studio.

Diana Bullock

Twelve of  Diana Bullock's paintings are on display at the Cornerhouse Restaurant in downtown Stouffville until January 3rd 2012. 
Diana also has a painting in DEBUT...details here

Diana says 

 "I love to paint, I love to paint quickly, and to play with paint and I enjoy different media and the possibilities that each offers. Each of the media that I use have different methods and results however they all cross over and influence each other. 

 

Recently I have been experimenting, with good results,  abstract paintings in Sumi-e [Japanese ink paintings].  Sumi-e tends to be very traditional so this is a wonderful adventure. This is a direct result of my new work in mixed media. 

I believe in enjoying the process of painting and the product is just a bonus."



To see more of Diana's work visit www.alternativesinart.ca or follow her on Blogger or Twitter