Tay Gallery Kanata

In Praise of Forests : April Show at Tay Gallery Kanata

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

April 4 – 30,Tay Gallery Kanata presents  In Praise of Forests, a spectacular wilderness art  show with the focus on forests and  featuring  many of the top plein air painters of the  Ottawa area.  Featured artists include John Mlacak, Sylvio Gagnon, J. Allison Robichaud, Charles Spratt, John Alexander Day, Tricia Savoie, John Stevenson, Alan Bain, Audrey Bain, Lise Massicotte, Martha Markowsky and Luminita Serbanescu.  The United Nations General Assembly designated 2011 as the International Year of Forests,  and this art show celebrates forests for their importance in our lives  demonstrated with  interpretations by  talented area  artists who draw on  the bountiful  forests for inspiration  in their art.  Many of the artists in this  show are  “plein air painters” which means they paint mainly outdoors on location rather than in a studio. The plein air painter will create a painting composition from the scene in front of him rather than referring to a photograph or sketch.

John Mlacak, special guest artist in the show  will be exhibiting 6 large  paintings of  area forests. John Mlacak is a popular well known Kanata landscape artist. He is  an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists  2009(SCA) and Ontario Society of Artists  2006 (OSA).  In October  2010, Mlacak was awarded the “Lucille Broadbent Artistic  Achievement Award ” recognizing the recipient’s commitment to art and to community, by the board of Ottawa Art Expo. He is also a founding member of the Kanata Artists Studio Tour and the Kanata Civic Art Gallery.  Mlacak has created over 1500 paintings over the last 3o years . His paintings are expressive and bold in colour with a strong emphasis on design form and colour - representational and  impressionistic.   “  In December 2010,  Mlacak donated a 36 x 48 ” oil painting titled “South March Highlands” to support efforts of the Coalition to Save South March Highlands.  Mlacak says of his painting practice in a recent newspaper interview ” I am inspired to paint by nature’s beauty and ever- changing face.”

Sylvio Gagnon, Ottawa plein air  painter in  all seasons has painted his way across the country.   Three of Sylvio’s  wilderness forest paintings will be featured in this exhibition.    Sylvio Gagnon has been painting for over 3o years and for the last 15 years has devoted all his time to painting. During the winter he can often be found painting skaters on the Canal and the Sugar Bush in Vanier.   Gagnon paints close to 200 paintings in any given year. Having painted in Europe and throughout North America,  Gagnon’s oil paintings and pastels hang in galleries, homes and corporations the world over. He prefers to paint in the early morning and late evening when the light is at its best.   Gagnon admires the Group of Seven and American greats like Charles Hawthorne and Robert Henri who advocated painting from nature.

More about the featured artists coming soon!

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City Slick at Tay Gallery March 1 – 26, 2011

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Tay Gallery presents  City Slick with paintings by 3 artists with a passion for city: Martha Markowsky, Karen Goetzinger and Claudia Urbach.  Visit the show  Monday through Saturday 10 – 5 :30 .