Sarah Cowling works in collage and in acrylic, and in some pieces, she combines the two.
Cowling describes the act of collage as “painting with paper”. It involves taking unrelated materials, usually paper-based, and combining them to create a new whole. Anything flat that can be glued down is fair game.
She uses premade Japanese and Thai papers, paper culled from old books and magazines, found paper, travel photos, and paper she herself has created.
She says inspiration often comes from a single piece of paper that has somehow caught her eye. Travel experiences often fuel her art as well.
Her self-created contributions are archival tissue papers or drawing papers that Cowling has painted using acrylics, brushes, and Gelli plates.
(Pictured: Sarah Cowling, “Behind St. Aidan’s”, collage with hand-painted papers, 12 by 12 inches.)
Much time is spent searching for or creating papers, often long before they are used. She describes the act of pulling together the pieces as meditative.
Cowling has an innate desire to create. She says, “It is something I need to do; a compulsion perhaps. I see a landscape or have a piece of paper that sparks an idea.”
She works both in-studio and on-location.
Cowling’s work ranges in size from 12-by-12 inches to 20-by-20 and up. While her collages offer bold chunks of colour that overlap and stack to create tactile line and form, her acrylic paintings combine bold brush strokes with intimate mark-making.
(Pictured: Sarah Cowling, “How Big is That Bull?”, collage with hand-painted papers, 8 by 10 inches.)
Cowling’s “Behind St. Aidan’s” shows the hard edges that appear on many of her collages. Yet another collage, “How Big is That Bull?” speaks to her love of storytelling. The latter is part of her ongoing exploration of family history in which she processes tales told by her mother and her aunt about family members.
In contrast, the acrylic on cradled board piece “Storm Coming” demonstrates her ability to suggest landforms and foliage as well as motion through bold brush work.
(Pictured: Sarah Cowling, “Storm Coming”, acrylic on cradled board, 20 by 20 inches.)
She credits this writer and artist, Jill Price, as being early providers of a gallery space for her (Axis Studios, Covent Garden Market). She thanks Al Stewart (Westland Gallery) for making space for local artists with the Miniature and Square Foot Shows. She is indebted to three local London art groups – the Brush and Palette Group, the Gallery Painting Group, and the Lambeth Art Association – for providing learning and exhibition opportunities as well as camaraderie and support. All of the aforementioned provided opportunities that are necessary for artists to succeed.
(Pictured: Sarah Cowling, “Utopia”, collage with hand-painted papers, 16 by 16 inches.)
Of late, Cowling has been involved in an ongoing project with the Kolaj Institute, creating collages based on folklore. To date, she has attended two folklore-focussed residencies with the Institute; one was in Scotland, and the other was in Knoxville, concentrating on this topic. She is grateful to Ric Kasini and others at the Kolaj Institute for their support.
(Pictured: Sarah Cowling, “Niagara Gorge”, collage with hand-painted papers, 40 by 60 inches.)
She currently has work in the Frankingstyle Gallery in St. Thomas and is looking forward to the 2026 London Artists’ Studio Tour, Friday, April 24 to Sunday, April 26. Cowling is #16 on the map at 180 Timber Drive. For more information, visit: https://londonstudiotour.ca/
2026 London Artists’ Studio Tour, Friday, April 24 to Sunday, April 26.
London has a richness of community art groups, including the Brush and Palette Club, the Gallery Painting Group, the Lambeth Art Association, and the London Community Artists.
While each occupies a unique niche, all provide camaraderie, education, and exposure.
The Brush and Palette Club (B & P), formed in 1972, grew out of painting sessions organized by artist and teacher Dorthy Heaven. By 1989, the small group had grown to 50; current membership is capped at 110 for practical reasons, and it has a healthy wait list.
B & P Publicity Convenor Marilyn Kidd says many artists join the club because art making can be an isolating activity. Membership allows them to be “stimulated, motivated and inspired.” She says members enjoy participating in art-related activities with the group and “growing together as they learn about new painting techniques.”
The club meets monthly, except for July and August, at Riverside United Church. Members enjoy presentations by invited speakers, trips, and seven hands-on workshops in a variety of media per year.
(Pictured: Brush and Palette artist Linda Deckert’s “High on a Windy Hill”, acrylic, 24 by 28 inches.)
The club strives to provide a supportive environment for members, to provide opportunities to broaden artistic skills, and to promote visual art in the community at large.
What differentiates the B & P Club from other art groups is the nature and quantity of its activities. Each meeting has an invited guest who speaks on a wide variety of topics relating to art. The meetings are also social occasions with time for friendly conversation and interaction during a coffee break. As well, there are two club luncheons each year.
An annual show and sale gives members a specific event to work toward. Working together at the show creates a deep bond as members all pull together to make the event a big success.
The Brush and Palette Club’s next Art Show and Sale is April 9 to 11 at Riverside United Church.
(Pictured: Brush & Palette artist Alice Price-Vermeulen’s “Palimpsest”, mixed media, 12 by 12 inches.)
Kidd joined the group in 2012. She says, “Being a member has encouraged me to persevere and to grow as an artist, and I have benefitted from the friendship and support of other members.” She is also a long-time member of the Gallery Painting Group, where she enjoys “plein air” work. She says, “Each group offers various advantages, and I would not give up either of them!”
The Gallery Painting Group (GPG) was formed in 1953 at the recommendation of the president of the Western Art League, which was founded in 1876 to promote art in London, Ontario
It includes 70 local artists who enjoy the plein air painting experience, which is the act of painting outdoors. From May to October, members of the group paint on location on Tuesday and Saturday mornings at various locations in and around the London area.
(Pictured: Gallery Painting Group artist Wendy Reid’s “Off the Trail”, oil pastel on black paper, 9 by 12 inches. From a plein air day at Springbank Park.)
As members interact frequently, official meetings are limited to two per year.
Marily Kidd says, while the group has fewer meetings, members interact frequently from May to October while painting together outdoors in and around London in “fascinating and diverse locations.” Because it’s a smaller group, the sense of community is strong.
(Pictured: On location sketches by GPG artist Len Hughes showing members at work.)
Each fall, the GPG holds a show and sale of the paintings produced by its members throughout the summer. Their next show will take place at First Street. Andrews United Church, October 22nd to 25th, 2026.
The Lambeth Art Association (LAA) provides support for established and emerging artists in the practice and appreciation of art. It fosters relationships, delivers educational opportunities, and offers exhibition opportunities.
Begun in 1972, with just five members, the Lambeth Art Association now boasts a membership of over 130 artists. LAA members work in oil, acrylic, watercolour, pastel, pencil, fibre, and mixed media. Members meet monthly, from September to May at Riverside United Church. All meetings feature a guest speaker or a hands-on activity. Each year, members enjoy six art-based workshops and community events. Members exhibit their artwork at the association’s popular Art Show and Sale held in the spring of each year.
The next show is April 30 to May 2, 2026, at Lambeth United Church, 4268 Colonel Talbot Road at Main Street. The show will include framed and unframed work in a variety of media. Styles range from traditional to abstract.
Sold work is taken home immediately by its lucky owners and the resulting vacant space is quickly filled with art that has been held in reserve. Savvy visitors come more than once to avoid missing that special piece.
(Pictured: Lambeth Art Association artist Margret Bullock’s “Field of Dreams”, mixed media collage of an imaginary garden scene, 20 by 20 inches.)
Patricia Walker joined the LAA in 2025. She says, “I feel very lucky to be part of the Lambeth group.” When she moved back to southwestern Ontario in 1980, she enquired about joining, but the wait list at that time was years long, so she continued to work in isolation with not a whole lot of excitement about art. This, recalls Walker, resulted in a “period of non-productivity.”
(Pictured: LAA artist Lisa Chiborak’s “Really Big Shoes”, acrylic, 20 by 20 inches.)
Walker says, “The group is friendly and willing to share their techniques, their journey and their frustrations with different mediums. It makes me want to keep creating.” In addition to the LAA, Walker belongs to the London Community Artists, the St. Thomas Art Guild, the Port Stanley Art Guild and the Creative Nomads.
The London Community Artists (LCA) is the new kid on the block. It was formed by Wendy Jennings in 2018 in response to the lengthy wait lists to join other clubs.
Membership was initially limited to 50 members, but this was increased to 75 in 2023. Even with the expansion in membership, LCA maintains a wait list of approximately 100 hopefuls. New members are accepted in January to fill any vacancies that have come about throughout the year.
(Pictured: 09 London Community Artists’ Heather Peel, “Autumn Calm”, acrylic (mostly palette knife work), 11 by 14 inches.)
Members’ meetings feature speakers, and there are frequent “Paint Days” at Western Research Park, where members get together to paint and share some special times. The club also offers monthly art challenges in which members submit their best work in response to a specific topic. Entries are reviewed by their peers, and the first and second-place winners receive a gift card for art supplies.
In 2024, they began hosting workshops led by both internal and external experts.
The LCA has established long-term partnerships with Cherryhill Village Mall, Western Research Parks and the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences’ Victoria Campus. Members have art on display at each of these locations throughout the year. Their longest-running and most successful display is at the Cherryhill location, where member artists have sold over 140 pieces of art.
(Pictured: “Old Post Office (Cambridge)”, watercolour and ink, 16 by 20 inches, by LCA artist Bill Stephens.)
LCA hosts two major Art Shows each year: one in April and another in November. This year’s Spring Show is scheduled for April 16 to 19, 2026, at The Collider, located in the Western Research Park off Veterans’ Memorial Drive and Bradley Avenue.
Current president Bill Stephens joined in 2019. It is the only club he belongs to, and he has been involved in all the club’s activities.
Membership has served him well in his personal art journey. Stephens says, “I have learned so much from our talented members.”
Beth Stewart is a writer, educator, and visual artist. She has a B.A. and a B.Ed. from the University of Windsor and a Diploma in Art Therapy from Western University. Beth has worked as an Art Therapist with Canadian war veterans and as a Secondary School Teacher of art and English for the TVDSB. She retired in 2024.
Beth was the arts editor at Scene Magazine from 2004 to 2006. She founded Artscape Magazine in 2006 and served as its editor until 2008. In addition, Beth wrote on the arts for Lifestyle Magazine from 2006 to 2017 and served as the copy editor for The Beat (in print) from 2009 to 2013.
As a visual artist, Beth works mainly in dry media and favours coloured pencil. Over the past decade, Beth’s focus has been on wild and domestic birds. Beth is a member of the Coloured Pencil Society of America, the Gallery Painting Group, the Eclectic Collage Collective, the Lambeth Art Association, and a founding member of the Coloured Pencil Artists of Canada group.
Frankingstyle Art Gallery and Tattoos, located at 632 Talbot Street in St. Thomas, self-describes as a “space where ink and imagination collide”. The gallery-tattoos combo is a place where art does more than hang on the walls. It “lives and breathes.”
(Pictured: Frankingstyle Art Gallery. Photo by Frank Pelsoczi.)
Unlike its namesake, this creation is not one to be shunned, especially by its creator, Francis Martin. It fits well into the local arts scene and offers a welcome infusion of exhibition space.
(Pictured: Francis Martin. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
I dropped by the gallery on March 27 for a sneak peek at its inaugural show. I found it to be spacious, welcoming, and chock-a-block with art of every description.
(Pictured: Installation shot of left wall. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
In addition to seeing pieces by Martin and his talented son Koen, I encountered work by many familiar artists – Sarah Cowling, Angela Hardy, Dennis Kalichuk, Brian Normandeau, Robert Ruby, Marijo Swick, Suzette Terry, and Laura Woermke – and enjoyed art by many other artists who were new to me.
(Pictured: Sarah Cowling, “Beside the Sea”, collage. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
Martin was raised in Elliot Lake and has been creating art in one way or another all his life. After landing in St. Thomas several years ago, he added tattooing to his creative repertoire. It complemented his art practice and gave him a steady gig. He says, “Tattooing funds the art gallery.”
(Pictured: Koen Martin, Resting Place, acrylic on wood panel. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
Martin himself works in a variety of styles, including airbrushing, but says he loves playing with texture.
Speaking of play, Martin and his son Koen have created a hybrid persona, “Franko,” who has his own line of work. One such piece, currently on view, is the acrylic painting “Soldier of Creation Unit 76-04”.
(Pictured: “Soldier of Creation Unit 76-04” is a collaborative acrylic painting done by Martin and his son Koen working under the name “Franko”. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
Martin is an experienced teacher and, in the future, he plans to offer workshops through the gallery. He says he’ll likely focus on drawing and mixed media.
Other works and artists on exhibit include:
(Pictured: Angela Hardy, “Ignited. Come As You Are,” acrylic with silver leaf. Photo courtesy of the artist.)
(Pictured: Robert Ruby, Three Out of Five Ain’t Bad”, assemblage. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
Beth Stewart is a writer, educator, and visual artist. She has a B.A. and a B.Ed. from the University of Windsor and a Diploma in Art Therapy from Western University. Beth has worked as an Art Therapist with Canadian war veterans and as a Secondary School Teacher of art and English for the TVDSB. She retired in 2024.
Beth was the arts editor at Scene Magazine from 2004 to 2006. She founded Artscape Magazine in 2006 and served as its editor until 2008. In addition, Beth wrote on the arts for Lifestyle Magazine from 2006 to 2017 and served as the copy editor for The Beat (in print) from 2009 to 2013.
As a visual artist, Beth works mainly in dry media and favours coloured pencil. Over the past decade, Beth’s focus has been on wild and domestic birds. Beth is a member of the Coloured Pencil Society of America, the Gallery Painting Group, the Eclectic Collage Collective, the Lambeth Art Association, and a founding member of the Coloured Pencil Artists of Canada group.
(Arrival at Museum London’s All Around Me, All Around You. Photo: Beth Stewart.)
During March break week, I revisited Museum London’s All Around Me, All Around You and experienced, for the first time, Tropi-X: Brazilian Art in Canada, 1970s-Now. I was accompanied by my eleven-year-old grandson Hunter.
All Around Me, All Around You features artworks and artifacts from Museum London’s permanent collection with an emphasis on the creative spirit of regional artists. It invites viewers to explore art at a sensory level as well as through memory, language, and symbols.
Hunter’s eye view was vastly different from mine, and I dutifully followed his lead.
We began with the “All Around Me, All Around You” exhibition, and the first piece that grabbed Hunter’s attention was Raymond Boisjoly’s text-based “As it Comes (Started Singing).”
(Raymond Boisjoly’s “As it Comes (Started Singing)”, inkjet prints and staples on stock paper, 2023. Photo: Beth Stewart.)
Next, he gravitated towards an interactive projection of Bernice Vincent’s “All Around Me, All Around You,” a piece that also gives the exhibition its name and embraces its joie de vivre.
(Hunter interacting with the projection of Bernice Vincent’s “All Around Me, All Around You”. Photo: Beth Stewart.)
Hunter spent a great deal of time exploring it and following the instructions (“Wave arm right, left below waist to navigate between individual pieces. Raise arm up/ down to show or hide accompanying artist note. Wave arm in either direction to dismiss instructions and explore the artwork.”) and concluded, with much satisfaction, “The pictures are good, and you can move the thing by just moving your hand.”
David Merritt’s “Untitled (rope),” was the next attention grabber. Hunter said, “It reminds me of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss because it looks like his fluffy trees. It also looks like chimney smoke that is going up in the air or like an explosion.”
Walter Redinger’s large biomorphic piece, “Snake”, soon slithered into view. While Hunter saw it first as a snake, he then thought it looked more like an extension cord. He was impressed with how “nicely painted” it was.
Next, Hunter was able to satisfy his tactile urges, a rare opportunity in most galleries, at a designated touch station. Each of the six displays is connected to pieces on display. Hunter was drawn to David Bobier’s “Parable Hands,” which uses articulated wooden hands to explore gestures and language.
While he recognized some kind of Indigenous connection, Hunter didn’t see a “remagined Christian holy family”; he saw something else entirely. He observed, “Maybe it [the head] grew because of the enchanted necklace above it,” and concluded, “they are doing some kind of ritual.”
Leaving All Around Me, we entered Tropi-X: Brazilian Art in Canada an exhibit comprised of 70 pieces that explore the preservation of Brazilian culture in Canada. It juxtaposes paintings, sculpture, and textile pieces from the 70s with contemporary pieces.
First up was Vinicius de Agular Sanchez’s “The Power of Speech (Shock),” a stop motion film that Hunter described as “fascinating because it combines music and art.”
His attention then went to a textile piece called “The Jaguar.” He said, “I think the cat is cool – it looks very soft – I want to touch it.”
(Ian Indiano, “Between here and there”, acrylic on paper, 102 by 122 cm, 2019. Photo: Beth Stewart.)
Three large acrylic-on-paper panels, “Between Here and There,” were next. Hunter liked that they seemed to tell a “continuing story,” and I introduced him to the word triptych. He noted there were three people, one inside each painting, and that the center panel was symmetrical (kudos to his art teacher). He liked how the side panels were mirror images of each other.
(Bruno Smoky, “Protect What We Have Left”, spray paint, acrylic, and airbrush on canvas, 165 by 287 cm, 2023-25. Photo: Beth Stewart.)
Bruno Smoky’s spray paint, acrylic, and airbrush on canvas painting “Protect What We Have Left” was a definite attention-grabber. Hunter liked that it had lots of colours and that it was so realistic. His favourite part was the two sloths. He commented on the solitary human: “I think it shows people rule; they are above everything else,” but then decided, “the person might be stranded and living with the animals.”
(Vinicius de Aguiar Sanchez, “Pink Dolphin”, balsa wood and wood paint, 2023. Photo: Beth Stewart.)
Vinicius de Aguiar Sanchez’s “Pink Dolphin” sculpture earned much admiration. Said Hunter, “I can relate to it because it looks similar to the stuff that I draw … really crazy things.”
Our last piece of the day was Hélio Eudoro’ s mixed media installation “Mantle N° 5 – Battle Against Destiny – Moirai’s Fate Armour”. Hunter commented that it was “colourful and probably very heavy.” He liked that the artist had used a combination of “clothing, money, buttons, shiny stuff, and necklaces” in the piece.
Hunter said, “I first looked at the head, because someone’s head doesn’t look like that. I then noticed that the heart from the movie Moana is on it, so I think it might be a god.”
Visiting an exhibition with someone else adds another layer of exploration and understanding. Visiting with an eleven-year-old art enthusiast led me to look at pieces I might otherwise have passed and introduced me to unique interpretations. All in all, time well spent.
All Around Me, All Around You is located on the second level in the Volunteer/Moore Galleries and is ongoing. Tropi-X: Brazilian Art in Canada, 1970s-Now is also on the second level in the Ivey Galleries. It runs to April 19, 2026, so time is of the essence if you don’t want to miss it.
Beth Stewart is a writer, educator, and visual artist. She has a B.A. and a B.Ed. from the University of Windsor and a Diploma in Art Therapy from Western University. Beth has worked as an Art Therapist with Canadian war veterans and as a Secondary School Teacher of art and English for the TVDSB. She retired in 2024.
Beth was the arts editor at Scene Magazine from 2004 to 2006. She founded Artscape Magazine in 2006 and served as its editor until 2008. In addition, Beth wrote on the arts for Lifestyle Magazine from 2006 to 2017 and served as the copy editor for The Beat (in print) from 2009 to 2013.
As a visual artist, Beth works mainly in dry media and favours coloured pencil. Over the past decade, Beth’s focus has been on wild and domestic birds. Beth is a member of the Coloured Pencil Society of America, the Gallery Painting Group, the Eclectic Collage Collective, the Lambeth Art Association, and a founding member of the Coloured Pencil Artists of Canada group.
The Artistry of Notion exhibition at Westland Gallery celebrates the work and friendship of Johnnene Maddison and Mike Brouse. It includes fifteen of Maddison’s colourful abstractions, as well as three of her small hand-stitched gems, and fifteen of Brouse’s expressionistic pieces.
Maddison’s acrylic-on-canvas paintings fill the front gallery, while Brouse’s oils are spread throughout the rear gallery.
Johnnene Maddison’s delightful pieces preserve small points in time in paint and form.
In her artist statement, she writes about how her subject matter and choice of media has evolved over the years from mixed media work about women – their rights, their history, their challenges – to single-media acrylic paintings that are gestural and immediate.
This work is personal yet also presents Maddison’s experiences as universal truths.
The pieces burst with colour and carefully constructed forms. While the pieces stand on their own, the titles guide the viewer’s observations and direct their thoughts.
(Pictured: Johnnene Maddison, “Doors and Windows”, acrylic on canvas, 36 by 36 inches.)
Her 36-by-36-inch acrylic on canvas “Doors and Windows” rightfully occupies the front window. The subject can be enjoyed as is, but can also be seen as a representation of transitional thresholds.
(Pictured: Johnnene Maddison, “Wandering in My Mind”, acrylic on canvas. 30 by 40 inches.
Upon entering the gallery, her 30-by-40-inch acrylic on canvas, “Wandering in My Mind”, graces the left wall with its cadmium yellow centre clamouring for attention. Another eye-catcher, her 30-by-40-inch acrylic titled “Crazy Trip”, hangs on the back wall. Both embrace angular forms that straddle a line between staticity and busyness.
(Pictured: Johnnene Maddison, “Crazy Trip”, acrylic on canvas, 30 by 40 inches.)
While Maddison boasts a well-established artistic career, Michael Brouse came late to art after taking a class just before retirement. Around 2010, he began painting landscapes, but says he soon became “excited about the distortions caused by waves on reflections [and] segued into expressive abstraction”.
He cites Maddison and American expressionist painter Krista Harris, whose work is rooted in the natural world, as having influenced his work.
His works have an ethereal quality. As with Maddison’s work, titles are important
His layered, scratched, and scraped surfaces suggest landforms and figures, yet these remain elusive. His brushwork is ragged and energetic.
To Brouse, a notion as reflected in the title of this show refers to “an intuition, a feeling, imagination.” Fitting, as his expressive application of paint on a canvas conveys memory and dreams.
(Pictured: Michael Brouse, “Stillness”, oil on canvas, 36 by 48 inches.)
For example, he says his oil on canvas “Stillness”, which hangs on the left wall with its pops of orange, captures a vivid feeling from his childhood. It is one he has also marked with a poem: “Barefoot I stepped/ on to a cold winter floor/ as a child, touched by the/ radiant magic of a breaking morn./ My secret treasure stored away/ in the stillness.”
(Pictured: Michael Brouse, “North Shore”, oil on panel, 24 by 30 inches.)
On the right wall, Brouse’s 24-by-30-inch “North Shore” is next to the 32-by-40-inch “Notion”. While the subject of “North Shore” remains slippery, it contains forms that come tantalizingly close to representational, making it all the more intriguing.
One can assume its neighbour, “Notion”, is the source of the show’s title.
(Pictured: Michael Brouse, “Notion”, oil on canvas, 32 by 40 inches.)
IF YOU GO:
What: The Artistry of Notion featuring works by Johnnene Maddison and Mike Brouse.
When: February 3 to February 28. Opening Reception on Saturday, February 7, from 1:00 to 3:00pm.
Where: Westland Gallery, 156 Wortley Road, London, ON,
Uncommon Ground at Westland Gallery, January 6 to 31, 2026, brings together work by two disparate artists: Sheila Davis and Kevin Bice. While the works of both are firmly rooted in the environment, they diverge drastically from there. Together, they are a feast for the eyes and mind.
The main level is filled with Davis’s vibrant landscapes; it is an environment of colour, light, and form. The upper-level embraces Bice’s muted still life and landscapes; it is an environment of studied memory. Both celebrate the richness of life.
Davis’s work is awash in brush strokes and saturated colour. Being surrounded by her work is akin to forest bathing, the Japanese practice of immersing oneself in the canopy of a forest to promote well-being. Viewing her work is restorative – especially in the midst of a London winter.
(Pictured: Sheila Davis, “Wallflower II”, oil on panel, 40 by 40 inches. Courtesy of Westland Gallery.)
In “Wallflower II, a 40-by-40-inch oil on panel, turquoise and lime-green foliage compete with dashes of pink and orange against a band of cream. It is a lively dance of colour and form that beckons a viewer.
(Pictured: Sheila Davis, “Poetic License”, oil on panel, 48 by 48 inches. Courtesy of Westland Gallery.)
“Poetic License”, a 48 by 48-inch oil on panel, presents a dizzying array of colour and line that echoes an act of spinning around to observe one’s surroundings. In contrast, the vertical thrust of “Weaving Light”, a 42-by-36-inch oil on panel, elevates the viewer skyward.
(Pictured: Sheila Davis, “Weaving Light”, oil on panel, 42 by 36 inches. Courtesy of Westland Gallery.)
Bice’s work draws from places, people, and objects.
(Pictured: Kevin Bice, “Below the Bridge”, oil on canvas board, 18 by 21 inches – plein air work to celebrate the 150th year of the Blackfriars Bridge. Image courtesy of the artist.)
Some, like “Below the Bridge”, an 18-by-21-inch oil on canvas board, are plein air pieces, with recognizable locations; some, like “Remembering the Lake”, a 40-by-64-inch oil on canvas, seem to be inspired by old family photographs.
(Pictured: Kevin Bice, “Remembering the Lake”, oil on canvas, 40 by 64 inches.Courtesy of Westland Gallery.)
Others, such as “McClary Enamelware”, a 25 by 23-inch charcoal on rag paper, spring from time spent in the vaults of Museum London.
(Pictured: Kevin Bice, “McClary Enamelware”, charcoal on rag paper, 25 by 23 inches. Courtesy of Westland Gallery.)
Several of Bice’s paintings are accompanied by story cards. “I find that people are interested in the narrative which leads to the creation of a piece,” he explains.
For some of his works, like the plein air pieces, the narrative is simple: he was attracted by light hitting something or by a juxtaposition of textures that he wanted to spend more time with.
His motivation for studio works is often more complex. He says, “I might start a work because some image or composition or story is stuck in my head.” In these cases, he is never sure what direction the work will take.
In both instances, he views art as a means of exploration.
Of late, he has rediscovered plein air painting, and this is evident in Uncommon Ground. Bice explains, “It’s easy to get complacent and head for the comfort of the studio. Being around other outdoor artists is a great stimulant.”
Uncommon Ground: New works by Sheila Davis and Kevin Bice continues to January 31, 2026. There is an Artist Talk with Kevin Bice on January 10 from 1 to 3 pm and an Artist Demo with Sheila Davis on January 17, also from 1 to 3 pm.
London artist Bonnie Parkinson began her career as a commercial artist in the 1960s before turning to fine art in the 1980s and ultimately making her mark in both worlds. Smashing Fashion! The 60s Illustration of Bonnie Parkinson, which runs to January. 10, at TAP Centre for Creativity, is all about her commercial beginnings but with a contemporary twist.
Visitors are treated to 29 pieces, including seven of Parkinson’s original full-page ads from her time working at the London Free Press (LFP) and at Eaton’s, as well as twenty-two 60s-influenced pieces produced late in 2025.
(London Free Press, Special Fashion Section, Eaton’s ad 1969 detail. Courtesy of Bonnie Parkinson and Andrew Lewis.)
To fully appreciate the show, it is helpful to have a sense of the artist’s history.
Parkinson’s early career is a young artist’s dream. She was hired while still in her final year of the Special Art Programme at Beal to work part-time in the art department of the LFP. Upon graduation in 1960, she transitioned to the LFP’s full-time fashion artist.
Ladies’ fashion was in its heyday. Parkinson recalls, “At that time, London had many independent women’s fashion stores; my job was to do all these different stores, but each with a distinctive style.”
In 1964, she left the LFP to work for the T. Eaton Company (Wellington Square, London, Ontario). Between 1967 and 1968, she worked with Canadian fashion designer Marilyn Brooks at The Unicorn (Clarence St., London, Ontario) while continuing to freelance for Eaton’s in the evenings. From 1973 to 1974, Parkinson worked full-time at the Total Marketing Advertising Agency, London, Ontario. Then, in 1979, she was hired by Fanshawe College to teach illustration as well as life-drawing to fashion design students.
(Eaton’s ad 1968, fashion duo in fuchsia detail. Courtesy of Parkinson and Lewis.)
Parkinson describes her early illustrations as stylized and heavily influenced by the 60s phenomenon. It was an exciting time, and she met it with gusto. She drew directly on paper with a fine line marker, no pencil sketch first, and just put down what she saw. The emphasis was on the designed page, bold colour, and elegant lines.
In 1982, at the age of 40, Parkinson left commercial art entirely to paint full-time. Since then, Parkinson has been a constant in the arts community, exhibiting both locally and elsewhere.
(Eaton’s ad 1963, fashion trio in yellow detail. Courtesy of Parkinson and Lewis.)
What prompted Parkinson to put this Smashing Fashion! exhibition together? After 40-plus years as a painter, why did she circle back to fashion art at this point in time? Parkinson credits artist Andrew Lewis.
Lewis approached her in October 2025 with the idea for this show. He thought it was important to show the advertising fashion work that had been done right here in London, Ontario, as art. Parkinson agreed.
She quickly discovered that to do new illustrations of 60s fashions, some sixty years later, took some serious resetting. On top of this, it took a while for her to get back to pen and ink.
She also did an online refresher of the wild and crazy 60s Fashions.
(Bonnie Parkinson’s new illustration of swinging London England’s fashion icon Jean Shrimpton.)
Smashing Fashion! occupies the front two rooms of TAP that comprise Lab 203. It is an intimate area that is well used by Parkinson. The art is simply hung with minuscule magnets for maximum impact.
The full-page ads from the LFP are nostalgic nods to a once vibrant industry. Parkinson’s new illustrations effectively invoke the fashion sense that was part of the 60s’ cultural revolution, but in a less stylized manner and with more attention to detail in the fabrics. As a whole, the 2025 pieces present a veritable rogues’ gallery of the 60s with Andy Warhol, Cher, Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy amongst leggy young things sporting an array of bold patterns and designs.
(One of Parkinson’s new illustrations of 60s clothes.)
Smashing Fashion! The 60s Illustration of Bonnie Parkinson runs to January 10. A Meet the Artist reception is planned for Saturday, January 3, from 1 to 3 pm. It’s a hip way to start the New Year.
For more information about this exhibition and others at TAP Centre for Creativity, visit https://www.tapcreativity.org/
(Pictured: Andrew Lewis, one-third of the “The Three Furies” triptych, acrylic on canvas, 37 by 49 inches, 2025.)
Andrew Lewis’s solo show “Notes from the Mindfield” opens Thursday, December 4, 2025, at TAP Centre for Creativity with a reception from 6:00to 9:00pm.
This collection of new work includes over 250 drawings, paintings, sculptures and wearables and explores the artist’s observations and ideas on the complexity of our current era.
It is, he notes, an era sandwiched between the waning of the pandemic and the rise of artificial intelligence.
The show represents a new direction for the artist. Lewis describes the creative process as more “intuitive.” The result is work that he says “reflects a fragmented world where technology, memory, and human experience are deeply intertwined.” Of note is the dichotomy between abstract and biomorphic forms.
(Pictured: Andrew Lewis, “Ms. + Mr. Squarehouse” (Diptych), acrylic on canvas, 36 by 72 inches, 2025.)
Lewis is a busy creative. His personal work exists in addition to his design/branding business and his teaching at Western University. It is an environment in which he thrives.
The artist says, “At the University, I tell students that artists or designers are like truffle pigs in Italy, finding beautiful morsels that nobody else can see.”
His personal truffle-hunting began two years ago when he came down with COVID on New Year’s Day. It affected his physical and mental health. He says, “My creative process became scrambled.”
Since then, Lewis has witnessed the insidious infiltration of AI into daily life and the resulting deterioration of creative and critical thinking. “I see young, fresh minds not having the ability to provide original ideas or thinking due to how they interact with technology,” he says.
(Pictured: Andrew Lewis, “Ultramarine Series No.3”, acrylic on canvas, 36 by 36 inches, 2025.)
His new work is an escape from the aftermath of COVID and from the pervasiveness of AI.
He began with a series of biomorphic drawings and rediscovered the joy of making images and of unplanned work that just flowed. He describes the resulting work as a fascinating outpouring of the subconscious. That’s what you’ll see at “Notes from the Mindfield”
(Pictured: Andrew Lewis, “Pills, Orgies and Chaos,” acrylic on canvas, 48 by 96 inches, 2025.)
“Notes From the Mindfield” continues to January 10, 2026, at TAP Centre for Creativity, 203 Dundas Street, London, ON.
Associated with this exhibition is an Artist Talk on Saturday, December 6, at 3:00 pm and a workshop on Saturday, December 13, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.
Andrew Lewis is an internationally recognized Canadian artist and designer. His artwork has been commissioned by clients such as the British Columbia Arts Council, Canada Post, the Royal Canadian Mint, Perrier, Scotiabank, the Stratford Festival, Starbucks Coffee, Converse, and VISA.
For more information about Andrew Lewis and his work, visit: andrewlewisart.ca.
Lisa Johnson’s recent artist residency in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, is the driving force behind her Full Circle exhibition at Westland Gallery.
While this was Johnson’s third month-long residency at Pouch Cove, this time was different.
In 2021 and 2022, she recalls clambering over rocks and sitting amongst lichen and berries to sketch. This time, she went to Pouch Cove during an East Coast winter, where the conditions are challenging and the landscape is stark. She encountered nature at its most elemental.
Johnson was excited to do a winter residency to bear witness to the dramatic contrast of snow against the black coastal rocks. It is a location she describes as “transcendent” and “raw”, alluding to its timelessness.
Wearing long johns and a parka, and with crampons on her boots to keep from slipping, Johnson was able to go out for hikes, drawing, and even a bit of plein air painting.
(Lisa Johnson, The Painter and the Poet. oil on canvas, 32 by 40 inches. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
On a typical day, she would paint in the studio first thing in the morning and later, if it warmed up a bit, go out for a hike either on her own or with other Pouch Cove residency artists. Returning to her studio, she’d paint for the remainder of the day on large canvases she’d stapled to the walls.
Charcoal gesture drawings have always been an important part of her practice; she loves their simplicity and energy. With this series of paintings, she aimed to achieve a similar aesthetic using oil paint on canvas. The resulting work is pared down to the point of abstraction.
It is an approach that perfectly captures the starkness of the landscape in winter and the drama of this Eastern coastline. It is evident in two oil-on-canvas pieces: “Drawing on Memories” and “Aerie”.
(Lisa Johnson, “Drawing on Memories” oil on canvas 22 by 24 inches. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
(Lisa Johnson, “Aerie”, oil on canvas, 40 by 38 inches. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
A particularly striking piece is “Silent Drift”, measuring 40-by-30-inches, it has an oriental flavour with its ink-like markings, flattened perspective, and preserved white space.
(Lisa Johnson, “Silent Drift”, oil on canvas, 40 by 30 inches. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
Full Circle includes landscape paintings created during this residency as well as work inspired by it and created after returning to her Ontario studio.
In the latter, Johnson continues with the approach that she began in Newfoundland. These paintings are large and gestural and employ a neutral palette. It is work she describes as closer to drawing.
(Lisa Johnson, “Early Riser”, oil on canvas, 32 by 40 inches. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
Full Circle also includes more colour-filled works from a spring and fall series, some from Newfoundland, and some from other Canadian locations.
These are sequestered in the upper level of the gallery and lean more toward using the visual vocabulary of color, value, shape, and composition to communicate memory while abstracting the landscape.
(Installation shot. Photo by Beth Stewart.)
Lisa Johnson’s Full Circle is invigorating and breathtaking. The show continues to November 29 at Westland Gallery, 156 Wortley Road.
(Pictured: Cora Linden, Over the Hedge, Collaged paper on wood panel, 12″h x 12″w x 1″d. Courtesy of the artist.)
Cora Linden is a mixed media artist and a long-time fixture in the London art scene. She is known for her unique two and three-dimensional assemblages into which she incorporates repurposed materials, specialty papers, and distinctive textural elements.
Linden’s work is driven by a few core principles. First, anything can be transformed into an art supply. Perhaps the weirdest thing she’s repurposed is a cracked beaver skull. She believes creativity thrives in resourcefulness. This is evident in her one-of-a-kind pieces. Linden rejects the idea that people should settle for mass-produced décor and believes that art should be accessible to all. She seeks diverse audiences and places. This is why Linden’s work can be found at craft markets and at conventions in addition to traditional galleries.
(Cora Linden, Breaking Through, PVC with collaged paper & thread, 26″h X 16″w x 6″d. Courtesy of the artist.)
At this time, Linden continues to work on her Human Evolution series. The first piece, titled Breaking Through, with its bold vertical stripes and collaged excerpts from a vintage medical reference book, was exhibited at the Pride London Art Show 2025. In the text, a male doctor explains three types of women. Linden says, “The ideas are incredibly outdated now.” The piece illustrates how one’s true nature inevitably overtakes the path prescribed by so-called experts. Linden promises there will be more pieces in this series in 2026.
(Pictured: Cora Linden, Horn Solo, horn with faux florals in wooden frame, 15″h x10″w x 2.25″d. Courtesy of the artist.)
The Beat Magazine 2025 