Tonight is the grand opening of the new LOFT Gallery, in the Port Credit Emporium, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. And admission is free!

The opening group show at LOFT Gallery will present the work of artists Ann Fullerton, Huma Mehmood, Christine Montague, Lorraine Parow, Lynne Schumacher, Gabby Tutak, Linda Vanwyk and Gary Ward. Each of these award-winning artists will be present for the opening! Below are some brief bios and samples of their work.

Ann Fullerton
Ann Fullerton’s background as an award-winning art director and designer gives her work a strong sense of design, composition and understanding of colour. Some of her illustrative work has appeared in various publications such as The Globe and Mail, Homemakers, Chatelaine and Canadian Gardening. She has received several awards for her commercial work and her fine art. Many of her watercolors have appeared in corporate calendars and on corporate Christmas cards.

As a full-time artist, she works primarily in watercolour but also in acrylics, oil, and pen and ink. “Cottage pathways, antique vases filled with fresh flowers, moody landscapes…I like to think that my work not only shows a passion for colour and detail but a passion for the medium of watercolour. Watching the way paint moves in a wet-on-wet wash, exploring ways to create texture, achieving glowing colours in a still life—this medium never gets old.”
annfullerton.com

Christine Montague
Christine Montague is an accomplished portrait artist, figurative landscape painter and fine art nature photographer. Through her exemplary use of colour and scale, Christine’s figurative landscapes examine solitude without loneliness, and celebrate the beauty of the Canadian landscape. Christine strives to unveil the intelligence, humor and dignity of the subject’s spirit in her portraiture oil paintings, and uses her academic training in biology, illustration and studio art to guarantee the physical likeness as well.
christinemontague.com

Huma Mehmood
Huma Mehmood, a self-taught artist, has been painting and exhibiting her art since her adolescent years. She has exhibited at the United Nations Charities as well as diplomatic gatherings. Born in Pakistan, Huma has studied, traveled to or lived in several countries of Europe and Asia. Being a mystic, her love for nature and metaphysics is her primary inspiration for her paintings. Her natural style is that of a realist, often delving into impressionistic touches.

Port Credit has been her home for several years now and her love for it is evident through some of her snowscapes and landscapes. Huma can often be seen painting outdoors in the beautiful parks of Port Credit during the summer and winter months, capturing the divine beauty of nature, to share it with her community and the world at large. Says one patron: “Huma’s paintings emit peace, tranquility and beauty; simple yet profound.”

Lorraine Parow
Scribbleography is a made-up word that describes the art of Lorraine Parow.

The story of scribbleography lies in what used to be Parow’s vision disability. After vision therapy, Parow discovered a whole new world. No longer with the disadvantages of learning disabilities, headaches or comprehension, she sought to create art that was based on what she calls her “before vision.” She developed a determination to reproduce images that represented her past visual disabilities (“old funky wiggly seeing,” as she calls it). Scribbleography partly describes the process but also her way of bringing levity and fun to “before vision.”

Parow experiments with painting, drawing and darkroom techniques on photography (e.g., hand-colouring on black-and-white, painting and scribbling on photographs, scratching on film, heating up film and pushing the emulsion around), and her subjects have included outdoor wanderings, trees, the Leuty Lifeguard Station, the CNE, seascapes, flowers, old cars and more.
scribbleography.ca

Lynne Schumacher
Lynne Schumacher was born in Toronto in 1950 and started painting at an early age. She studied commercial art at Central Technical School under Doris McCarthy before turning her attention to landscape painting. Many hundreds of hours were spent in the Northern Ontario forests researching, sketching, photographing and painting subjects. A considerable amount of her childhood was also spent in Nova Scotia where she developed a love for the sea and the Maritime way of life.

Schumacher developed a great love and respect for nature and painstakingly applied paint to canvas to capture a startling realism and a boldness of colour and texture. Her paintings operate on many levels involving form, colour and place. They visibly document her thoughts and express her vision, pulling the viewer into another world. Lately, her artistic visions have taken on a more abstract quality, experimenting with different media and allowing her to develop new ideas.
schumachergalleries.com

Gabby Tutak
Gabby Tutak has been exploring the world of visual arts throughout her careers. As a teacher, she developed challenging programmes for elementary school children, including gifted and special needs students. As an art consultant for the school board, she showed both teachers and students that the arts enhance our lives. As co-ordinator of programming for Visual Arts Mississauga, she continued to promote visual arts in the community. As a board member of Mississauga Arts Council, she supported arts endeavours for the members and the city. Gabby continues to teach classes of all ages and encourages all her students to experience the creative endeavour through a variety of media.

Gabby is enjoying her personal journey and is still discovering her own unique style. Experimenting with new techniques to express experiences and emotions will continue to be a passion with Gabby as she shares her work with others.

Her yearly exhibits in Toronto and Mississauga are well received. Her original works have found permanent homes in Canada, the US and Europe.
gabbytutak.com

Linda Vanwyk
Linda speaks about her techniques and mediums used in her artwork: “Each of my paintings contains a mixture of acrylic paint and collage papers. Collage papers are prepared with water-soluble paints and inks, and textures are achieved through printmaking and various other techniques.”

“Color and patterns are major themes in my work. I work in a semi-abstract style, capturing original thoughts and design from my reference photos. I am particularly drawn to floral and other botanical subjects, however I am equally drawn to other subjects where I can interact with interesting forms and shapes and add color.”

“I start each painting by selecting my reference photos and thinking about how I will lay out the initial composition. I paint a rough outline in acrylic and then start applying collage paper. This creative process leads to an array of interesting patterns and colors in each painting.”

Gary Ward
Gary Ward recently returned to his fine-art roots after a 25-year career in graphic arts in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto, where he owned his own business. Born in Quebec, he graduated from the Famous Artists Institute of Westport, Connecticut. For more than 30 years, he has called Mississauga home. Gary is married and has three children and six grandchildren.
oilsbyward.com

LOFT Gallery
Port Credit Emporium
42 Port St. E.
905-271-6979
[email protected]
www.portcreditemporium.wix.com/portcreditemporium