Leap on Over to the Gallery to see All the New Arrivals!

Some weeks the moon and the sun align , we chew gum and walk at the same time, maybe it's the leap year vibe...but a whole bunch of new artwork just arrives! Poof! We are delighted, of course!

 This week has been one of those weeks, and although many of the artworks delivered this week are very different from one another we thought we'd feature them here for you to enjoy virtually. It's cold out! We get it! Although, if you live closeish...we invite you to visit the gallery! Seeing art in person is such a great experience and it will wash away any winter blues that may be setting in....

Let's begin with this fresh breath of Spring painted by Catherine Bagnell Styles. 

Catherine Bagnell Styles, French Spring, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36"

And now for something completely different....this "painting" was created using only upcyled zippers by Diane Redden. 

Diane Redden, Carousel, zippers, mixed media, 14" x 14"

 Still on the different tangent, we received this mixed media sculpture by William Rudolph. So Fun and Sci-Fi inspired!

William Rudolph, Wow Signal Detector, mixed media sculpture

Although it feels like Spring is in the air, we can probably expect there to be a few more snow days in our forecast. Deb Bromley just bought us this snow day inspired painting as well as a more fair weather day one- both infused with her signature playfullness, bright colours and highly narrative compositions. 

Deb Bromley, Snow Days, acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"

Deb Bromley, Birds Eye View, acrylic on board, 6" x 6"

We are pleased to be showcasing a grouping of recent paintings and drawings by emerging artist Echo Nara. You can see all of her work HERE that we have so far, but here are two beauties below.

 

Because we are getting ready for an upcoming show all about INSTAGRAM Famous Dogs, we are starting to receive the works. Here is an amazing painting by RJ Marchand that will be included in the show but on site along with another one if you'd like to have first dibs and sneaks!

RJ Marchand, "Wet Behind the Ears", Watercolour and acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36"

So do yourself a favour and visit these paintings and more arriving almost everyday. This Saturday is the last full day that we will have the Pre-Shrunk show on the walls. If you haven't seen it yet...come on down or visit it online HERE

 Oh, and don't forget to check out our UPCOMING WORKSHOPS being offered by some amazing artists  HERE! 

Observe and Play with Briana Corr-Scott

Many of you may have already heard that we are hosting MANY workshops in March, especially over the March break here in Nova Scotia at the gallery. If you haven't looked at the full list, please do HERE. Many fun experiences await you!

We are lucky to have Briana Corr Scott leading us in two workshops. Briana Corr Scott is a fine artist, illustrator and writer based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. She captures the beauty of the natural world in her oil paintings, paper doll creations and children’s literature. 

The first workshop one is coming up soon on Wednesday, March 4th from 5:30-7:30pm, $50 (all supplies provided and NO experience required)  and is  held at the Museum of Natural History. You will learn how to begin drawing using observational skills and drawing from real life objects opposed to photos of things.

We are excited to be hosting this workshop at the museum, because it's a special place to Briana when she finds herself blocked creatively. In fact she spent many hours in the Sable Island display there a few years ago and eventually travelled to Sable creating drawings, paintings and writings that eventually became part of her book beginnings as an author/illustrator with Nimbus Publishing.

As you can see, Briana is a keen observer- especially attracted to the flowers that others may pass by instead of the flashy or more popular ones. Daisies, dandelions, various ferns and plants....she gives them all a beautiful voice. She refers to these ones as part of the "invisible world, a world that exists in nature but often overlooked".

The second workshop is called Paper Dolls for Adults and happens at Argyle Fine Art on Monday, March 16th, from 6pm-8pm, $50- all supplies included and no experience required for this one either. Each person in attendance will leave with a paper doll designed by Briana Corr Scott and learn how to make clothing and accessories for your doll. You'll learn some history of the paper doll and then get to play- using a variety of mixed media supplies such as paper, fibre, etc. We'll add some local wine to the evening, hence attendees need to be of legal drinking age.Can't wait to PLAY! 

 CALL US at 902 425- 9456 or email us to register soon as classes are filling up!  

 A bit about Briana Corr-Scott:

 As a student at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, Briana dedicated herself to painting and drawing from life, inspired by the work of the American Impressionists she admired at the nearby Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum.  Since moving to Dartmouth from New England in 2006, she has continued her passion for working observationally, applying these skills to her botanical drawings, illustrations, paintings and words.  Working primarily in oil, her art is inspired by the wind, light and presence of a place, which she finds as she focuses on capturing the strange, overlooked details in nature. Her residency at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan, Ireland during the summer of 2019 was a turning point in her career. While hiking and painting en plein air, she allowed her art to merge by playfully connecting her oil paintings, illustrations, and prose.  

Pre-Shrunk Wrap Up!

Well the Pre-Shrunk show is wrapping up and we are pleased to say that we've wrapped up and sent hundreds of new artworks into homes all across the world from this small but mighty show-even as far as Yemen and Australia!

If you missed seeing the show, there's still a bit of time to catch it, as we are re-hanging the gallery today and keeping the remaining works on the walls until the end of February because there are just too many wonderful works to still be loved and purchased! So don't delay! 

A few weeks ago we held a meet and greet at the gallery for many of the artists and the public to say hi and learn about all the varied styles and mediums represented in these small works. It was so much fun to see everyone chatting and having a great time! We also held an online vote of a pre-selected grouping of artworks from the show by staff  and awarded our very first Pre-Shrunk Award of Awesomeness. The response was overwhelming!

Our miniature trophy held in front of the winning painting for 2020 by Brigitte St-Arnaud

The winner of the award with over 100 votes for her work alone was Brigitte St-Arnaud. Here she is with her little trophy for her unique woodburned artworks- still available for purchase!

We met Brigitte because of the show which is another reason we love hosting this show so much, since we meet new talents in our community that we may not have known about otherwise. Brigitte's day job is a very creative one indeed. She works as a designer at Ikea- so the next time you walk through the Ikea showrooms, think of Brigitte arranging things just so. She even won an award at work last year where she was tasked with making a sculpture out of Ikea bags. It was a great way to remind people to use reusable bags when shopping but once they are old, to remember that you can up-cycle almost anything into art. The imagination is a wonderful thing!

Here's a little bit about Brigitte in her own words:

Over the years I have focused most of my creative expression through work. I’ve done floral design, window dressing, murals, product design, event decorating, interior design, commercial retail planning and store solutions. The past 16 years left me with little time for personal projects, but now I’m scaling back and concentrating on my own creations. My artistic approach is to think outside the box and do things differently than what is traditional and expected. Nature inspires me and I often transform my subjects in a stylized manner with organic lines.Creativity is forever evolving- right now I’m experimenting with wood burning.

Brigitte also shared a few words and pictures of the award in it's new home for the year:

"I wanted to show my award next to something relatable to show its size and proportion. My cat only wanted to see if it was made out of real gold."

"The dog didn’t seem too impressed since it wasn’t full of treats."

 "I ended up putting it in a safe place... next to the coin that the captain of the Bluenose 2 gave me last summer. I also have my fathers train collection in my display cabinet"

Remember all the artworks measure 4" x 5" and are just $175. A great price to begin your art collection with original artworks and also great for gifts later in the year, such as graduations, new homes and babies, and weddings! Art is a great way to celebrate and commemorate extraordinary occasions!  

CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE SHOW HERE AT THIS LINK

A small oil painting by Jack Ross

A small ALL PAPER collage by Andrea Crouse

A small modern take on the still life by Anna Whalen

And even small print making by Amanda Nicholson

Argyle Fine Art | Dog Friendly Halifax

  Hey there!  Our blog has gone to the DOGS today! Well, it's been written by Cassie of Wet Nose Images who did a lovely photo shoot of an adorable samoyed in preparation of an upcoming event in April celebrating these dogs... more info coming soon on that. But today, please enjoy below and remember that many local businesses downtown are dog friendly anytime! Drop by soon!

 

 

Behind The Scenes, Dog Friendly Halifax, Halifax, Sessions

What fun this session was!

I was asked to photograph a gorgeous Samoyed inside an art gallery in Halifax - how cool is that??

Adriana, the owner of Argyle Fine Art will be hosting an event at the gallery just for Samoyeds, so it was a perfect opportunity to create some promotional images for the gallery while also featuring another dog friendly business here on the blog! I’ve done a number of these sessions in dog friendly businesses over the last few years, so definitely check out some previous blog to find other awesome businesses to visit with your pups!

I’ve been following (and adoring) Inu for quite a while on her Instagram account, and I asked her mum if she’d be interested in modeling for me.

Inu said yes ;)

It was a VERY chilly morning, but the gallery was so nice and warm. Inu was an absolutely fabulous model, and happy to sit and smile wherever we asked her to! She’s obviously got lots of practice as an Instagram pup. We explored all corners of the gallery and I even created some images while standing outside and looking through the window at her.

Take a look at some of my favourites below - can you see why I’m so smitten with this fluffy cutie?

Make sure to find Argyle Fine Art and Inu the Samoyed on social media so you can keep up with them both! What is your favourite dog friendly business in Halifax??

Give ART this Valentine's Day: Art Lasts Forever

Well it's almost that time of year again...Valentine's Day! In case you are still looking for some gift ideas, we've got you covered.Show a special someone or friend how much you care with lots of love, and maybe some art this year! This adorable felted mouse is ready to give someone a hug!

We always have a variety of cards, jewellery, prints and more that are affordable, unique and by local artists too! Check out this neat, upcycled way of giving the gift of flowers we've put together that is unique, earth friendly and just in time for VALENTINE'S DAY....take a read!

Once upon a time there was a fence. It was a very good fence doing fencey-like things, but one day it was time for the fence to retire.

What would become of the fence?!? "Wood" it become firewood or be left to decay....noooooo!

Or would it become ART! Yes! It became these ZERO WASTE beautiful floral vase wall holders made by Rachel Reeve shown below. Each one is handmade and different from the next, fashioned with an up-cycled test-tube vase and ready to hang on any wall with cut flowers, herb sprigs...whatever you like!

For just $50 you can pick up one of these beauties from us beginning Thursday, February 13th! We have a limited supply so if you'd like to secure one call us asap to put one aside for you! It includes packing and an enclosure card. We are filling each of these little vases with flowers and greenery from our neighbours down the street, The Flower Shop. 

Then after Valentine's day, use the the wall hanging all year long! It would be lovely to include in your outside garden or patio to display freshly cut garden flowers, at the office or  later in the year too at Christmas time, with sprigs of holly and red berries. 

Art gifts just keep giving and giving all year long! 

 

RJ Marchand, Acrylic on board, 4" x 5"

With our Pre-Shrunk show still in full swing, we have also put together a few great gift options below but to see more simply click HERE. Each of the works shown measure 4" x 5" and are $175  by a variety of artists. 

For your Queen or King of Hearts...these ceramic works are by Trevor Novak

For the real love birds out there, why not pick up PICKLE by Rachel Ogden. Such a pretty birdy!

Or this blue beauty by Heidi Holloway

Of course, with all these birds we couldn't not include a bee, like this beeee-autiful bee by Marian Mazerall

Perhaps you are planning a special meal out...this painting by Jan Daivson is of a date-night favourite in Halifax

You will never have to water these flowers by Raquel Roth...such beautiful colours and texture on this one! Flowers are always a great choice, like the Poppies by Kelly Mitchemoore or the delicate blooms by Debbie Lamey- MacDonald  and Zan Ahoy (below)

Drop by soon and discover all of these and more! Happy art looking! 

Vanessa Cornell "Love Letters", 4" x 5". mixed media