Talking to Artists – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Synopsis: James talked about the importance of planning and long term planning in a business practice. He shared his inspiration behind his maps - an homage to the iconic Canadian landscape as well as the culture and people who make up this country. He shared the strategy behind creating hand embellished prints and the ability to make art more accessible to more people. We laughed as we talked about his rapid rise to TikTok stardom. We ran out of time so....will do part 2 in a few months! About the Artist: Drawing inspiration from aerial views of cities and maps, James Fowler's acrylic, oil and gouache works on canvas, paper, and wood are playfully geometric and resonate with the digital world, and culture of online information distribution. His non-traditional landscape paintings borrow from cartography and geometric abstraction, and celebrate both urban centres and rural living. He attended York University in Toronto for Film Studies and maintains a full time studio practice as a painter in Toronto. His work has exhibited in Canada and United States, and his work can be found in private and corporate collections in Canada, US and Europe.
To see more of James's work, please visit:

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Synopsis: Michael shared his fascinating journey from professional hockey player to artist...the challenge of leaving one love to pursue another and the loss of community. He talked about masculinity and about channeling this as a way to communicate feelings and emotions. He creates dynamic, bold and energetic paintings that capture these emotions perfectly. Artist Statement/About the Artist: Born just outside of Toronto, Ontario, like many young Canadians, Michael Wills grew up with a hockey stick in his hands. For over 20 years, Michael put his passion and energy into playing pro hockey but little did he know, an entirely different skill would become a driving force in his life. Soon, the hockey stick would be replaced with an artist’s brush. Every piece that Michael creates is the product of an intense release of emotional energy. His passion and creativity are expressed in a kaleidoscope of colours as he glides across each canvas with a pallet knife, giving his work a rough, energetic feel, that many have referred to as “masculine” in style. Michael’s inspiration comes from the energy and movement of the city, which he feels is best captured in the city lights.

To see more of Michael's work, please visit:

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· Website 

Synopsis: Floyd shared how he arrived at metalwork as his paintbrush. He talked about his process and inspirations, specifically the aggressive nature of seeds. He chatted about the challenges of creating installations both in Canada and overseas in Vietnam and how proud he is that his work welcomes visitors to Canada at the US border. Stay tuned to see what he is planning next.

Artist Statement: Rotten stumps, broken branches, invasive species, ravaged trees as well as polar opposites and dysfunctional objects; these are the things that excite Floyd Elzinga. He has made a career out of highlighting and glorifying these through three dimensional sculpture, relief work and environmental installations for over 25 years. Current themes in his work focus on broken landscapes, portraits of trees and the aggressive nature of seeds. Floyd received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in Halifax, NS. He was initially drawn to steel, due to its malleable, plastic and forgiving nature, and he continues to utilize its range of colours as well as the way light plays off the surface. He has been exploring traditional metal working techniques to create textures and depth the same way a painter would use a paintbrush. For show notes, please visit my website To more of Floyd's work, please visit

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Synopsis: 
We talked how Joan got inspired to start her own gallery; a gallery that focused on inclusion vs exclusion and strives to remove barriers to purchasing original fine art. She shared her incredible journey of doing international art fairs and online auctions to expose Canadian artist to a broader world.

About the Gallery:
Affordable original modern and contemporary art. Spence Gallery has a carefully curated collection of original, powerful and inspiring work from over 30 emerging, mid-career, and established artists from Canada. Book an appointment at Spence Gallery now and discover abstract, figurative, surreal, and mixed media artwork ranging in price from $500 - $5,000.

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Synopsis: 
We talked about her scary experiences while pleinair painting and her love of unusual materials....snowballs settling on her watercolours to make interesting marks; she embraces play and unpredictability in her art. We shared a loved of vibrant colour and our Canadian influences of the Group of Seven. Hilary shared her recent initiative highlighting the issue of water conservation in her Tiny Township.

About the Artist:
Hilary paints landscapes of the Canadian wilderness, from Ontario to Labrador. Her recent works are large-scale watercolours sealed with cold wax, mounted on birch panel, as well as acrylic paintings on panel.

Primarily self-taught as a painter, Hilary has been painting for over 35 years. Since moving to Georgian Bay she has been professional for the past 8 years. Her focus is capturing the unique landforms around Ontario. Goemorphological landforms intrigue her most. 

Hilary paints most in watercolours. She thrives on the lack of control that her wet-on-wet techniques allow, since other mediums afford a forced decision making with each brush stroke. Wet on wet forces the excitement of letting go to allow nature to take over

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Synopsis:
Kate speaks with Joanne Poluch of Remarque Art Consulting. Joanne shared many valuable tips to help artists succeed in their art practice. She works to help them find their voice and to suppress their inner critic. Her artist mentoring program supports the growth of their work as well as their business.
About Remarque:
All artists want their work to be appreciated and valued. They want their work to gain exposure and ultimately, sell their work in the best possible fashion. Art mentorship and coaching is an opportunity to explore hearing your own inner voice, to gain control over your marketing skills and re- light your artistic fire that always burns inside of you.  These Art Mentorship sessions will afford us the opportunity to explore your work, examine the success of your social media exposure, benefit from succinct, clearly defined artistic statements and gain an understanding of the competitive market.

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Kate Taylor interviewed Cat Tesla about her transition from being a full time faculty member focusing on genetics to becoming a full-time artist. Cat was generous with her tips and insights of what is needed to make a successful transition. Kate also asked Cat about her collaboration with artist Lisa Ridgers during the pandemic , @lisaridgers_artist. She asked Cat about the entire process, challenges and final outcome of their collaboration.

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Synopsis: 
We talked about how her location as she moved homes around the world had an influence on her art. How travel enriches the soul and inspires different colour palettes. Chatted about her love of unusual materials including painting on feathers and using cellulose to sculpt.  

About the Artist:
Where wildlife art meets west coast lifestyle.  Karin prefers to work with unusual canvases and materials. Her choice of 'canvas' has ranged from huge boulders to wild turkey feathers to canvas.  Currently Karin hand-sculpts wildlife (including her yoga bears) out of wood cellulose and creates wildlife and coastal paintings in acrylics and mixed media.

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Synopsis:
We talked about dogs, the ever-changing inspiration of nature and gardens and how that is reflected in our art. Claire shared her wonderful journey partnering with Anthopologie and creating her own Signature Collection of women's apparel through Wearables. She is a strong advocate for artists finding a way to create revenue from their art beyond art sales in a way that is authentic and true to themselves.

About the Artist: 
Claire Desjardins (b., Montreal) is an award-winning Canadian artist living and working in Gore, Quebec. Working primarily in painting, her formally driven work focuses on gesture and colour, emphasizing energetic, animated brush strokes and bold palettes.

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Synopsis:
We talked about the long history of Gwartzman's and how they moved from the drapery to art supply business. Jackie shared how they have pivoted by doing virtual meetings with artists and their weekly Instagram lived demos. Stay tuned to see what new and exciting products they are introducing over the next few months!  

About:
In the 1960’s Spadina and College was the place for artist to live and work, crammed with studios at every block. At the time Gwartzman’s was a Discount Drapery and Fabric store, owned and run by Mr. G. Often artists would come into the store looking for canvas, so the Gwartzman’s brought in canvas of all different types and widths to accommodate the artists.

Once we became known for our discount canvas, the artists then came looking for paint, brushes, and all types of art supplies. The drapery and fabrics were eventually moved to make room for a larger selection of art materials, and we started sourcing products from around the world. Finally, we took on the name, Gwartzman’s Discount Art Supplies.  We've been in the same building at 448 Spadina Avenue since October 2nd, 1945. Almost 50 years later, 2nd and 3rd generation Gwartzman’s are still carrying on the business.

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