I am inspired by simple things and mostly influenced by where I am at any particular time.

I am back in love with Canadian landscape. I have minimized the palette and subject matter in some and used wildly brilliant colours in others.

My subject matter is influenced by where I am and what I am doing. The result is usually works in series.

I have painted boats after a one month residency in Newfoundland. I have painted a rural series influenced by many trips to my grandparents farm in Southwestern Ontario. I have turned these rural images with old family photos into a series of board games with a nostalgic take.

I have always been inspired and motivated by the works of artists like Ernst Haas, Jay Maisel, Pete Turner and of course Eugene Smith. With the advent of digital photography I think the creative possibilities are simply awesome. While I love to travel and have work from around the world I know my best work and most prolific images will always be from my home here in southern Ontario.

I am living in the village of Kettleby with my wife Cindy. As well as producing photographic art I make my living photographing Events, Models and on location Family Portraits.

Photography has always been a passion for me and part of my life. My images are often very detail oriented. Some of my photography themes are close up details of older musical instruments, classic car details, and black and white images of flowers. I love the control and precision of shooting in the studio where you can work with the lighting and achieve the desired effect.

Carl Durban was born in the rural town of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. He enjoyed a typical small town boyhood playing with the many children of the close knit Ukrainian community. Along with chores, his schoolwork, organized sport and general mischief, Carl enjoyed solitary time pursuing a personal passion. With sketchbook and pencil, he spent hours capturing the prairie landscape with a natural artistic talent.

Moving to Toronto as a young man, he enlisted in the Air Force. At the end of the war he worked for a number of companies, particularly in the advertising and creative sectors.

Carl's retirement was actually the launch of a new career as full time painter and sculptor. He wandered the crown lands north of the city in search of inspiration and materials to create his unique images of nature. His work captures, in great detail, the rugged beauty and wildlife of Canada, his country of which he was so proud.

Many of his pieces portray the history and groundbreaking labour of Canadian pioneers. His wonderful sense of humour lives on in a series of whimsical wildlife sculptures.

Colour, whimsy, and a touch of humour are all important components in all of my paintings.

I believe that art should evoke emotion in the viewer, whether a piece makes them happy or sad, it should also provoke them to think beyond the visual image that they are looking at. For example, a viewer, after having seen my painting 'Urban Crawl', commented that he enjoyed the painting very much, but at the same time it made him very angry since he knew so well what it was like to be stuck in a construction zone during rush hour.

Designing and then seeing these themes come to life on a canvas in a lively and entertaining way is giving me a great deal of delight. I eagerly anticipate finishing each new painting so that I can get started on the next one.

I am a contemporary Canadian realistic animal painter. Animals delight me. Straining Belgian draft horses pull a plow. Semipalmated Plovers gather on the shoreline in Maine. A Percheron stallion flehmens. A yearling Blonde D'Aquitaine calf stands proudly in one of our fields. A Hooded Merganser drifts on a lake in northern Ontario.

I grew up helping in my dad's animal hospital tending pets. Horses and dogs were my art subjects from the time I was young and I spent all the money I earned going to horse stables on weekends. Since 1976, my home has been a working cow-calf farm just south of Schomberg.

The gorgeous transparency and luminosity of watercolours thrill me and I delight in extraordinarily detailed realism. I use Winsor & Newton paints on 300 pound Hot press Fabriano paper exclusively.

My hope is that the viewer is touched by my paintings. I am constantly looking at the world through artist's eyes and thinking about the next painting.

I end with a quote from my favourite artist: "If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere." (Vincent Van Gogh)

George Holancin is both an accomplished businessman as well as an artist with a strong belief in sustainable development. George Holancin found a love for creating metal sculptures when he discovered what he needed most was all around him... old rusting farm machinery. His love of nature and the environment is reflected in his handcrafted edition metal art sculptures.

His body of work covers a diverse scope of subject matter as well as approach and technique. He visualizes in abandoned bits and pieces of farm machinery shapes, forms and figures. Old discarded plows, disks, tractor fenders and other objects come back to life in simple forms which reflect the artist's own understanding of the complex relationship between nature and art.

Within each art work one can recognize a "recycled" machinery part. George Holancins' exotic birds and wildlife sculptures depict the beauty of nature and a romantic sense of humour. Each piece reflects originality of vision and form. George Holancins' art works can be seen in galleries in Toronto, Muskoka and Collingwood; in galleries in Naples, (Florida) Charlevoix (Michigan) and Montreal.

Terry Hsu was born with a love of visual arts. His early teachers included Eneha Eytnh and Fanfu Li, who taught him a love of classical European and Chinese painting styles respectively. After moving to Canada, Terry discovered the beauty of the natural Canadian environment and landscapes. This discovery launched him on a new path, which he continues to follow today.

Four seasons gently represented to illustrate the abundant nature of sunlight in bloom.

Inspiration for this group of works was derived from digital photographs taken during numerous bike trips into the Don Valley and around Toronto to record the natural process of seasons.

Transfixed by the distinct quality of morning light and as an observer of its potential for transformation, I was rewarded with the discovery of a contempative place where stillness inspires.

As an invitation to experience the nature of change, these shining examples offer opportunities to consider our natural connectedness.

Cynthia Kubinec was born in 1984 and raised in Schomberg, Ontario.

A graduate in Advanced Fine Arts, she has spent several years actively involved in the Canadian arts community. Her work has been featured in group shows as well as in a solo exhibition north of Toronto. Now a member of Arts Society King, her passion, and her reputation, continues to blossom.

My family's love and respect for the natural world, the rolling countryside of home, lingering memories of cross-country trips and a lifetime of journeys to the cottage inspire me to begin on my next piece.

My most recent body of work is a series that I began back in 2008. The pieces have a somewhat graphic feel to the imagery with trees and grasses shown in an almost silhouetted manner. I continue to develop backgrounds in various textures and materials. I find that the flowing wood grains and suggestive shadows in my free-handed plaster work create a complimentary relationship between back and fore-ground that is both apart, yet intertwined. As the seasons progress, everything around me provokes a never-ending inspiration to explore and interpret the natural world.

I have been producing my own unique style of stained glass artwork since 1996. After watching his father make lamps and window catchers for friends and family, I tried making a simple lamp and liked it. Enjoying the result and challenge, and to compliment to his interest in furniture design and construction, I starting making more.

I added fused glass (also called “warm glass”) to my offering with the purchase of a large glass kiln in 2008. Though I will continue to utilize traditional copper foil and leaded glass methods in my artwork, fused glass will be my predominant focus going forward.

One of my first classes at Central Tech Fine Arts College in Toronto was the introduction to pen and pencil as a medium of artistic expression.

In particular, the use of stipple (creating images by using fine dots, rather than lines) opened new avenues to me.

I started with pencil, but when I found the simple disposable tech pen, that I realized... if I stippled long enough, images and patterns would start appearing to me. Combined with the use of positive and negative space, I feel I have discovered and created my own unique style. I've also found that using the actual mat as part of the image can also be very rewarding and I feel that it lends its self well to my particular style.

My work is an attempt to convey my ideas, moods or general emotional experiences.

I use shapes, colours, arrangement of objects and above all the human figure to achieve this.

I create a calm and tranquil atmosphere in my studio. Using classical music as an elixir, I achieve the desired state of mind conducive to creativity. I sketch my composition in pencil, creating undulating shapes and calm romantic human figures which convey warmth, peace, love dignity and tranquility of the human spirit. I do not use live models or otherwise to create my work. This work is not representational, but rather a form of self expression: it is all imagination. Colours, shapes, arrangement of objects help in getting it all together.

I paint mainly in oils and watercolour. I cherish the beautiful, the delicate and the organic, resulting in work intricate in execution and rich in detail. /p>

At the age of 12, Gregg bought himself an SLR camera using money from his paper route, and has been taking photos ever since.

>What at first was a hobby has increasingly become an intense pursuit as he strives to show the beauty and intricate details of our surrounding natural environment. Slices of life capture fleeting moments of light, pattern, and swirls of colour. Many of the photographs have been taken while traveling from coast to coast across our great country Canada, and while paddling deep into the wilderness

Travelling on Canada's backroads and paddling on its waterways, Michele finds inspiring sights to convey into paintings that speak of this land and our interaction with it. Working in acrylic, pen and ink, or watercolour, Michele's vistas of the Canadian landscape vibrate with energy. From the cold waters of the Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland, to a warm summer day of haying in Prince Edward County in Ontario, the language of the place becomes audible in paint.

Anne Reimer's paintings show a remarkable sense of colour, love, and understanding of nature.

Her inspirations come from the beauty of area scenes and travels, depicting barns, mills, and capturing still life from her garden.

Anne was born in Paraguay, South America, and immigrated to Canada in 1955 at the age of 16. Her training has helped her gain much understanding of the fundamentals of art. Feeling a deep love for fine art, she has been inspired to perfect her technique in oil, watercolour, and mixed media.

Living in the Niagara area since she immigrated, she has married and raised a family of three children, and continues to be involved with grandchildren as the family grows.

Over the past 25 years, she has exhibited in a variety of shows and galleries. Her works are displayed in many homes in Canada, the United States, and many other countries.

She spends many hours in her home studio, painting for shows and filling commissions, as well as teaching. Her love for art grows with each painting as she seeks to fulfill her ambition.

Primarily self-taught, Linda’s artistic education has come from hours of drawing time and direct involvement with the animals she so admires. She works predominantly in oil, and focuses on a variety of equine and canine subject matter. In her paintings she strives not only to capture accurate anatomy, but the spirit of the animal as well.

Taking part in several juried shows across North America, Linda’s work has been recognized with several awards in various competitions, including the Oil Pastel Society’s “Beginnings” Show, New Jersey Equine Artists’ Association’s Art of the Horse, Art Show at the Dog Show, Harness Tracks of America, the Draft Horse Classic and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair’s Fine Art Showcase.

In 2007, Linda was one of only eleven International artists selected to portray one of the past winners of the Dubai World Cup, and was invited to attend the resulting first-ever Dubai World Cup Art Auction and Exhiiton. Linda also regularly donates paintings for the fundraising efforts of causes close to her heart,among them LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and Equine Guelph. She lives in the picturesque Niagara Escarpment, and divides her time between painting, working with her Border Collies, and taking care of the charismatic assortment of Thoroughbreds who provide endless inspiration for her work.

After a career as a graphic designer / illustrator and then travelling to Florence, Italy to study academic painting and drawing, Judy decided to pursue her career as a visual artist full time. Her work is shown in galleries and exhibitions. Judy has received OAC Grants and won various awards for her work. Her pieces hang in private collections throughout Canada, USA, Scotland and Ireland.

"I have always admired the quality and aesthetics of the old masters and at the same time was fascinated with the reality and emotions that cartoons evoked. They could convey a message with such simplicity and ease. After much contemplation, I decided to incorporate the two ideas. With this combination I am excited to paint in the traditional style that I admire and at the same time include toys that evoke a spirit of nostalgia and elevate the soul".

I was born in Germany and now reside north of Toronto. I have been painting for over forty years and am primarily self-taught. I have exhibited in both group and solo shows, won awards for my work, and is a member of artist leagues both in Florida and Ontario.

I have has a penchant for warm colours and can be detail oriented or abstract in my selection of subjects often presenting a familiar subject with unusual backgrounds. My use of red hues are most obvious in my present work and I have recently moved to more abstract subject matter. My pieces are lively and expressive, delivered in very intense colors, on simplified rich backgrounds. The work is very modern and contemporary and illustrates my versatility, particularly in my works of nature.

I have shown frequently in galleries, shows and exhibitions in North America and my art has been purchased to private and corporate collections in Canada, the U.S.A and Europe.

While trained as a professional photographer, painting is where I find my expression. I've taken workshops from a number of artists, and feel that I'm barely beginning to explore my creativity. I find I'm influenced by the Impressionists, the Group of Seven and modern Canadian painters like Don Cavin and Mike Svob.

Over the past couple of years I've been accepted in a number of juried shows and exhibited in more than two-dozen shows.

I try to capture the character of the scene through simplification, exaggeration and the play of light.

While running my marketing business with my partner keeps me very busy, I find the need to paint too powerful to ignore.

I've lived in Markham Village since 1989, work out of a heritage home and wouldn't change a thing if I won the lottery.

Helen Walter has called Czechoslovakia, Israel, England and Canada home.

Helen has lived in Markham Village since 1989, and works out of a heritage home as the principal designer for Capstone Communications, the marketing company she and her partner have run since 1982.

Helen briefly studied fine arts at Brighton College, England, York University and graduated from the four-year Film and Photography program at Ryerson University.

Helen has come into her own as a landscape painter and art & creativity teacher.

"I love stories and I always look for the narrative in a scene. There usually is one, even when it's not immediately apparent, and often it's found in the way the light plays in the image. I hope that if you look closely at my work, you'll see your own story."

Rich colours, dynamic shapes and ambiguous forms seduce me. My work begins in the camera, often changing dramatically, within the digital editing process. By choosing to print to canvas or fine art papers to suit the subject, the illusion of a painting occurs.

My hope always is for the viewer to see my work more as paintings than as photographs.

I look for the beauty in everything that surrounds me. I think that there is charm and beauty in every unusual object, and it is a provocation for me to capture it and re-create it in my paintings.

I like to combine the academic painting, solid form and the free motion of the hand, to contrast intensive and soft pastel tones. I adore elements of the realistic painting, but refracted through my sense of influence on shapes and colors. I aspire for my paintings to have spirit and imagination, which the digital photograph cannot display.

Inspired by her love of nature, empowered by her passion to paint, Brenda Weeks captures the very essence of her subjects. Having summered for over 39 years, in the beautiful Haliburton, Ontario area, she draws from an abundance of subject matter. Brenda has mastered one of the most important skills for an artist to master… that of drawing. Her drawings are translated through her brushstrokes communicating even the most delicate feelings and textures.

As a self-taught Canadian artist, Brenda explores the diversity of her creative talents with acrylics and is also an avid photographer.

Her artwork can be found in many private collections across North America, also at the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Centre.

Barry Westhead developed a keen interest in black and white photography and darkroom techniques some 40 years ago, but a career in Industrial Engineering led to a hiatus from photography until the dawning of the age of digital photography.

While continuing to practice photography in commercial and industrial applications, he enjoys finding and celebrating art in simple subjects and places such as the waters and valleys of the Humber River Region. He also specializes in the art and techniques of producing accurate archival giclée reproductions for other artists. Being able to provide this service brings the satisfaction of combining the best technological equipment with knowledge, skill and appreciation of the work of other artists.

Running 100km of trails through forests and fields of the Humber Watershed each week with two border collies, provides ample opportunity for scouting future photographic images, and a gratitude for the inspiration provided by nature.

Tom and his wife Mara moved into the Schomberg area almost 30 years ago. They were drawn to the area because of the quaint historic village and the rolling green pastures beyond.

They live in one of the charming heritage houses that make Schomberg so picturesque. Peek over the picket fence and you can glimpse the flowers that are the inspiration for many of Tom's floral studies.

“My passion for photography reflects my philosophy of life: Life often passes us by, as if through the window of a moving vehicle. I have learned to stop, and savour these precious moments. This enables me to capture the essence of a fragment in time - the play of light and shadow on a curled petal or dew drop on an upturned leaf - which I translate into photographic images.”