Emerging Artists IGNITE!

 Stop by the gallery by this Saturday to catch the end of our emerging artist show IGNITE

IGNITE features six emerging artists we met in this years PreShrunk show. All six artists are new to our gallery and we were very excited to invite them back for another exhibit to showcase their work. 

See some their works and information about each artist below. 

ASHLEY DELANEY

Ashley is a Halifax-based artist and graduate of NSCAD University known for her realistic drawings. Having built a career on designing brand experiences, she has always worked within the details. In 2023, she revisited an art practice after many years away. Ashley now finds both inspiration and balance in capturing the finer details of a moment in time. Using a mixture of charcoal, graphite, and carbon, her drawings explore themes of nostalgia and mindfulness by celebrating the simple beauty in the everyday.

Ashley Delaney, Rabbit Hole, 10"x10", Charcoal and Graphite on Paper

Ashley Delaney, Into The Wild, 10"x10", Charcoal and Graphite on Paper

BELLE DEMONT

Belle DeMont is an interdisciplinary artist based in Halifax, NS. She graduated from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2009 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and went on to Concordia to explore digital art. Belle wrote the children’s book “I Love my Purse” and illustrated the children’s book “Little Tree By the Sea”. Belle recently graduated from MSVU with a specialized Visual Arts Education degree. Her work includes children’s book illustrations, charcoal portraiture, contemporary landscape paintings and traditional figure paintings. Belle is currently working on combining storytelling with traditional landscapes of rural Nova Scotia.

Belle DeMont, Cherry Sky, Acrylic on Canvas, 15"x30"

Belle DuMont, Baby Blue, Acrylic on Canvas, 6"x6"

WILLOW GLUFKA

Willow Glufka Canadian Landscape Artist 

“I want to paint all of Canada, to celebrate the diversity and wonder of all our landscapes. With explorations in colour, I hope to give viewers a curiosity, a sense of wonder and ultimately an appreciation of nature” 

Willow Glufka is a fine artist based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Inspired by nature, she works in acrylic to create bright, bold and textured landscapes. With aims to celebrate all of Canada, Willow hopes to capture the uniqueness of each province and territory. 

Willow Glufka, Frozen Highlands,  5"x7", Acrylic on Board

Willow Glufka, For Lee, 11"x12", Acrylic on Canvas

LEM LIAN

Lem Lian is a multi-award-winning visual artist who is initially from China, now Nova Scotia-based. Lem’s work is inspired by her life of peregrination and multiple attendant cultures. Her subject matter tends to be fragmented passages of the in-between spaces of transient, bittersweet episodes. Lem paints in a narrative poem language, aiming to diversify the cognizance of impermanence. Her art explores the connection between the ephemeral world and everything subliminal, forgotten, and repressed in an individual's life.

Lem Lian,  Intentionally or Unintentionally, 4"x9.5", Ink on Paper

Lem Lian, Serendipity, 10"x10", Ink on Paper

ZACH SPEARS

Hi, my name is Zach Spears. I'm an artist / bartender from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. I've been drawing since I was a kid, often pausing video games I was playing to draw the characters. I continued my love for art through my highschool years, painting portraits and things I found interesting. I loved street art and bold, neon colors. As I got older I found myself working in an office and using the coffee from my mug to paint on the printer paper. I enjoyed it a lot and painted with coffee for years, but then returned back to using acrylics and oils to help capture those bright neon signs and graffiti I loved so much in my youth. When I began pursuing my career as a bartender, I loved that I could curate delicious drinks for people and get creative with different ingredients, but it didn't leave me much time for painting. After some years away, I have picked it up again and started marring my two passions of art and bartending by painting bottles and other cocktail inspired imagery.

Zach Spears, All Equal Parts, 16"x20", Oil on Canvas

Zach Spears, Montenegro, 6"x12", Oil on Canvas

ASHLEY VERGE

Ashley Verge, is a new and upcoming artist based in Bedford, Nova Scotia with a passion for creating oil paintings rich in texture with the use of palette knives. While she has no formal art training she has been practicing this technique for a few years now. She started out with a desire to create pieces that would enhance the decor of her home. Using oil paint with palette knives allows her to create movement and fluidity to her artwork, while building layer upon layer of paint. She finds her inspiration through vintage landscape prints and her love for the outdoors. Her work reflects her desire to capture the beauty of nature and its complexities onto the canvas.

Ashley Verge, Sail the Day Away, Oil on Board, 16"x20"

Ashley Verge, Midnight Blooms, Oil on Board, 12"x16"

See the entire online HERE