Thursday, March 29, 2018

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!

.....This just IN!   Because a bunch of us have celebrated our birthday's in the span of just a few days of one another (Adriana, Caitlin and Gordon MacDonald) we will be serving up delicious eclairs for anyone that drops by this Saturday, March 30th from noon until they are gone- made by our neighbours, The Old Apothecary! 



EGGspecially if you are a fellow ARIES like our cutie GREEBS like this little guy featured below (lots to choose from btw)! You simply must drop by!


Please drop by and celebrate with us, and while here pick up a locally made card or print, an Easter gift, some chocolate or choose from a variety of works of art ranging in prices for everyone. Just look at these EGGstra special bookmarks by Jodie Hansen where you get to decorate your eggs with sparkles!



Join in our EASTER EGG HUNT from noon until all the eggs are found....one will include a gift certificate for $50...but all will have chocolate, so everyone is a winner!  
See you soon from all of us chicks!


Tuesday, March 27, 2018

HOP for Joy: New Works by Kim Danio have arrived!

It's almost Easter weekend for many, and look what just hopped into the gallery? These adorable bunnies by Kim Danio! All made from re-purposed shoes and gloves. Isn't it so interesting that each of these little darlings seem to have a very unique personality?  Each bunny is just $95 and looking for a new home...perhaps with you?


We've also just received two llamas- also made from shoes. Actually in this case, a pair of fuzzy boots. We are constantly amazed at how Kim keeps outdoing the last thing she created!


We also just met these goats! Awwwwwwwwwwwww....



And last but certainly not the least, ....the UNICORN! 

Honestly, if the art of Kim Danio doesn't bring a smile to your face, you need to really consider what's wrong with your life. :-) Such happiness art can bring!  

Let your imagination run wild- let Kim's art inspire!

Monday, March 19, 2018

Chocolate Party: Art made from Chocolate with a Techy Twist



Finally you can have your ART and eat it too! Join us for our Chocolate Party with Chocolate Hackers on Saturday, March 24th, 1:30-3:30pm and see a work of art made up of  “pixels of chocolate” and their Gaming Egg just in time for Easter. 
 
For just $8+tax you can experience for yourself the unique flavours of their chocolate made with the finest chocolate of Madagascar as well as cute chocolate bars that are naturally colored and flavored with REAL fruits & flowers. Buy tickets in advance at Argyle Fine Art or drop by the day of for the tastings. Limited tickets will be sold, so best to reserve ahead of time at 902-425-9456 or emailing us at gallery@argylefa.com  

Meet the makers Cecile and Stan Mozoluk and learn all about their products and process. They will be chatting a bit about what makes their chocolate different from others!

 The chocolate painting will be on display in our gallery windows from March 23rd-March 29th. It will also be for sale, along with some other bars and treats egg-specially for Easter.  We don't have a sneak peek at it yet...but can hardly wait!
Upon meeting the Chocolate Hackers, of course, we wondered was there a connection to computers and technology? In this era of Minecraft , we found it interesting they are using blocks of coloured chocolate much like in digital imaging, with pixels which are  minute area of illumination on a display screen, one of many from which an image is composed.

“We take our inspiration from the challenges of modern technologies. With the emergence of data and AI, a revolution is coming that will affect our jobs, our lives. When robots are threatening to think, create, write better than we do, we just want to seek for happiness & fulfilment in making. Something real, shaped with our hands. Avid chocolate & food lovers, we’ve created Chocolate Hackers to express ourselves with our favorite material chocolate, willing to reconnect innovation & nature.”



So make sure to HOP on over next Saturday to pick up some Easter treats, cards, lots of new art and more – all by local artists.

We’ll also have our annual Easter Egg art hunt, within the gallery where we hide eggs with special treats and one BIG egg with a $50 gift certificate inside.

Friday, March 16, 2018

Community Makes It Happen

Here at Argyle Fine Art we're all about community, whether it be our community of artists, our community of wonderful patrons and gallery visitors that come through the gallery every day, our local small business community, or the Halifax community at large. We are so grateful for all of you!


We were lucky to have our friends, Devon and Arielle the Barred Owl, from Hope for Wildlife in the gallery.


Arielle was here as a model for a free March Break sketching event. Not only was it a great day of drawing in the gallery, but Devon shared so much great information and many facts about Arielle and Barred Owls, it was a great learning opportunity too!








We had so many talented young artists in the gallery and are excited to feature some of their drawings in our window over the weekend! Stop by and see their beautiful work for yourself!



Coming up next week we'll be hosting Adsum Mystery Art Show & Sale! We believe tickets may already be sold out, but you'll have to call Adsum at the number below to find out...




We always have so much fun with this show and it raises money for a wonderful cause! So thank you again to our community for all your love and support, we're excited to keep working with you to provide great art and experiences!

Learn to make Ukranian Eggs with Ruby Boutilier in her workshop! Workshop link below:

Don't forget to check out our upcoming Workshops at the gallery that are put on by our gallery artists! Click on the WORKSHOPS link above, or click HERE.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Wintertide by Katharine Burns Opens today- All Welcomed!

We're excited to host a special feature of new paintings by Katharine Burns today. Please join us! We're all set! This stunning suite of seven works was painted over the last few winter months and was inspired by her trips to the sea near Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.


You can see the entire show online HERE now too!

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Fire's Burning, Fire's Burning Draw Nearer, Draw Nearer

Although our HYGGE has come to an official end, you can still catch a few works from that exhibit in our lower gallery this weekend and over the March break week ahead, so get cozy with art.

Yoko White, Cozy Fireplace, 4"x5", Cotton Embroidery

Today is a pretty messy- windy- rainy- slushy -snowish type of day here in Nova Scotia, and the thought of cuddling up near a warm fire is pretty lovely. If you're like us at the gallery, we don't have a fireplace on hand so the fire themed art from HYGGE will have to do. It can certainly warm us up- just look for yourselves!

Dawn Kempster, Mind the Flankers, 15"x30", Acrylic on Canvas
Jamie Lee Lightle, Cozy Studio Still Life, 12"x12", Acrylic on Board

You can almost feel it....hear it....smell it.  Of course, our minds also wander to thoughts of campfires and beach bonfires in the Spring or Summer like the paintings below. Can hardly wait until it's that time of year again!

Mark Brennan, Last Light at Melopsesketch Lake, Liscomb NS, 11"x14", Acrylic on Canvas

Barbara O'Neill, Campfire on My Beach, 20"x24", Oil on Board

And speaking of campfires, wouldn't these patches by Amber Solberg look great on your backpack, hoodie or camp hat? SMOKIN'! They are each one-of-a-kind, hand-embroidered, easy iron-on and only $35. Who says original art has to be expensive- not us!


 Drop by for some last minute HYGGE!  Make sure to check out what other things we have happening over March Break HERE too!

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

A Trip to Sable Island with Briana Corr Scott

We are so excited for gallery artist Briana Corr Scott who can now happily announce she's working on a children's book for Nimbus Publishing titled "She Dreams of Sable Island".


If you had the chance to see our Pre-Shrunk show this year (link HERE), you might have noticed her pieces featured scenes from Sable Island. We've included a few in this post that are still available. Now let's turn things over to Briana who discusses her connection and trip to Sable Island in her own words...



"In 2016 I was drawing regularly from the Museum of Natural History in Halifax as a weekly art exercise. For an artist that works from life and enjoys drawing natural objects, this museum is a valuable resource."



"I started to spend all my drawing time in the permanent exhibit about Sable Island. After a few weeks I was obsessed. I dreamed of going there and making sketches and studies to for larger paintings, and to continue my research about Sable."



"At first I was interested in the horses, seals, and plant life - but over time I learned about things like the extinct Sable Island walrus, it's five species of bees, about the strange tides and winds... It is a unique and magical ecosystem out on a sand dune, just out of reach. My research kept digging up more questions and I HAD to go." 



"I booked a trip for July 1, 2017. We had a four day travel window, but due to terrible rain storms, the beach-runway was washed out and the trip was canceled. I was really disappointed, I was so so miserable that the trip got canceled. I was moping around my house and mad at myself for moping. I decided to write about everything I had hoped to see and experience. In the end I wrote a poem called "I Dream of Sable Island". I felt good that I had turned that bit disappointment into art. (This is how art can heal!) The poem is now being published with illustrations at a children's picture book, "She Dreams of Sable Island". It is being published by Nimbus and should be released in 2019." 




"As a child my dream was to be be a children's book author and illustrator. Back then I loved horses and flowers, and it is amazing that I have come full circle to what I wished for when I was seven. Back then I had an amazing first grade teacher who helped my mom and me put together a book for a contest. (Well I did the writing and drawing and my mom did everything else). It was a book about horses and flowers, and at age 36 this first graders dream is pretty much coming true..."





"I did eventually make it to Sable on October 28, 2017, and have been furiously painting about all the pieces of it since." 


Briana will also be having a show at the gallery this June, stay tuned for details!


Monday, March 5, 2018

Try something New- Upcoming SPRING Workshops to get you HOPPING

Spring is in the air, and although Winter isn't finished with us quite yet, we can at least plan for the months ahead. Why not make your future-self happy and sign up for a workshop with us today.Learn something new with our fabulous artists. Even better, sign up for one of our workshops with friends or give the gift of learning to someone. All of the workshops are meant for anyone to attend-no previous experience needed.

Have you ever wondered how to make traditional or popular culture Ukrainian Eggs? Well now you can make your very own under the guidance of Ruby Boutilier and have it ready just in time for Easter - it's amazing how quickly that holiday will hop along! All the supplies are provided and it's only a 3 hour class on a Sunday afternoon, March 25th  with a cost of just $85.


Are you planning a trip soon or did you just come back from one? Before you throw out the ticket stubs or boarding passes, maps and more, consider making them a work of your art in your new travel art journal with Kimberley Eddy this April 4th, 6:30-8:30pm. Journalling is more than just writing down your thoughts like a diary- travel art journalling combines writing, sketching, collage and anything your imagination desires.



Artist Kim Eddy is a wonderful person to show you how to do this, as she has made this a way of organizing her thoughts and memories and even uses this practice as away to feed her inspiration for larger works of art; such as her tropical resin paintings.


And Kim was just featured in the current EAST COAST LIVING magazine about her art and discovering  personal style. You can read it  ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE NOW


As Spring really gets into full swing, and you start cleaning up all the old gloves and shoes, why not consider making them into art!? Save stuff from going to the landfill and re-purpose instead.  A very special EARTH DAY WORKSHOP with Kim Danio will help you do just that while having a HOPPING great time doing it. You'll learn how to transform a baby shoe and a glove into a frog or toad like these little fellows below. The Sunday afternoon workshop will happen on April 22nd, 11am-2pm and is just $75...limited spaces available. HOP TO IT!


And of course, with all the new Spring critters starting to stir, we can't forget all the city birds that dwell with us through all the seasons. Learn to draw and create using pastel with Sharon Cave on May 2nd, 6:30-8:30pm. Sharon has a pet crow named MIKE, who you'll learn all about too! Sharon taught a workshop with us last season, and is back by popular demand. She is well known for her humorous chicken, cow and pig paintings too- she brings personality to pastels!


 WE ALSO HOPE TO ANNOUNCE A WORKSHOP HELD BY MARY GAROUTTE SOON TOO. Check back soon for that. 

Of course, we can't forget to mention that we have an upcoming exciting  on March 15th with Dave Johnson (aka Chalkmaster Dave) and we still have openings. This is a great one to attend with the entire family- learning to draw from the master of pen and chalk. To get all the details on this workshop and more head over HERE

Saturday, March 3, 2018

It's World Wildlife Day today!

Our show HYGGE is still here but only until March 7th, so we hope you can drop down soon to see it all together! Today is World Wildlife Day, so we thought we'd share the stunning works by James Axon who has four pencil crayon works in the show-- also referred to as coloured pencils if you are in Canada.:-)  We feel so lucky to have met James because of the open call for this exhibit. There is just so much talent in our province- we are reminded of it everyday.

Red in Snow, 11" x 17", James Axon
Look to the North, 16" x 20", James Axon

This work (above) is just so multidimensional in person and getting the most attention. The fur looks soft. The antlers look rough and look at that eye.

Anticipation, 12" x 18", James Axon

Drifting Through, 11" x 17", James Axon
So be like the beaver above, and take a drift through this body of work and more by the over 30 artists that participated in the HYGGE SHOW in person on online HERE.