Kawartha Lakes Arts Council
PO Box 234 K9V 4S1 Lindsay, ON, Canada

2020 has been... well 2020. Though challenging, the past year provided more time, emotions, and overall creative space for many artists and artisans. We would love to know what your favourite creation was this year? Post in the comments below or tag us in your photo!

Artist Spotlight ABOUT JEAN WATSON Jean Watson was born in England and came to Canada in 1968 in order to teach French and Art. Canada has been her home ever since, though she has lived in a number of other countries- Nigeria, Iran, and Cyprus.... She has been interested in art her whole life, but it was not until she went back to university as an adult and took an art course that it became a consuming passion and her whole life direction was changed. She went on to complete her BFA and MFA in Visual Arts. Since then she has practiced her art as well as teaching art wherever she has been. She now lives outside Fenelon Falls where her studio is a beautiful old barn Her work has appeared in many shows in several countries and in 1996 she was the first foreign artist to have an exhibition in Tehran since the revolution. This show was featured on CNN world report. Further examples of her work can be seen at: www.portfotolio.net/jeanwatsonartist www.flickeflu.com/photos/jeanwatsonartist/interesting www.flickr.com/photos/jeanwatsonartist/

Warmest thoughts and Best wishes for a wonderful Holiday and a very Happy New Year. - Kawartha Lakes Arts Council

December’s themed competition is Lovely, Lovely Winter Submissions due January 30th emailed to Laura Butler: [email protected] Individuals should cont...act Laura by email if they have any questions regarding Art Warrior. The theme Lovely, Lovely Winter can include anything associated with our chilly months: winter garments, snow, winter activities and sports, a winter landscape, etc. Compose your own wintery image with subject matter that has significance to you. Participants can submit work in any medium and of any size. Make sure you are also considering other elements and principles of design (ex. composition, balance, colour, etc.). Your subject matter should be well thought out, but it is your own creative decision on how you would like to depict your image. For example, if you are submitting a painting, you can choose to submit an abstract or representational work. Both your creative decisions and the significance of the subject matter you have chosen should be explained in your brief artwork statement that accompanies your submission.

In this year, a year like no other, we are very grateful for our creative community. To the artists, performers and makers who will bring us joy in 2021, thank you!

There are only a few days left to shop, and with the recent news of another lockdown, be sure to support the small, local businesses that will not be able to remain open during this time. Visit the member's page of our website, for amazing local artists and artisans, many of who are offering amazing and unique gift ideas for your friends and family. http://www.kawarthalakesartscouncil.com/members-gallery

We love the spirit of shopping locally this season! What have been your favourite local purchases for the holiday season? Bonus points if it's a local artist, maker or artisan. Everyone loves a great gift idea. #SHOPKAWARTHALAKES

I wholeheartedly approve this post!

I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart. Vincent van Gogh

Artist Spotlight ABOUT DIANNE LISTER Dianne Lister has been exploring photography since 1991. Her interest has evolved from capturing images that are personally attractive to experimenting with interacting with an audience through the evocation of feelings, memories and reflection. ... Rural and remote landscapes intrigue Dianne - Gaspe rock faces, stone Guanacaste beaches in Costa Rica, Celtic cemeteries on the Irish Connemara coast, mesas in high deserts of New Mexico, the wildness of the Outer Hebrides islands. These austere settings provide backdrops for themes of curiosity, independence, vulnerability, solitude. Dianne has exhibited with Michael Harris in five curated shows through SPARK Photo Festival in Peterborough, and held earlier shows in Creemore, Dufferin County and Toronto. Her most recent show was The Travelling Blue Dress project, a solo exhibition held at the Kawartha Art Gallery (2018). Viewers were encouraged to write their reactions to the images, and over fifty stories and poems were created in response to the show. Dianne can be contacted at: [email protected]

Artist Spotlight ABOUT DAVID MORRISON As a musician, I live mostly in the world of music but I love the creative process no matter what the medium. I love taking pictures as a hobby. I also enjoy creating computer-generated images.

Being an artist is the same as being a wizard. Only instead of a wand you use a pencil for your magic. the Picsees

Artist Spotlight ABOUT ALISON HEACOCK & SIX HUNTER STREET Alison Heacock is an artisan who enjoys telling stories using pencil drawings, paintings, rocks and tree branches. A rock becomes a fairy house..a branch becomes the story of an Egyptian Goddess or indigenous peoples. Her love of astrology, spirituality, mythology,and other cultures is expressed on a tree branch using acrylics, stones & crystals. She is mostly self taught but has had many talented teachers along the... way. One in particular, Anne Cavanaugh, really taught her to see rather than look. Retired and now living in the peaceful village of Kinmount, she is able to explore and express and share her creativity. SIX HUNTER STREET Visit the charming little studio located in the sun porch of a century home. You’ll find drawings, watercolours, handmade dolls, unique crafts, magical wands, fairy sticks, and more. Browse the selection of hand-painted tree branches called Fiddlesticks, inspired by the natural world, mythology, astrology, spirituality, and other cultures. Learn more about the artist’s reflections on culture and stories through her selection of locally made crafts.

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row, that mark our place; and in the sky, the larks, still bravely singing, fly..." #LestWeForget

Member Spotlight ABOUT BRUNO CANTIENI Bruno’s work ranges across landscape, garden and indoor sculptures, objects of art and function as well as contemporary abstract expressionist paintings. His works are inspired from observations of nature and responses to the movement of life and depth of emotion.... Forms and scenes are abstracted to reveal forces, duality and relationships while stimulating emotional and sensory interaction with its viewers. In his sculpture practice, Bruno works in a variety of mediums including free-form ferro cement, welded steel, cast bronze, fiberglass, and epoxy sculptures. His medium of choice for paintings are acrylics on canvas stretched over gallery-style frames. Bruno also enjoys doing special commissions because behind each project new and interesting friendships and deep insights of enlightenment arise. Bruno's main studio and gallery is housed in an 1862 settlers log barn he has extensively renovated and restored. Website https://www.brunocantieni.com

I paint flowers so they will not die. -Frida Kahlo