Portrait of an Artist - Evlyn Fortier

Today's Art Fayre Artist is Evlyn Fortier of LeFaivre, Ontario.

Evlyn’s two passions have always been Art and Philosophy. She received her B.A. in Fine Arts (studio) from the University of Waterloo in 1984. Evlyn returned to school in 1987 and completed a M.A. in Philosophy at McMaster University in Hamilton in 1991. She achieved her final degree, a PhD. in Philosophy at the University of Ottawa in 1999.

She has taught Philosophy at Carleton University, St. Paul’s University and the Dominican College in Ottawa. But even while teaching, she continued to make Art and keep abreast of ideas and trends in the Art world.

Evlyn works primarily in Chalk Pastel and Oil. She has participated in numerous group shows in Waterloo, Guelph, Kitchener, Hamilton, Toronto and Vankleek Hill. She exhibited regularly throughout the 1980s and 1990s in Miniatures Exhibitions in Toronto, and later in Miniatures exhibitions in Yugoslavia and Italy.

Evlyn’s husband, the late Peter MacElwain, was a sculptor who exhibited large-scale works in Toronto, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. Evlyn assisted Peter in the creation and setting up of these works. She and Peter ran a foundry where they cast sculpture in bronze, aluminum and lead.

Most recently, she has participated in the Artist Trading Card group that meets once a month in Dunvegan, Ontario. Making Art Cards has allowed Evlyn the chance to try other media, especially collage, and to be more experimental in her work.

Evlyn presently works as a Policy Analyst for the Department of Human Resources and Social Development in Gatineau. She divides her time between her apartment in Gatineau and her home in Lefaivre, Ontario, where she recuperates from spending time as a civil servant by drawing, painting and mucking about in her garden.

Join us at Art Fayre 2011 to meet Evlyn and see her beautiful works of art!

Portrait of an Artist - Ronna Mogelon

Today's Art Fayre artist is Ronna Mogelon of Dunvegan, Ontario.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Ronna Mogelon has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Concordia University (Montreal). After graduation, she moved to Toronto, where she was owner of Cheshire Studio and created graphic design for various companies and organizations in and around the city.

Into the Woods

She is author of two published books: a compilation of her humorous cat cartoons entitled “Famous People’s Cats” and “Wild in the Kitchen: Recipes for Wild Fruits, Weeds and Seeds” -- an illustrated cookbook of wild plants she discovered around her Dunvegan farmstead.

Last Snow

Nesting Robin

She has exhibited her colour pencil drawings locally at several group shows in Vankleek Hill and Dunvegan. She’s had solo exhibits at the “Skelly Gallery,” St. Eugene in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Ronna has shown her work at Art Fayre since its inception in 2005.

Path in the Pines

Planting Time

Snow Shovel

January Road

The talented Ronna will again be showing and selling her work at Art Fayre 2011. Please join us June 11 & 12 and enjoy this fine art in person!

Portrait of an Artist - Barbara Glen

Today's Art Fayre artist is Barbara Glen of Maxville, Ontario.

Barbara Glen's early training was in photography. She spent a number of years photographing private collections, museum collections for cataloguing purposes, show installations and works of art for publication.

 A Ribbon of Yellow

 Design and collage had always fascinated her, and in 2002 an Artist Trading Card Show supplied a table with collage materials and an invitation to visitors to make and trade their own cards.

Since then she's made hundreds of ATCs, attended drawing and painting classes, numerous workshops and has been lucky enough to have talented artists encourage her, support her and share their knowledge and craft with her.

 Ode to Francis Bacon

 One Leaf and a Pair

Noodling Around

 Barb's creative art will be featured at this year's Art Fayre. Come meet Barb and the other artists on Vernissage day: Saturday, June 11, 2011!

Press Clipping from Art Fayre 2009

Press Clipping from Art Fayre 2009

From the Glengarry News

Portrait of an Artist - Emily Brinac

Today's Art Fayre artist is Emily Brinac of Martintown, Ontario.

Emily is a gourd artist. She grew up on a small farm in Europe where a common scene was hard shell gourds, climbing around verandas and surrounding gardens. Childhood memories had a major influence on pursuing her creativity, to be expressed on three dimensional nature's canvas, hard shell gourds.

Circle

Because of the historical significance of gourds in humankind, she considers her tireless work on hard shell gourds a privilege.

Philodendron

Her carved, painted, and wood-burned gourds with pine needle or sweet grass weaving are found in homes in United States, Canada and Europe.

Wisdom

Mark your calendar now for June 11 and 12! Come to Art Fayre to meet Emily, and enjoy her unique gourd art in person.
 

Portrait of an Artist - John Sims

Today's Art Fayre artist is John Sims of Lochiel, Ontario.

 John working on a painting of Highland dancers waiting to go on stage at the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville last summer.

John Clark Sims was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Boston Museum School of Fine Arts.

After moving to Canada in 1973, John worked for many years as a technical illustrator and graphic artist in Montreal. He was the graphic arts coordinator at Marconi Canada throughout the 80s and worked as a technical illustrator at Pratt & Whitney Canada before moving to Glengarry in 1999.


 John working on a painting of Kirkhill from his in situ sketch.


Since 2005, John has shown at several venues in Eastern Ontario including The Abby for the Arts, the Arbor Gallery and the Glengarry Pioneer Museum. He has also done a number of paintings on a commission basis.

John’s output in the 1970s and 80s, paintings of Quebec scenery and historic houses, were widely exhibited in Montreal through various galleries and many are in private collections.

John has now turned his eye to the landscape, people and horses of Glengarry for inspiration.

Mark your calendar now for June 11 and 12! Come to Art Fayre to meet John and his see exquisite paintings in person. Our vernissage is on Saturday, June 11th. That's your chance to mingle with all of our talented artists while admiring (and buying!) their beautiful work.

Portrait of an Artist - Holly Kelleher

Today's Art Fayre artist is Holly Kelleher of Dunvegan, Ontario. Here's what Holly has to say about her art:

"My approach to all of my work is simple — I pay attention to my environment and what is happening in it. Since moving to a rural area I have focused my work on observing and reacting to the natural objects around me. For several years I have been creating large oil paintings of leaves. I like to collect leaves and watch how they curl and change creating interesting sculptural shapes. I look forward to summer which permits working outdoors with pastel. Winter is my time for painting in the studio."

Here's a sampling of Holly's exquisite pastel work...

  

Holly's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in Ontario and Quebec  Holly has also worked as an illustrator and graphic designer and weaver. A talented hand weaver, she has created commissioned tapestries for various organizations across Canada.

Come meet Holly and see her lovely art at Art Fayre 2011!

Portrait of an artist - Fran Bailey

Art Fayre 2011 is on the horizon (June 11 and 12), and in the months and weeks leading up to the show, our blog will be featuring profiles of many of our talented participating artists. Check back regularly for updates!

Today's Art Fayre artist is Fran Bailey, of Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Fran has lived, painted and exhibited in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Her usual medium is watercolour and she especially enjoys painting subtly stylized house portraits, often as commissioned works.

Here are some samples of her gorgeous paintings...

If you would like to learn more about Fran and her artwork, check out her blog.

And don't forget to mark Art Fayre on your calendar: June 11 & 12, 2011 at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan, Ontario. We look forward to seeing you there!

Press clippings from Art Fayre 2010

A selection of press clippings from Art Fayre 2010...

Glengarry News, Alexandria, Ontario

Seaway News, Cornwall, Ontario

Tribune Express, Hawkesbury, Ontario