Friday, January 29, 2021

PRE-SHRUNK 2021 IS NOW ONLINE!

 Behold...the PRE-SHRUNK SHOW IS NOW ALL ONLINE!

All 317 of them! Make sure to check out all the pages of art!

CHECK OUT THE FULL SHOW HERE NOW

 


PRE-SHRUNK 2021

Three Opening Days and Many Ways to See the Show this Year!

Show continues ONLINE and in-person until February 20th

 

Celebrate the Art of Small at our 17th Annual PRE-SHRUNK SHOW at Argyle Fine Art. The exhibit officially opens on Friday, January 29th and continues until February 20th. All 300 artworks are 4" x 5", and sell for $175 each in a variety of mediums by emerging to established artists from all across Canada. Drop by and SEE the show in person or online beginning Friday, January 29th at 10am and all day long. Official opening is between 7pm-10pm* longer this year to make time for safe viewing with Covid-19 protocols. But we are also open all day long Saturday, January 30th from 11am-5:30pm and Sunday, January 31st, NOON-4pm, with musical guests, the Urban Surf Kings.

 

BUYING PRE-SHRUNK ART THIS YEAR!

We want to sell you art but...art can't be sold until 7pm to the general public, however if you arrive throughout the day or view it online, and want to put a piece on hold to purchase at 7pm, you can leave payment information with us and it will be processed after the initial voucher holders make their selections from 5pm-7pm.
 

CROWD CONTROL AND PLANNED FUN NIGHT OUT!
7pm-9pm-
Entrance to the gallery will be first come first serve at the door. We can only allow 10 people at a time and all Covid-19 protocols are in place. 15 minute time limit on each visit. If you arrive and have to wait, we can take your name and cell number on our handy APP and alert you when your time is open to come in and in the meantime, head over to THE BIRDS NEST CAFÉ for some treats. They are staying open just for YOU! Maybe you could also get dinner or drink at any other local restaurants in the area before or after you view the art. They need your support too!
 

9pm-10pm- During this time, we are taking appointments and anyone that has previously made an appointment to see the show will be allowed to enter before those in line. However you may be able to visit without an appointment during this time- it really depends on how many appointments we receive. SIMPLY CALL US at 902-425-9456 or email us at gallery@argylefa.com to book your time slot between 9pm-10pm.

 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30th-Open regular hours of 11am-5:30pm with regular COVID-19 protocols in place.  

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31st-Special Open Hours of NOON- 4pm.  Drop by on Sunday for a more leisurely peek at the show and while here enjoy the sweet live musical tunes of the Urban Surf Kings.



 

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Send More ART via Snail Mail

 Last year we began ARTMAIL for SHUT-INS...which was an online show that changed as new works were received by artists near and far, creating small works on paper that were easy to ship in an envelope and sold for just $20. The show has proved popular and art is being sent to mail boxes all over the world, bringing a little bit of happiness art work by art work. SEE MORE ARTMAILS HERE and if you'd like to contribute as an  artist, find the information HERE.

We are pleased to announce that we are still receiving new works to this show and just recently added some new watercolours by Nadine Robichaud like these below:


We also added a few older works we just came across by a variety of other artists, that haven't seen the light of day since 2012! These are all works on paper and also just $20! 








Saturday, January 23, 2021

Pre-Shrunk Musings and First Glances

HAPPY ALMOST PRE-SHRUNK 2021!  We are getting excited about our 17th annual show of SMALL ART WITH BIG IMPACT!  We had a lot of art to choose from this year for the juried show, and are delighted to say that the show will include close to 300 works with a great variety of mediums to choose from, including textile, painting, photography, sculpture, ceramic, collage and more!  

Usually this show is VERY BUSY opening night, but because of COVID-19 we have very specific ways you can still enjoy the show in person or online safely.  Officially opening Friday, January 29th and continuing until February 20th. All works measure 4" x 5" and are $175 each.

We encourage you to visit this LINK TO THE EVENT PAGE ON FACEBOOK for all the details HERE and share it with friends!

Various snippets of amazing Pre-Shrunk artworks by a variety of artists! Inquire directly about any you see here or view the entire show with all the details, beginning on January 29th online and in-person

Recently one of our gallery artists, Gordon MacDonald, wrote about Pre-Shrunk on his Facebook page expressing why it's one of his favourite shows of the year and offered some reasons why he loves it so much, as it relates to his professional art practice: 

 - I got paid for doing sketches I would do anyway.
 - I got to experiment a lot and lose the "precious" inhibition. 
- I got to try many variations of supports and presentation I used on larger work. 
- I got to take the best and make bigger versions.
 - Many people who bought one , ended up buying  bigger work.
- I got to  participate in an extremely fun exhibit for 14 years.
 - I got to support the gallery that busts her ass to sell my stuff.
- I met many of the people who bought work.
- I met other artists and watched a few get great success.  
 - Many of my 4/5z ended up travelling far and wide.  
 - Most of all, doing small work teaches me 1000 things I couldn't learn otherwise. Who gets paid to go to school?
 
We'll be posting some sneak peeks of the show here in the next few days, and hope to host some LIVE VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS with selected artists throughout the duration of the exhibit. Check back often for the latest here!  Below are some other beauties we thought you'd enjoy seeing....:-))

RJ Ogemah

Natalie Mike

Leah Mark

Saturday, January 16, 2021

Uncover and Rediscover- January Sale!

It's that time of year again when we start to uncover older works in our collection and put them on display in hopes they will be rediscovered and find homes! Below are just a few examples with a few more also found HERE at this link.    

Sail into the New Year with this little sailboat original  by Bryanna Chapeskie . It's just $40 and would look lovely among your shell collection or brighten someone's day as a gift. It's easy to ship (pun intended!)

Sunrise or Sunset? You decide, but this painting is by Alice MacLean, 8" x 10", Oil on Board and would be great as painting in a meditation room or some place where you want quiet and reflection. Worth seeing in person for the lush painted brushstrokes. Now priced at $150.

 
We'll admit it....we're cat people here, but of course we love all creatures big and small. Over the years the gallery has been host to lots of furry friends in addition to winged ones such as owls, eagles and silkie chickens. One time we even had a pig in the gallery! These two works below are part of our sale. 
 
The cat eyes piece is a diptych (two parts make the whole) and is only $125 for the entire piece. The other work is an original illustration and is framed and sells for $150! Both are a great addition to any cat lovers life!
This painting by Stuart Melanson has been in the keep of the gallery for years! It's spectacular in person and may be just waiting for the right person! It's beautifully framed and ready to be enjoyed. Originally this piece was priced at $1200 and it's now on sale for just $450! This is a must see in person as it's so detailed and masterfully painted with acrylic on board.

The current trend of house plants and succulents is alive and well, so why not add this original work of art to highlight all of your plant babies. Just think how great this piece will look amoung your pots of living green things. This piece is framed and ready to be hung right away, and it's only $175!

 
Ok....if  you've been waiting to find some artwork that depicts lobsters having a great time dancing and playing the bagpipes with a bit of sparkle and shine, look no further! These two works are framed and sell for just $50 each! We added some folk art lobsters to the display here, which we also have for sale at the gallery. 
 
And now for something completely different.....a sculptural piece made from repurposed materials including shoes and bags by Kim Danio. This re-creation of a popular local eatery in Halifax is still here!  Come on people!! Let's find this beauty a forever home! This piece is now just $150. Celebrate local art and local business all in one!
 

Visit in person someday soon! We've got lots of other hidden gems waiting for you to discover! We are open Wednesdays- Saturdays 11am-5:30pm. Add some art to your life! It's more affordable than you think and we also offer payment plans. YAY!

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Well 2020....it wasn't ALL bad, but Hello 2021!

Usually every year we write a year-end blog to highlight the past year in art and look forward to the new year ahead with enthusiasm and new found inspiration. We're a bit late to getting this done,so we'll just say that's soooo 2020,and put a few words down here now today!

Certainly,we don't have to write on and on about how this year panned out for many. It was fairly sucky to put it bluntly, but there were some bright happy artful moments too.

We started the year of 2020 off with our annual exciting show PRE-SHRUNK. We are once again planning for the 2021 edition of this show to open on January 29th, 2021 and although we will be organizing this differently due to the on-going pandemic, we are looking forward to meeting new artists and inviting many of you back to enjoy art in person and online. 


In February, we naively launched into the dreaded winter month with a fun show called the Instagram Dogs of Halifax show. It had barely had a chance to be enjoyed by many, when there started to be rumblings about a worldwide pandemic happening. But surely this wouldn't or couldn't affect us, right? So we carried along and had a howling great time with pups and artwork inspired by them by our local artists. 


We also were fortunate to be able to host the Mystery Art Fundraiser for our good friends of Adsum House in mid-March. We assisted in raising thousands of dollars for those in need, and little did we know we wouldn't be able to gather in large gatherings like this again for over a year or more...

Only days later, we had to close our doors to the public like so many other businesses and then begin to work  harder than ever, to keep our businesses afloat.

Thankfully we are still here, because of the support and love from so many of you. Over the year, we were thankful to notice that the "Shop Local" initiative that had been going on for years was now not only lip service for many, but was seriously put into action. Supporting community and others in need was happening. We hope it continues into the most challenging winter months ahead of us now, for our local business neighbours and friends.

We pivoted and pivoted and pivoted....we have gone in circles this year pivoting, but we did manage to get most of our inventory online, make door-step deliveries, send out packages all across the world, upped our social media posts, set up an online gift certificate portal, organized online workshops, began some community outreach programming with our pandemic postcard series and our "Artmail for Shut-Ins". We even took people into our artist's studios and mindsets with our interview series we started in May called "Artists in Studios Getting Coffee" which you can still watch online over on our Instagram TV page.

 

Thankfully at the end of June we were able to open our doors again, to a limited amount of people to see art again in person. We put on our masks, purchased vats of santizer and got on with it. The "first" solo show of the season began with new paintings by Sharon Cave! Foxes and bunnies were abound!


Shortly after this opening, we hosted a socially distanced book launch, celebrating the artwork of Briana Corr-Scott with our friends from Nimbus Publishing and WOOZLES Bookstore. It was a lovely happy sunny day.



Another annual show that many people look forward to is the Gordon MacDonald show. This year we hosted this earlier than past years, as Gordon was very productive during the full lockdown time and was excited to share his works with all of us. It was a beautiful show as always. There is always something new from Gordon at the gallery. Here is one of his latest arrivals below...so luminous!


 Gordon even hosted a plein air workshop. It was so nice to be outside being with people again, creating and learning under the blue skies of summer. Ahhhhh....ocean breeze with trees.


We helped organize an artful event in memory of our friend Raymond Taavel in lieu of a Pride event this summer. We also helped facilitate some local art projects around town, like this giant mural by Sarah Cannon which you can see on the waterfront along with many other great projects that were helped to beautify our surroundings this year more than ever- thanks to the Downtown Halifax Business Commission.

 

 

We are so fortunate to have so many talented artists all around us and that was certainly realized by many living near-by this year as well. Pride of local and more paintings found their way into local homes and offices than past years. We were so thankful. Here is a photo of Isobel Hamilton posing with her new body of work this August- most of which has now found new homes within the province. 

 Some days were filled with silly fun! Like the day we hosted a chicken one day at the gallery named Agatha and her sister Dog.  They both loved the art and we loved them!


In the middle of all of this, we almost forgot that we were celebrating 20 YEARS IN BUSINESS! One of our great friends and supporters sent us this beautiful floral arrangement by Neville MacKay of My Mother's Bloomers- an artist of flowers in his own league! We still have the prayer plant growing from this arrangement, in the gallery. Yay!


We hosted so many other shows and events this year; each we were mindful and creatively organized them to keep everyone safe! Here are a few snaps of various shows held throughout months of September and late fall. 


Amy Ordoveza and Megan LeForte showcase recent works in September!

Outdoor workshops continue- this one held at Point Pleasant Park with the great Jack Ross

Here's an installation shot of works by Danny Abriel and his solo show filled with colour!  

Late Summer Studio Visits are always fun! This is Anna Whalen prepping for her upcoming show that was held in October for NOCTURNE.  


Special Commissions were created this year by Kim Eddy and more workshops with her too!

NOCTURNE was different this year, but we made the most of it with an interactive show!

..which also had a theatrical component to it!

Here's Anne Marie MacEachen show for Nocturne which was "illuminating". :-)


We held  a ROCK SHOW with artist Kerry Hodgson,literally and figuratively

We took art to the gardens of Catherine Bagnell Styles!

 Finally the holidays we upon us, and we decked out our windows in lots of light, a fun pop culture Christmas movie inspired window display and inspirational messages in lights- all in an effort to engage and lift spirits as we once again learned things would continue to be challenging as we moved into the holiday season, and more lockdowns came into effect again.



 

So here's to 2021!  May it be WONDERful! Please remember to visit us and other local businesses this year however you can. Share a social media post, buy a small or large purchase- they are all helpful, tell a friend about a great experience you have had, share how art has changed your life with us! All things great and small are appreciated. Stay Safe everyone! Onwards and Upwards!