Don Frache (1919-1994)
Watercolour, 15 x 20.5 inches
“Frache’s oeuvre covered a wide range of subject matter, although his primary love was landscape and western history, he also painted a sizeable number of portraits. He was part of an early group of artists who took serious the development of a truly western based/Alberta art practice. Frache’s talent as a painter allowed him to depict contemporary Alberta and Albertans as well as recreating early scenes of settlement and development for those collectors hungry for images of Western Canada. His watercolors and oils offer images of the diversity of ranchland, farmland, mountains, forest, and prairie that make up the Western Canadian landscape. His palette displays the rich earthy colors and wide range of tonal values of those environments. ” from http://www.willockandsaxgallery.com/artists/frache.php#../images/Fdon2a.jpg
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Illingworth Holey Kerr (Buck)
Serigraph,15.75 x 19.69 in
” Illingworth Holey Kerr, “Buck,” painter, illustrator, writer (b at Lumsden, Sask 20 Aug 1905; d at Calgary 6 Jan 1989). Kerr attended Central Technical School, Toronto, and Ontario College of Art. He also studied at Westminster School of Art, London, in 1936 and, returning to Canada, taught at Vancouver School of Art (1945-47). In 1947 he became director of the art department of the Provincial Institute of Technology in Calgary. His early landscape style reflects the influence of Lawren HARRIS in his long, curving brush strokes and emphasis on design. He applied paint heavily, giving relief to an otherwise flat, spatial quality in his work. In later works Kerr used a broken brushstroke style that creates visual tension to counteract this 2-dimensionality. Named to the Order of Canada in 1983, he was given a retrospective exhibition (“Harvest of the Spirit”) at 9 major public galleries in 1985. ” from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/illingworth-holey-kerr/
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Tomoe, Yokoi (1943- )
Japanese
Mezzotint, 7.25 x 8.5 inches
“Tomoe Yokoi was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1943. She began art studies at Tokyo’s Bunka-Gakuen University, where the curriculum was traditional techniques and the subject matter stressed realistic, everyday images such as fruits, musical instruments and flowers. Following her graduation in 1964, Yokoi moved to Paris and studied intaglio printmaking with Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17. In Paris, Yokoi perfected her technique of mezzotint, expanding its parameters to include more complex images and subtle color nuances.
In 1971, Yokoi moved to New York City where she worked and introduced her art to new audiences. She developed a unique style that combines and is a synthesis of her Japanese, Parisian and New York experiences.
Yokoi has exhibited internationally in numerous air fairs and biennials. Her work is represented in the collections of the Musée d’Art Moderne and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Brooklyn Museum and the Free Library of Philadelphia. Yokoi has exhibited throughout Europe and the United States including: Norwegian International Print Biennial, Oslo; Paris International Print Biennial; SAGA National Print Exhibition, New York; IKI International Art Fair, Dusseldorf; British International Print Biennial, Bradford; and Ljubljana International Print Biennial, Yugoslavia.
The Art:
Mezzotint technique, the most difficult of all printmaking processes, begins with a form of copper engraving dating from the 17th century. A painstaking etching medium, requiring physical strength for work directly on a metal plate, it is capable of producing original prints with rich subtle tones, in a myriad of variations. The technique, sometimes called reverse engraving, begins with a dark background from which an image is lightened.
Yokoi’s art is literally a creation of light being brought out of darkness. Her still life works have a timeless quality; they combine the ancient mezzotint printmaking technique with European beau-art subjects, oriental asymmetry, and elegant design. Yoki’s mezzotint technique is unusual. The art is soft visually and physically rich in texture. A master at her art, Yokoi’s pictures have chiaroscuro without any trace of sharp lines, generally expected in etching techniques. The pieces below are classic examples of Yokoi’s best work.” from https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/2591/Yokoi/Tomoe
Tomoe, Yokoi (1943- )
Japanese
Mezzotint, 7.25 x 8.5 inches
“Tomoe Yokoi was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1943. She began art studies at Tokyo’s Bunka-Gakuen University, where the curriculum was traditional techniques and the subject matter stressed realistic, everyday images such as fruits, musical instruments and flowers. Following her graduation in 1964, Yokoi moved to Paris and studied intaglio printmaking with Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17. In Paris, Yokoi perfected her technique of mezzotint, expanding its parameters to include more complex images and subtle color nuances.
In 1971, Yokoi moved to New York City where she worked and introduced her art to new audiences. She developed a unique style that combines and is a synthesis of her Japanese, Parisian and New York experiences.
Yokoi has exhibited internationally in numerous air fairs and biennials. Her work is represented in the collections of the Musée d’Art Moderne and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Brooklyn Museum and the Free Library of Philadelphia. Yokoi has exhibited throughout Europe and the United States including: Norwegian International Print Biennial, Oslo; Paris International Print Biennial; SAGA National Print Exhibition, New York; IKI International Art Fair, Dusseldorf; British International Print Biennial, Bradford; and Ljubljana International Print Biennial, Yugoslavia.
The Art:
Mezzotint technique, the most difficult of all printmaking processes, begins with a form of copper engraving dating from the 17th century. A painstaking etching medium, requiring physical strength for work directly on a metal plate, it is capable of producing original prints with rich subtle tones, in a myriad of variations. The technique, sometimes called reverse engraving, begins with a dark background from which an image is lightened.
Yokoi’s art is literally a creation of light being brought out of darkness. Her still life works have a timeless quality; they combine the ancient mezzotint printmaking technique with European beau-art subjects, oriental asymmetry, and elegant design. Yoki’s mezzotint technique is unusual. The art is soft visually and physically rich in texture. A master at her art, Yokoi’s pictures have chiaroscuro without any trace of sharp lines, generally expected in etching techniques. The pieces below are classic examples of Yokoi’s best work.” from https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/2591/Yokoi/Tomoe
“Sylvia was born on a gorgeous autumn day in 1968. She grew up in the lush woods of rural Ontario, just outside the boundaries of Algonquin Park. As the daughter of two artists, Sylvia drew and painted at an early age. She explored springtime creeks, skated on the lake, built forts, and played endless Monopoly with her big sister.
Her younger years and life experience found her making a living at various jobs such as retail, baking, computer sales, and waitressing. Then, an opportunity to go treeplanting into the wilds of the north arose. There, a powerful love for northern Ontario emerged and took her there for good (maybe.) During all these odd jobs, a career in art finally began to take hold. Now, she lives in a tiny northern town where the snow swirls in beneath the door, and the lakes, trees, and rocks take her breath away.
Work days find her making the long commute from the bedroom to the kitchen table where the blank canvasses (and her clothes) are soon covered in bright dabs and waves, and spirals of bright colours. All of her scenes are inspired by real-life places, with a bit of imagination.” from http://www.vandopgallery.com/artists/dsp_artist_bio.php?ArtistID=42
http://sylviagrantins.blogspot.ca/
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S. Ford (Cathrine Greene)
Etching, Intaglio, Woodcut, 2.5 x 3.75 inches
“Cathrine Greene (formerly Susan Ford) graduated with a BFA in printmaking from the University of Kansas in 1967. In 1977, having immigrated to Canada, she received an MA from the University of Calgary in Fine Arts. She has taught art at every level from Grade 1 through University degree programs. Her work is in many collections-national and international.” From https://cathrinegreene.wordpress.com/
“Artist KEN KIRKBY was born during an air raid in London, England in 1940. The timing may have foreshadowed the warrior-painter he was to become.
He grew up in Portugal where he had his first successful exhibit at age 16. In the late 1950s, he realized his dream to move to Canada. He found work in northwestern British Columbia and gradually migrated further north. He spent five years walking, paddling and sledding across the Canadian Arctic with various groups of Inuit.
Henry DeJager
Edmonton, AB, Canada
Watercolour on Paper, 5 x 7 inches
“Hendrik de Jager was born in Rotterdam, Holland in 1940. He started drawing and painting when he was young. Hendrik has a natural talent for art and is primarily self-taught. He was educated in Rotterdam and became interested in architecture. Eventually he chose the profession of sign designer and worked at various sign shops throughout Holland.
In 1967 he married Carla Verloop in Holland and in that same year the two immigrated to Canada. They settled in Edmonton, Alberta, where Hendrik began his own commercial sign business. It was in this business that Hendrik developed his own intricate and creative method of sign creation. He created three-dimensional cedar signs, which were heavily decorated with his own fine artwork. These cedar creations were not merely signs, but beautiful works of art. These masterpiece signs are displayed all over Canada, with many in Alberta and British Columbia. After thirty years of intense involvement in the sign business Hendrik now devotes all his energy to his love of watercolours.
Even though Hendrik worked as a sign designer it is drawing and painting, especially creating watercolours, that has remained the primary focus in his life. He draws inspiration for his art from various places and experiences. The people and places of Canada have been an ongoing wealth of artistic inspiration for Hendrik. He particularly enjoys canoe trips down the Coppermine and Nahanni rivers, which allow him to spend time painting in the great wildernesses of Canada. As well, his adventures throughout Europe have helped to inspire some of his most beautiful paintings.
Hendrik has developed his own unique style of watercolour painting in which vibrant colours and spontaneity create remarkably beautiful individual works of art. He enjoys painting flowers, ships, landscapes and cityscapes as well as portraits of individuals from interesting cultures around the world.
Hendrik’s paintings have been shown in numerous galleries throughout Alberta and Holland. He has attended art workshops all over Canada and Holland. He continues to spend most of his time painting, but he also continues to create their works of art in the medium of wood including hope chests and other decorative knives.” from
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Richard Dixon (1954 – )
Watercolour, 4.5 x 2.5 inches
“Richard Dixon was born in 1954. He was raised in Pincher Creek, Alberta, where he developed his interests in mountain climbing and hiking. He began drawing and painting at a n early age and has matured his abilities over the last 20 years through private study of art throughout North America. Presently he shows his works in Canada, the United States and Japan.”
