*For information on the 2012 Folk Art Exhibit, click HERE*
Folk Art at Kingsbrae Garden
July 22, 2011 - October 8, 2011
Opening Reception: Friday July 22nd from 5pm to 7pm
Kingsbrae Garden Art Gallery
In addition to works from many artists from around the Maritimes, this wonderful exhibit will also include a selection of early Canadiana. Below are the artists who will be represented, along with examples of their work.
Brian Allen Adams
St. Andrews, New Brunswick
Brian Allen Adams is a Canadian Folk Lore painter. From his studio in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Brian commits to canvas his unique images of the spirit of Canada. Brian is also an avid collector of folk art and has spent the last 30 years collecting and studying the Canadian evolution of folk art. Brian’s paintings transport the viewer to places we all know exist but few of have seen. After graduating from Mohawk College in Ontario, Brian, worked for years for Tourism NB and later as a commercial artist. His unique form of Folk Lore Painting began about ten years ago and Brian has not stopped painting since.
Jantje Blokhuis Mulder
St. Andrews, NB
Jantje has been making and creating art for nearly 50 years. Her work reflects her seaside surroundings and her colourful gameboards, collages, paintings, woodburnings and sculptures can be found in collections around the world. In addition to making art, Jantje writes about folk art, giving creative souls a voice. Jantje loves working with young people and sees the enormous impact art makes on the lives of children. She is passionate about arts education and is co-founder of KinderArt.com and the creator of the Sunbury Shores CLASS Program.
Shelagh Duffett
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Shelagh Duffet lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She loves all that life has to offer and this shows in all of her vibrant paintings. This Nova Scotia mother has earned a place in the lives and hearts of folk art lovers worldwide. Shelagh’s depictions of animals and scenic surroundings make our world a nicer place to live in. Working from her dining room table, Shelagh is a prolific painter. Her colourful images bring a smile to those who are lucky enough to own them.
Maud Lewis (1903-1970)*
Yarmouth, NS
*Work will be on display only during the opening reception.
Maud Lewis was born in Yarmouth County, and endured many hardships in her early life. As a teenager, she started to experience deformities of her face and hands as a result of a childhood disease. Maud married Everett Lewis, and together they lived in a small one-room house with sleeping loft, without benefit of electricity or plumbing. Although she suffered from physical handicaps, she made hand drawn Christmas cards and later, small brightly coloured paintings, which she sold to help overcome their poverty. She also painted birds, flowers and butterflies on various parts of the tiny house in which they lived, and many articles within the house. In later years, her husband Everett also began to paint. Examples of Maud's art can be found in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, which has reconstructed her house and installed it in the gallery as part of a permanent Maud Lewis exhibit. Her work can also be found in the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Beatrice McFadden
Pointe-du-Chene, New Brunswick
Beatrice McFadden was born in 1932 - one of 13 children. The family lived in Harrisville N.B. where farming and logging were a way of life. Beatrice loved drawing pictures as a child but did not have a great deal of opportunity for materials. As a young woman, shee married a fisherman and started her family. Her son, Paul McFadden, is a well known New Brunswick folk artist. Paul bought his mother some paints and brushes and prepared some masonite and asked Beatrice to paint her memories. Beatrice was hesitant but excited and said she would try. The images produced are truly wonderful and warm depictions of a time gone by.
Maureen McIlwain
St. Andrews, New Brunswick
Maureen McIlwain is one of a group of keen rughookers, enjoying the infinite play of colours and textures, working with wool fabric and yarn to create expressions of life in all its many moods. Maureen's work is mainly of the 'primitive' style, original designs with a healthy dash of whimsy.
Holly McKay
Grand Bay-Westfield, New Brunswick
Born in Moncton New Brunswick, Holly McKay grew up in Truro, Nova Scotia, where the family moved when she was a child. After studying commercial art at Holland College in Prince Edward Island, Holly moved back to New Brunswick and found a home in Grand Bay – Westfield. She then pursued a graphic design career in Saint John. In New Brunswick, Holly soon began to rekindle her roots and her love of painting. She developed a very fun and whimsical way of describing her surroundings with her art. Each creation causes a smile or laugh and people of all ages can relate to the subject matter. Inspiration for her work comes from animals and people who share their stories about their own experiences.
Maureen Newman
Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia
Maureen Newman grew up in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. She draws inspiration for her paintings from her love of rural Nova Scotia. With a poetic sense of purpose and spiritual vision, she transforms images from her past and present into warm and inviting scenes. Maureen's paintings are full of life, as they depict the joyful countryside, providing storytelling with a brush. Driven by a desire for a "simpler life", Maureen and husband Robert retired to Nova Scotia leaving behind successful careers in the IT industry. With no formal training, she began painting in 2006. Maureen is a grandniece (by marriage) of Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis.
Joseph Norris (1924-1996)*
Lower Prospect, NS
*Work will be on display only during the opening reception. The painting shown below is not the one which will be on display.
Joe Norris is described as "the Dean of Nova Scotia folk painters" and "the Matisse of folk art". Joe spent most of his life in the small hamlet of Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia. After working in the fishing and construction trades, Joe Norris started painting when a severe heart attack forced him into early retirement in 1972. By 1975, when he was "discovered" by antique dealer Chris Huntington - he was selling paintings to local people and to the occasional tourist. His work includes painted chairs, tables and chests as well as paintings, and is found in the collections of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and in many corporate and private art collections throughout North America. A hardcover book, Joe Norris - Painted Visions of Nova Scotia, was published in 2000, in conjunction with a retrospective of his work, which toured Canada between November 2000 and March 2003.
Joe Sleep (1914-1978)*
Sant John, NB
*Work will be on display only during the opening reception. The painting shown below is not the one which will be on display.
*Work will be on display only during the opening reception. The painting shown below is not the one which will be on display.
Joseph Sleep grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick. He worked in the fishing industry and as a jack-of-all trades, eventually going to work with the Bill Lynch Shows, a carnival which travelled through eastern Canada. He was hospitalized in 1973 and began drawing at that time. He later opened a small studio on Argyle Street in Halifax. Work by Joe Sleep is included in the collections of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University Art Gallery, National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
For those wishing to visit the Café, Gift Shop & Art Gallery only, no admission fee to the Garden is required.
Note: Paintings from Maud Lewis, Joe Norris and Joe Sleep will only be on display during the opening reception.
