In pursuit of inspiration, Norman Brown has often toured coast to coast, with a particular emphasis on northern Ontario. His ability to capture light and vibrant colours, as well as varying moods within each painting, is exceptional. He is pictured with his studio work done in oil entitled Native Spirit.
Switching gears from the works of renown Royal Canadian Academy artists, Galerie Q Curator Kathryn Last launched a new exhibit this weekend offering Canadian paintings priced below $1000. With a self-explanatory title: Paintings Under $1000, the gallery has set up a group exhibition featuring over 100 artworks by a diverse selection of Canadian artists. This exhibit presents a first time opportunity to start or add original paintings to your collection at an affordable price point.
These hand-picked works offer a diverse styles, subjects and media, and include well-known artists including Canadian Master R.W Burton (1905-1983), Paule Lagacé, Yves Laran, Rene Marcil, Ronald Okey, Pei Yang, Guy Buffet, Graham Noble Norwell, Gordon Edward Pfeiffer Pierre Bédard, Daniel Brunet, Juan Cristobal, Mostafa Keyhani, Norman Brown, Valerie Kent, Henry Fernandes, Nathalie Voisine, Yvon Lemieux, Olga Muzychko, among others.
The exhibit opened on Saturday afternoon with an Open House with several artists present to discuss their works. Nathalie Voisine, one of the featured artists, was on hand to discuss her work. Having begun her profession life in design, but moved into a professional art career 15 years ago, pulled in a new creative direction by a fascination with people- their expressions, their features, their movements. Many of her pieces now on display feature women, and have been part of the gallery’s previous exhibit, La Feminine. One of her pieces, a colourful interpretation of the St. Lawrence River near her former home in the old part of Quebec City, was featured in a recent raffle at Galerie Q in support of the YES Emergency Shelter in Peterborough.
Norman Brown, a more seasoned artist, also participated in the opening event, an award winning artist from Toronto whose work focuses on landscapes more frequently than people. A self-taught artist with collectors around the world, his works come in a variety of styles. He likes to experiment and grow his repertoire instead of sticking to a particular style. He has evolved in his preference of styles, subjects and media throughout his career, focusing on birds and wildlife, impressionistic landscapes, and has many works depicting rural Ontario. His bright colourful “Pleine Air” pieces which are done outdoors, demonstrate an expert hand in capturing the light and the vibrant colours and diverse moods in his natural surroundings. His studio pieces are sometimes more simple, stylized works reminiscent of some of the Group of Seven painters, but his work is consistent in its exhibition of a remarkable interpretation of light.
This exhibit will run until the end of the month. For more information, visit Galerie Q’s website at www.galerie-q.com. KG
