Category: group show

Queen West Art Crawl

At the end of September I participated in my first ever outdoor art show!

I was so happy and honoured to have my new ‘Cosmic Cells’ oil painting series be accepted into he Queen West Art Crawl (which was also celebrating their 20th anniversary).

While I’ve exhibited my work as a solo artist several times in the past, I had never participated in an art fair with hundreds of other artists.

Being my first outdoor art fair, I had no idea what to expect but I had several months from my acceptance before the event to create lots of new paintings and plan everything I needed. And after doing some recon with Andre at the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair to learn how other artists set up their booths, I was very happy with my execution.

I couldn’t have asked for better weather for the weekend with beautiful blue skies and sun but practically no humidity and a very comfortable temperature. And thanks to all my supportive friends, I barely had downtime at my booth!

I was filled with so much gratitude because so many friends came by to support me and even purchased art from me!

 

I also had the opportunity to connect with other artists who had booths, gaining valuable insights into the experience of regularly exhibiting at outdoor art fairs. As someone who, like many artists, spends much of my time working alone in a studio, the chance to chat, learn from others, and foster camaraderie was a wonderful bonus of participating in the Queen West Art Crawl.

Lakeshore Village BIA Banner

Photo of a street banner depicting waves and dragonflies
My painting as a street banner for the Lakeshore Village BIA. Photo by Selina McCallum.

Last year I entered a call for submission for street banners to be created for the Lakeshore Village BIA.

The call for submission was facilitated by STEPS Public Art that created a public art program called ‘I HeART Main Street’ as a way to re-energize main streets across Canada after decline in business and revenue due to covid lockdowns. ‘I HeART Main Street’ is presented in partnership with RBC Royal Bank and the City of Toronto, and generously supported by Canada Healthy Communities Initiative funded by the Government of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, and Ontario Arts Council.

I was lucky enough to be one of four artists to be chosen by the Lakeshore Village BIA to create brand new work that reflected the BIA’s close proximity to Lake Ontario.

I was happy to see that the Lakeshore Village BIA reused the banners for a second year and were remounted along Lakeshore Boulevard during the summer of 2022!

Me standing under my street banner along Lakeshore Boulevard. Photo by Selina McCallum.

In the Round – Group Show

I created 3 new pieces for a group show at Graven Feather. We were given 3 birch rounds to create whatever we wanted with. So I wanted to explore my Parched Flora series on vellum and mounted my vellum paintings onto wood. Working with vellum was a very different experience compared to the regular watercolour paper that I usually use. And despite some struggles with getting used to the texture, I’m quite happy with the results!

Unfortunately I won’t be in town for the opening reception on November 6th 7-10 pm 2014, but I can’t wait to see the other artists’ round artwork when I return. Hope you can check out the show, too!

The show is on from November 6 – 29th, 2014.
Graven Feather
906 Queen Street West, M6J 1G9
Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday 12-7 pm