I’ve been meaning to post about Margaux Williamson for a very long time now, and since there is no time like the present, here we are. Margaux is an incredibly talented, multidisciplinary artist whose work is sometimes self-referential, usually allegorical, and always impressive. Â When you’re done checking out her paintings watch a trailer for her feature length video on YouTube.
Going through Gerard Boersma’s portfolio I found myself reflecting on the nature of privacy and voyeurism. Â Living in a large city means witnessing countless moments in strangers’ lives every time you leave your home, and there is an expected sense that you won’t take too much notice, won’t pay too much attention to what anyone else is doing, and they will do the same towards you.
Gerard Boersma has broken that unspoken social contract with his finely rendered images of daily life, forcing me to gaze on strangers longer than is socially acceptable, but simultaneously freeing me to connect with and empathize with these strangers in their tiny moments of struggle, doubt, loneliness and boredom.
I’m always impressed when an artist can not only consistently create amazing paintings, but even their studies are worthy of owning. Laurel Daniel is this kind of artist, and you can see a couple examples of her incredible studies ‘below the fold’.
It is very easy to become numb to the amount of colour that fills the world, but occasionally a painter like Colin Page comes along to remind us just how saturated with colour everyday life really is. Great work!
Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!
Today, I am incredibly thankful for Sean Yelland’s urban landscape paintings. Â His grand scale and attention to detail overwhelm me in all the best ways. Â Thanks for the great work Mr. Yelland!
I am really enjoying the work of Nicole Hayden, in particular her series based on snapshots of old movies playing on television.  The frozen moments of drama rendered in muted colour palettes  make for fantastic paintings.
Beth Pederson is working to bring the illusory nature of realism to a whole new level. Â For example, in the above image the clothesline is a real clothesline, the clothespins are real clothespins, but the hanging items of clothing are oil paintings on cut mylar.
Her other works in this series all have the same effect; playfully deceptive, leading to fascination and amazement.
What strikes me most about Carolyn Pyfrom’s work is her ability to convey a sense of stillness, while simultaneously creating paintings that feel very alive. Â Fantastic!
I discovered the incredible paintings of Alex Roulette while surfing around over at Loose Leaf Tigers (a very cool blog by the way.) Â Alex has an amazing ability to distill the malaise of youth into beautiful narrative images.
One of my favourite things about night scenes is the opportunity they present to play with lighting effects. Â David Carmack Lewis takes full advantage of this opportunity, using campfire light, street light, star light, porch light and more, and combining all of this dramatic lighting with cinematic compositions to create some truly incredible works of art.
