People

Doris Ayde-White

During WWII, Doris worked for Burks, designing jewelry. Among the pieces she designed was a V shaped necklace, which was presented by the jewelers to Mrs. Winston Churchill.

Janice Balesic

Janice Balesic is an art teacher for the Peel Board of Education. Her work was published in the Visual Arts Brampton Millenium Project, the ABC Fun Things Book. She was once on the Visual Arts Brampton Board of Directors.

Shabana Bhutta

A school teacher in Brampton, Shabana enjoys doing artwork on her spare time at home and at the studio. She exhibited in The First Annual Snail Mail World Postcard Art Show.

Carol Biberstein
Brampton artist-illustrator Carol Biberstein was born in Shanghai. Drawing and painting all of her life, Carol studied art fundamentals and illustration at Sheridan College.

She has done educational book illustrations for many large publishers including Scholastic, Oxford, Harcourt Brace, Nelson and Addison Wesley. Also, Carol has illustrated various young adult novel covers. In 2001, she wrote and illustrated her first picture book, entitled Great Grandma’s Rocking Chair, published by Small World Publishing. For this accomplishment, she won a 2001 City of Brampton Arts Acclaim Award. Seimens and Pharma Plus are among her non-publishing corporate clients.

Carol works from life, photos or her imagination, focusing on portraits, pet paintings and paintings of houses, along with her illustrations. Her specialty, which she is known for is the Life Story Portrait, a montage compilation of a person’s portrait with significant people and places around it.

She works in a variety of different mediums including charcoal, pen and ink, pastel, acrylics and scratchboard, though she specializes in watercolour. She uses a realistic but loose style, with tighter areas as focal points in the painting.

From 1988 to 1996, she taught ESL to adult immigrants, and since 1991 has been a well-known, permanent fixture at the Farmer’s Market. She has taught various art courses around Brampton.

She has won a People’s Choice Award at the Art Gallery of Peel’s Juried Art Show in 1996, and honourable mention at The Great Canadian Mail Art Show, Artway. She also has held an annual solo Christmas show at the Four Corners branch of the Brampton Public Library since 1999.

Midge Campbell

Margaret (Midge) Campbell exhibited at Artway Gallery multiple times from 2002 to 2003, and has exhibited at some of the Visual Arts Brampton Studio’s show and sales.

Maria Carosi
Originally from Italy, Maria Carosi started learning more about art by taking a part-time evening class at Humber College, and then by graduating from the Ontario College of Art. She says that she likes to paint anything that inspires her, driven to create through various mediums. The main content of her works are landscapes and figures, all described in many colours.

Exhibiting at Artway and in a few group shows, Maria has also been commissioned by St. Patrick’s Church of Brampton and was published in the Region of Peel’s County to Keystone- Reflections of Peel commemorative book.

Her works have been reproduced as VAB art cards and in our Sesquicentennial Floral Calendar. In 2002, she had a solo exhibit at the City Hall Atrium in Brampton.

Sean Cassidy
His original illustrations were displayed at the Golden Pheasant Gallery exhibit "Gummytoes: The Art of Sean Cassidy".

His books include:

• The Chicken Cat (2001), illustrator, winner of the Mr Christie’s Book Award and the Ruth Schwartz Award.
  

  The Chicken Cat is a children’s book, written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan and illustrated by Bramptonian Sean Cassidy. The book was published in 2001 by Fitzhenry & Whiteside.

  The Chicken Cat went on to win the Mr Christie’s Book Award, as well as the Ontario Arts Council/Canadian Booksellers Association’s Ruth Schwartz Award.

  The Quill & Quire raved that "Cassidy’s colored-pencil illustrations offer an excellent complement to the text, heightening both its pathos and humor." The National Post commented that "Stephanie Simpson McLellan’s imaginative story about Guinevere... soars with Cassidy’s illustrations."

  The book was later published in Korean by Korean Dewey on April 1 2003, with an initial print run of 3000.

  Original illustrations from the book were displayed at the Golden Pheasant Gallery exhibit "Gummytoes: The Art of Sean Cassidy".

  ISBN 1--55041-677-4, paperback edition

• Good to be small (2002), writer and illustrator
  

  Good to be small is a children's book, written and illustrated by Bramptonian Sean Cassidy. The book was published in 2002 by Fitzhenry & Whiteside.

  "Something is wrong in the barnyard. Mama Sheep calls out the alarm— Lamb is missing! Who is going to find her young one? When tiny Mouse steps up to offer help, the other sheep just fret and shake their heads. Mouse is too small to find a missing lamb. But Mouse doesn't mind what other think. She is determined to get the job done. And Mouse know that sometimes it takes the smallest one of all to get the biggest results."

  Original illustrations from the book were displayed at the Golden Pheasant Gallery exhibit "Gummytoes: The Art of Sean Cassidy".

  ISBN 1--55041-734-7, hardcover edition, ISBN 1--55041-699-5, paperback

• Gummytoes (2004), writer and illustrator
  Gummytoes is a children’s book, written and illustrated by Bramptonian Sean Cassidy. For children aged 4 to 8, the book was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. The book was published in 2004 by Fitzhenry & Whiteside.

  The book jacket reads: "Gummytoes is a beautiful tree frog. But he’s tired of blending into the background. He wants to be seen and admired. So one day he hops right up to a group of children and lets out a CHIRP..."

  Original illustrations from the book were displayed at the Golden Pheasant Gallery exhibit "Gummytoes: The Art of Sean Cassidy".

  ISBN 1-55041-856-6, hardbound edition, ISBN 1-55041-856-2, paperback edition

Ed Clark

Ed Clark has painted on and off for a number of years, starting in oils and then turning to watercolours. He became more involved and enthuastic when he took a number of watercolour artist Jack Reid and went on group painting trips with him to Northern England and Newfoundland.

He is a member of the Mississauga Watercolour Society and the Mississauga Art Society and exhibits in their annual Spring and Fall shows at the Springbank Art Centre. Ed has also exhibited at other shows organized by the Mississauga Arts Council and regularly enters juried shows.

Ed’s medium has been been watercolours for over ten years and he paints landscapes, seascapes, street scenes and snow scenes. He loves the outdoors and is an avid cross-country skier, hiker and canoeist, and many of his paintings are inspired by scenes from these activities.

Don Collins

Don Collins lives in Bolton, Ontario and has been taking photographics since his days in public school. Now retired from teaching, he has been focusing on 35mm and digital photography. His artistic skills in composition, fine arts and a keen eye are evident in his sensitive and carefully composed pictures.

Collins exhibited in the 2005 Artway Shoppers World show A Place to Live, A Place to Grow.

Matthew Daley

Matthew won second place in the 2001 Visual Arts Brampton Images on Paper Juried Art Show, and in 2002 winner of another award.

The Right Honourable William Davis

The first elected premier of Ontario born in Brampton, lawyer William Grenville Davis helped put Brampton on the map.

In the arts scene, Bill Davis opened the group’s first major fundraising event, Goldmine '89. Bill also launched Heritage Brampton - 1978, a booked edited, produced and illustrated by Albert Seaman.

Davis was also a guest of honour at the 2004 Brampton Arts Council Arts Person of the Year ceremonies..

Chandra de Silva

She has been quoted a saying that her interest for art started as a child back in Sri Lanka, where I was born and raised. Chandra remembers her father with love and gratitude, because he introduced her to the fundamentals of art.

Later on she entered college for art training, graduating from Art and Sculpture. She then taught Arts and Crafts to young adults for thirty-two years. She took up painting again, after she retired.

Chandra says that she loves the colour and composition of everyday objects and human faces; she translates these memories into her creations. She uses a multitude of mediums in her works: watercolours, acrylics, pastels and oil painting.

Ten years ago, she moved to Canada with her son. She explored the Brampton arts scene, and was lucky to have a member of VAB urge her to join. She has continued on since then as a member, gaining lots of encouragement from her fellow members and from doing art once more.

Chandra is a regular exhibitor in the group’s exhibitions and shows. Her works have been reproduced as VAB art cards, in our ABC Fun Things book and in our Sesquicentennial Floral Calendar.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2001- Chandra de Silva, solo exhibit at the Brampton City Hall Atrium, Brampton.

2001- Images on Paper- Juried Art Show, Artway Exhibit Space, Bramalea City Centre, Brampton. In the exhibition, she won the Juror’s Choice Award.

1996- Visual Arts Brampton Juried Art Show. In this exhibition, she won an honourable mention for her work.

Chandra de Silva, Irises.

Chandra de Silva, Garden Flowers, watercolour.

eepy post

eepy post is a mail artist from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. eepy won the Creative Achievement Hermes Award in the first annual Snail Mail World Postcard Art Show.

Bruce Geldart

As a graduate of California’s world-renowned Brooks Institute of Photographic Art and Science, Bruce Geldart developed a career in illustrative Advertising Photography in Toronto from the mid-1970s. This laid the foundation to adopt the paint brush and discover transparent watercolour as a medium that characteristically delivers a brilliance of colour that sets it apart from other mediums.

Bruce typically paints in a realistic style, depicting diverse subject matter dealing with landscapes, still life and florals. As a keen outdoors person, Bruce can often be found with fly rod in hand, learning and observing nature’s ever-changing character.

Over the past few years, Bruce has been fortunate to study with internationally famous watercolour artist Zoltan Szabvo, along with highly-acclaimed Canadian artists, Jack Reid and Brigitte Schreyer.

Muriel Gray

Muriel is one of only seven people to ever win the Visual Arts Brampton President’s Award. In 2001, Muriel was presented with the group’s highest honour, after helping to jury images at the first Images on Paper- Youth Juried Art Show.

Adrienne Houston

Adrienne won first place in the Visual Arts Brampton 2001 Images on Paper Juried Art Show. She participated in the 2002 show, as well.

Ontario MPP Linda Jeffrey

Linda Jeffery is the MPP for Brampton Centre. In 2004, she opened her Queen’s Park office up to artists from Brampton to exhibit in. Many VAB members exhibited in her offices, including Betty Jean Evans, Conrad Mieschke, Keith Moreau, and Mary Noble.

VAB thanks Linda Jeffrey and her office for this spectacular program to help promote the arts in the community.

Anita Kumar

Born in Nova Scotia, then raised in Mississauga and India, in the foot of the Himalayas, Anita says that through hard work, she became determined and open-minded.

Anita completed her Bachelors in Fine Arts from Government College for Arts – Chandigarh, one of India's Top 5 professional fine arts colleges. Internationally recognised, the College attracts students from across Europe and Asia.

In May of 2004 she moved to Wales, United Kingdom, where she resided for half a year. She was accepted in the Masters of Fine Arts at the Canterbury campus of Kent Institute of Art and Design, but did not enroll due to lack of funds. At that point, Anita moved back to Canada to start her arts career.

Her prefered working mediums are oil painting, dry and oil pastels, charcoal, coloured pencil and watercolour. She primarily uses clay, sponge, fiber glass and plaster of paris to create sculptures.

Anita's white marble sculpture "Baby on a Leaf" is in the collection of GCA India, and various others are in private collections.

Anita is also a poet and aspiring novelist. Recently she completed a collection of 180 poems. She is a member of both Visual Arts Brampton and the South Asian Actors Association.

Anita has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts Sculpture, additional 1 year Foundation course in advertising, graphics and painting. She is proficient in many computer programs including 3D Studio Max, Adobe Photoshop, Flash, Director, Morphing, Ani-magic gif and Adobe Illustrator.

INSTRUCTING

Bryntirion Comprehensive School, Bridgend, Wales (June 2004)
Demonstrated clay sculpture making techniques.

Privately (April – May 2004)
Conducted private art classes/tuitions young students. Demonstrated basic drawing styles and usage of different colors with regards to perspective.

Government College of Art, India (September 2003)
Taught Bachelor of Architecture students clay sculpting techniques, receiveing press coverage.

St. Annes Convent, Chd., India (October 1999)
Conducted a one day workshop of Arts & Craft for primary batch

EXHIBITS

Fabricland, Bramalea City Centre, Brampton, ON (March 2005 on)
Display of 3D soft sculpture works.

Artway Gallery, Brampton, ON (February 2005 on)
Exhibiting 2D works in group shows.

Government College of Art, India (2000-2003)
Annual Certificate of Merit, specifically mentioned in the press in 2003.

MEDIUMS

(Sculpture) Clay, terracotta, wax, soap, sponge/foam (puppetry), styrofoam, fiber glass, plaster of paris, portland cement, wood-carving, marble-carving, bronze-casting, tin—foil, jute rope, various metal wires and paper mache. (Drawing) Pencil, charcoal pencil, rotering pen, markers, coloured pencil, oil pastel, dry pastel (Painting) Watercolours, acrylics, oils, enamel, poster paint (Papers and canvases) stretched canvas, cartridge paper, canson, hand made sheets, Japanese hand made sheets, butter paper, Norway sheets, water color paper, canvas boards, and wood.

Margaret Sarah Pardy

Margaret Pardy was a long term Visual Arts Brampton board member, and had work in the ABC Fun Things Book. She operated the Open Studio session at the Visual Arts Brampton studio the second and four Wednesdays of the month for a few years in the late-1990s and early-2000s.

Mary Parr

Mary Parr is a watercolourist from Safety Bay, Western Australia, Australia. Her husband attended Croydon Art School in England, the same school as one-time VAB member Albert Seaman. Parr won one of three of the Juror’s Choice Awards in the first annual Snail Mail World Postcard Art Show.

Barry Phillips

When he was a Bramptonian, portrait artist Barry Phillips was a member of Visual Arts Brampton. He won the City of Brampton Arts Acclaim Award in 1988, thanks to a nomination from the group.

John Ramall

John won second place in the Visual Arts Brampton Images on Paper Juried Art Show, 2001.

ARTICLES

The Brampton Guardian: Here comes the sun!
John Ramlall and Matthew Daley, both took home silver awards while Elizabeth Patrick and Adrianne Houston, along with Chandra de Silva took home the gold at this year’s Visual Arts Brampton juried show.

Albert Seaman

Born in 1927 in Croydon, England, Albert Seaman graduated from high school in 1942.

He continued his studies in Airframe Design and general engineering, then attending the Croydon School of Art, participating with the local art club and related activities. He emigrated from England to Canada in 1958, co-founding the Bramalea Arts Club with Andy Donato in the early-1960s. The club closed after 2 years in operation, when its premises were taken over for redevelopment.

Later he served for seven years with the Chinguacousy and City of Brampton Public Library boards, retiring as chairman in 1979. He was a member of the original Brampton LACAC, what is now the City of Brampton Heritage Board. He illustrated, edited and produced the book "Heritage Brampton - 1978" for the Board to help promote the concept of architectural preservation. The book was published as a limited edition of 2000 copies. It was launched by Bill Davis, then the premier of Ontario.

He has participated directly and indirectly in City of Brampton politics. He served as the first chairman of the first Citizens Advisory Committee to council elected in Ontario. For this, he won a Civic Award in 1979.

He has served in several capacities with the Peel County Historical Society, retiring as vice-president prior to the Society's cessation of activities. He is currently a member of the Brampton Historical Society.

Currently, his general artistic activities are now focused on landscape and architectural painting, with emphasis on historic buildings and locations. His predominant mediums are watercolors, oils (alkyd) or pen and ink, used as appropriate. He also works freelance creating industrial and instructional art and graphics; he is also engaged commercially in the production of corporate literary and promotional material, both in printed and computerized form.

Christopher Seaman

Christopher has had much acclaim on the web for his manga style characters, The Kaiten Angels. One of these characters first appeared in the ABC Fun Things Book, published by Visual Arts Brampton, back when the characters were named The Rocket Girls. (They were renamed in 2005.)

In 1997, he won a City of Brampton Arts Acclaim Award, recognizing his acceptance into the coveted aviation juried art show at the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa.

David Somers

Curator at the Art Gallery of Peel, previously he was on staff at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

Tony Tarantini

Tony is a Sheridan College instructor, and teaches Animex: Animation Exploration at Visual Arts Brampton. Formerly at Nelvana Animation, Tony worked on many of the studio's programs including Little Bear and George Shrinks. His works were exhibited at Golden Pheasant Gallery from December 27th, 2004 to January 22nd, 2005, as the show "Animex 2005 with Tony Tarantini".

D. Scott Taylor

D. Scott Taylor is a self-taught watercolour artist who got his start while a flight instructor at the Brampton Flying Club in the early 1980’s. Scott was commissioned to paint a painting of an aircraft that a student had just made his first solo flight in.

That painting led to hundreds of commissions ranging from planes to cars, cottages to office buildings and pets to people. Scott has since created many limited editions. His interest in architecture led him to paint a series of historic schoolhouses, and his love of music led to a series involving children and musical instruments (most notably grand pianos).

In addition to this varied repertoire, Scott is probably best known for his paintings of Gage Park, which is located in downtown Brampton. In the newspaper, Scott has been called "the Gage Park artist", referring to his many paintings of this well known and much admired focal point of Brampton.

This year, Scott was commissioned by the City of Brampton to paint the official Sesquicentennial painting. The painting depicts 'Brampton old' and 'Brampton new', with a focus on youth in our city. The painting will be distributed in poster form throughout Brampton during 2003.

Married, and a father of four, Scott has focused on children in many of his paintings, and it is often the children who tell the whimsical story in his paintings.

A former airline pilot, Scott now works as an air traffic controller, when not in his studio, painting.

Web: www.dscotttaylor.com | E-mail: Scott Taylor

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