Saturday, October 29, 2016

STUDIO SATURDAYS with Damien Webb

Hey everyone! It's been a busy week or two at the gallery. We think we've recovered from the citywide late night art festival, NOCTURNE and then the following weekend with CITY HARVEST, and a few artist talks and shows this week to top it all off...phew....getting a tad exhausted just recapping it all here. However we've finally reached Saturday, and you know what that means!  STUDIO SATURDAYS! We get to enter the studio of yet another gallery artist!!

Today we are very excited to share just a glimpse into the studio of young emerging artist, Damien Webb from the Liverpool, Nova Scotia. If you've been into the gallery recently, you'll remember that Damien is the artist that created the miniature intricate sets made of mostly re-purposed paper, for our on-going exhibit GET SET which you can see HERE.   (keep in mind, a penny is larger than the "I want to Believe" poster featured below...)


We're also very excited to announce we'll be hosting a solo show of works by Damien in February 2017!  Anyway, enough rambling...without further adieu...the studio of Damien Webb- whom we refer to as the master of miniature. Just WOW. 


Friday, October 28, 2016

Women in Water

Last night we had our one night only show of Brianne William's "Women in Water" series.



It was a great night and wonderful to have Brianne, who's been working away on the series over the last few years, in the gallery to chat about her work.


While the show was one night only, a few pieces from the show are still available at the gallery:

Serene Sunset, 2014, 30"x40", Oil on Canvas

Scarlet Sea, 2015, 30"x24", Oil on Canvas

Under the Sea, 2016, 30"x40", Oil on Canvas
Deep Blue, 2011, 48"x60", Oil on Canvas

Shimmer, 2012, 24"x30", Oil on Canvas

You can find the whole series online here.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

TONIGHT ONLY! Women in Water by Brianne Williams 7-9pm

Tonight is a very special evening at Argyle Fine Art, as we'll be celebrating the body of work by emerging artist Brianne Williams called "Women in Water". Brianne has been working on this show throughout the last 4 years and it's finally time to share it with the world.


The works are only here for one-night only, so make sure to drop down this afternoon or after work or visit for the opening reception tonight and meet Brianne from 7pm-9pm. We'll be sure to make the show available online soon at www.argylefineart.com.




Wednesday, October 19, 2016

City Harvest 2017

Oh, Fall. The leaves are embracing a new end of the colour spectrum and the scents of the earth are mingling in the air. That can only mean one thing, it's City Harvest time! So get out your walking boots and scarf, grab some backdoor takeout from one of our neighbours, and come join in the fun at the gallery!

Oh... and beer, don't forget about all the wonderful Fall beverages our local breweries are crafting this time of year.

Yoko White, "Craft Beer", Emroidery - so refreshing!

To celebrate City Harvest we'll have our Beetlejuice Photobooth back up, a popular Nocturne hit, that coincides with our "Get Set" show in the lower gallery. In honour of Beetlejuice anyone wearing black AND white will get 20% off their purchase (with the exception of work from the two new shows & a few other items), a FREE DRAW for a small work of art, and of course... snacks.


Have you been waiting long?


Meet artist Nick Brunt from 12-2pm, who will be here prepping stencils. In addition to his rad paintings Nick is also the artist behind our Rainworks project, spreading special messages around the city that only appear when it's raining. You can read more about the Rainworks project here.




You also have the opportunity to meet artist Abigail Lower from 10:30-11:30am, the artist behind the show in the upper gallery, "The Slow Awakening". We'll have charcoal on hand so you can make your own Abigail inspired art in the gallery!

Abigail working alongside her assistants.

Abigail will also be here on Tuesday, Oct 25th from 6:30-8:30pm, to give an artist talk and demo about the work in the show. Along with Abigail will be poet Shaun Lafferty, composer Theo Chapelhow, and filmmaker Jock Hiltz. The event is free and all are welcome to attend.

Gordon MacDonald, "Rosie (Deer)", 24"x30", Charcoal on Paper Mounted

We also have the amazing die-cut Star Wars Calendars by Jodie Hansen in stock and available for order for mid-December - really the perfect stocking-stuffer.



And last, but never least, new paintings by Gordon MacDonald have arrived! Oil on gold leaf, these pieces just glow! Come in and see them for yourself in person. If you can't make it in, the new pieces can be found online here.

Gordon MacDonald, "Red on the Platform", Oil on Gold Leaf on Board, 12"x12"

Gordon MacDonald, "Drawing the Morning to Us", Oil on Gold Leaf on Board, 12"x12"

Enjoy the rest of your week, we'll see you for all the fun on Saturday!

Saturday, October 15, 2016

NA-NA-NA-NA-NOCTURNE!!!!

TONIGHT!! TONIGHT!! TONIGHT!!

WE ARE SO EXCITED!! I bet you couldn't tell...

This year we have TWO great shows on offer for you this year.

Upstairs we have "The Slow Awakening", a show of new work by Abigail Lower. The perfect show for Nocturne, Lower has created a hauntingly beautiful body of  charcoal drawings. The show is accompanied by poetry by Shaun Lafferty and music by Theo Chapelhow. After Nocturne the show will also feature a short film by Jock Hiltz.

Abigail Lower, "Wilfred (Bear)", Charcoal on Paper Mounted, 25"x21"

Abigail Lower, "Elsa (Fox)", Charcoal on Paper  Mounted, 20"x24"

 See "The Slow Awakening" online here!

Downstairs we have "Get Set", a group show featuring artists renditions of their favourite show sets. From maquettes, to marionettes, to paintings, this show has it all. Get ready to feel the nostalgia! 

"Seinfelt" by Tacha Reed

"Eleven" card by Allison Taylor

See the "Get Set" show online here!

Along with the show we'll also have a show-set themed photobooth set up from 6:30-11pm in front of our lovely neighbours, The Loop. Can you guess what it might be? Just say his name three times...

Part of the photobooth that will be in front of The Loop tonight!

And our lovely pals over at The Old Apothocary will be there for you... Joining in on the fun they'll be channeling Central Perk for the evening!

So get out, see some art and have a GREAT NOCTURNE!!!

Saturday, October 8, 2016

STUDIO SATURDAYS with Abigail Lower

Hello and welcome to Saturday. For those of you living in Canada, HAPPY THANKSGIVING.  Thank you for dropping by the blog today and for supporting local artists in all sort of ways big and small. Just visiting galleries and sharing our posts is helpful. Thank goodness for art and you!


 Because it's Saturday, we are happy to bring you the continuation of STUDIO SATURDAYS, where each Saturday afternoon we take you inside the studio of one of our gallery artists. It's always so interesting to see where and how an artist creates, as everyone's process is different. So, may we introduce artist Abigail Lower and her busy studio!



Abigail Lower has been working away on an exciting body of work throughout the last number of months, that will be featured this Saturday, October 15th, 6pm-midnight during Nocturne Halifax. The show is titled "The Slow Awakening" and we can hardly wait to see all these gorgeous works hung together, along with complimentary music, film and poetry. Abigail works with charcoal and paper....it's messy business but so rewarding when a work starts to take form and become alive on the paper!


Not all artists have the luxury of having a designated space to create their art. In fact, many artists create wherever they can find room! That means most artists are working within their home and have been known to take over a living room, kitchen or bedroom as their studio.  Here's a picture of Abigail's show starting to take shape and hung all around her....


Sometimes when the weather agrees, Abigail will take her art making outside and let nature be her studio too!


Abigail is now on the homestretch of preparing her artworks for display at the gallery this Saturday...but there's more to art making than the art itself. Works have to be mounted and framed, ready for display. It's a lot of hard work and time consuming to do this right!  


But when the works are completed and ready to share with the world, it's very exciting indeed and we hope you will drop by either this Saturday or throughout the duration of the exhibit until the end of October,  to experience what Abigail has created. 

In fact, we're excited to announce we'll be hosting an OPEN STUDIO NIGHT at Argyle Fine Art on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25th, 6:30-8:30pm, where you can listen to Abigail Lower speak about her current show and meet some of the contributing artists Jock Hiltz (fFarmbox film), Shaun Lafferty (Poet) and Theo Chapelhow (composer)that have enhanced this visual body of work with their original poetry, music and film.We'll be launching the video created by Jock Hiltz that night too. You don't want to miss it! Free for all to attend. Light refreshments will be served. 

Make sure to say hi to Abigail if you see her and thank her for creating such a beautiful body of artwork that we can all enjoy. Without art in the world, the world be a very dull place indeed. It's clear she enjoys making art too...hehe!



Thursday, October 6, 2016

It's almost time for Nocturne 2016 - Saturday, October 15th, 6pm-midnight.

NOCTURNE  is coming up next SATURDAY October 15th from 6pm-12am, and we are SO excited! For those new to Halifax or who might not know, Nocturne is Halifax's annual Art at Night Festival


We have two shows happening simultaneously this year! Upstairs we have "Get Set", a group show featuring nostalgic pieces inspired by our favourite TV show sets. From maquettes to drawings to paintings to sculptural pieces this show will have it all!

Damien Webb, "Monica's Kitchen", Miniature Set

Damien Webb's miniatures are amazing, here's a photo of the work in process just to get a sense of scale...

Damien Webb, Friends Set in Process

Downstairs we have "The Slow Awakening" a show of new work by Abigail Lower that will be a rich visual and auditory experience.

Abigail Lower, Cubes

Abigail Lower, Wandering Buffalo in the Forrest, 24"x30", Charcoal on Paper

We may also have an "interactive" photobooth  set up inspired by the"Get Set" show, so get ready, get set, and GO out October 15th to explore all the wonderful art and creativity Halifax has to offer!

Saturday, October 1, 2016

STUDIO SATURDAYS with Jan Davison

Last year we began a series of blog posts, each Saturday, that took you into the studios of our artists. It's always so interesting to get a glimpse of the work space of artists and how much they vary from one another. We firmly believe that when we take the time to learn more about the artists process and who they are as people too, we can break down barriers that may be there for some people and expose art to everyone.

Welcome to the second Studio Saturday of the series! Today we're taking you into the studio of artist Jan Davison! Davison is a Halifax-based artist and graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.


Davison is known for her colourful local scenes and streetscapes, capturing the heart and soul of the city in her work.

The Wooden Monkey, 30"x30", Acrylic on Board

Davison works primarily in acrylics and usually begins her work with a bold red underpainting, which sets the tone for the painting.



Davison is a big supporter of the local community, connecting with people and promoting local establishments by celebrating them in her work.

Uncommon Grounds, 24"x30", Acrylic on Board

Thanks to Jan for letting us peek into your studio!


See more of Davison's work HERE.