#Fantasy Art Paintings from Ontario

[christinabindon]

Good day art friends,

My name is Christina, I am a tumblr vet but it's been a few years! Welcome back, me :)

I'm an artist from Ontario 🇨🇦 and paint professionally as a fantasy artist for ttrpg & the like. I also love painting more silly things, sci-fi, and lots of fan-art (Baldurs Gate, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, ATLA, Witcher, Ghibli...)

Behold, links! ⤵️

PORTFOLIO 💜 **BLUESKY **

💜 ABOUT ME 💜 INSTA 💜 SHOP

I also have a ~small business~ selling my art, graphic design services, and home goods. Lots of sewing, woodworking, vectors & traditional painting. PLEASE check it out at

GNARWHALSTUDIO

[starlightlighting]

How To Lighten Your Living Room Properly?

A home is a place that is considered an escape to heaven, conducive to rest and calm while also being functional. When you have the appropriate lighting, you can convert your home or living room into a seamless blend of functionality and beauty. The most valuable suggestions and illustrations of some fine fixtures are provided below for you to keep in mind while you light your perfect fantasy home.

Keep It Simple

Many individuals are unaware of how a fixture's lampshade affects the amount of light emitted. Choose pure white or cream-colored lamps made of good quality material to brighten a space and correctly distribute light.

Table lamps are a relatively simpler way to decorate the room. Whether as a decorative element or to provide task illumination for activities like reading, people position them where they need them.

You can buy the best quality lamps from our lighting store Ontario. Our high-quality materials lamps will effectively filter the light while reducing the harsh light bulb glare.

Mix It Up

If your room is spacious enough, use several lighting styles to emphasize some features while leaving out others. Hidden accent lights can be used to draw attention to decorative elements like wall hangings, paintings, and other works of art, or they can be installed right above the couch for resting.

Work illumination can also be created using decorative lamps. At night, a ceiling fan can serve as overhead illumination while reducing energy use throughout the day.

Unexpected Elegance

Instead of the typical bedside table lamps, try hanging kichler Canada lighting above your nightstands or incorporating a stately chandelier into a domed roof. Choose deep colors like violet, play with gold accents, and don't be afraid to adorn with crystals, beads, and ornate patterns.

A vintage Chinese silk screen illuminated from behind by a concealed fluorescent lamp may also create a feeling of ambiance. In a medium-sized room, allow at least 7-8 feet between the bottom of the hanging light and the base. A simple and enjoyable method to add an exotic touch to a gorgeous room is using lamps.

Analyze Modern Culture

When organizing your room lighting design, consider a contemporary perspective. Consider hanging several fixtures in the room at various heights to maximize space. An area can be defined and improved by unique forms. Make sure the accessories you select support any statement-making products.

Add A Background Glow

One advantage of having hidden lighting is the simplicity with which it can be directed on whatever portion of the space you want to attract attention to. Instead of an overall glow from central light fixtures hanging from a ceiling, recessed lighting can be employed on floors and ceilings to generate vertical light beams.

If the living room is large enough, little recessed lights may be employed all over the place. It is simple to create a calming, ambient atmosphere when used in conjunction with antique bedside lamps and concealed accent lights above the headboard.

Dramatic Simplicity

With the addition of chandelier lighting, you can draw attention to a fantastic feature like a raised floor or an elaborately constructed ceiling. Hanging lighting casts an avant-garde yet simple figure in any room when tucked under the expanded room's bottom.

Conclusion

These are the few suggestions that you can use to lighten your living room appropriately. Starlight Lighting provides different kinds of decorative lamps, ceiling fans, kichler Canada lighting, or chandelier lights which helps to decorate your home.

[monkeypen0]

The perfect 5 Examples Of Scorpion Metal

Running the cables inside your body makes for a sleeker, more aerodynamic look, however it is more difficult to work on when the time comes to change the cables, so if you wish to be a self-ample home mechanic then maybe search for external cables to start out with. We predict these kits look best when left uncooked however sure, you possibly can paint it or stain it. However, we predict the most effective part is building it. The Romantic Carousel is an element mechanical package, half music-field. Do not forget that the distinction between the motor and the pump is that the motor powers the pump and the pump is the robust, giant plastic part that causes the water to move. At massive airports, this primary design may be expanded, which results in a linear or curvilinear terminal, often a really lengthy building with loads of room to accommodate ticketing and verify-in and a number of gates for entry to aircraft. You can take away this using the supplied sandpaper. A key is supplied that matches by the side of the accomplished package into the music field. The WORKPRO 100-piece Kitchen Drawer Tool Kit has the whole lot you want in your DIY initiatives, and all of it matches inside a sturdy carrying pouch that’s sized excellent for slipping into your kitchen drawer.

The writing on the directions and some components is small, so if you’ve hit center-age, you’ll need your studying glasses on. Do the parts should be sanded? Do any elements should be glued? I’ve also sadly discovered that it's a bad thought to let a younger child operate it, because they take delight in stopping the shifting components by hand, which can irreparably injury your handiwork. Can I paint it? Can I retailer stuff within the music box? How does the music box work? The fun of constructing your personal mechanical music field doesn’t must stop here. The Tulip One-Step Carousel Tie-Dye Kit is filled with colorful enjoyable! Once constructed, you’re left with a enjoyable music box to share your shelf space for many years. Some wooden glue and a small screwdriver (to attach the music field) is equipped, so nothing additional is required. Either snap them or glue them into place. Your template will have primary placeholders rather than photographs. Building the package is pretty straight-forward; you take away the components after which snap or glue them into place. MR. CHRISTMAS DOUBLE DECKER CAROUSEL ( APROX DATE CODE 1990'S ) Replacement BELT Kit .

What's the utmost really helpful age to construct the Romantic Carousel? What is the minimum advisable age to construct the Romantic Carousel? On those events it's recommended that you just give them a gentle sanding. We've been that means to provide it a little air time here on blog for some time. And if anything is missing throughout construction, then the only pace kit will not final for a long time. https://3dmetalpuzzles.com is included within the package. The instructions indicate when to make use of glue. Some skaters use combined durometers to perform a better steadiness of golf grip, shock absorption, and durability than is feasible which has a solo hardness. Stocked with 5 bottles of daring One-Step Dye, provides and an inspiration information, this equipment is ready in your creativity. For the previous 9 years, people from throughout Ontario and beyond have gathered in the scenic Severn Township village to have fun local art, creativity and fantasy worlds. That implies that, every day, maybe as many as 250,000 individuals transfer via the airport and need sure services. The widespread coronary heart is named 608 heart, this implies this houses a 608-sort affect. It’s a very complex question, as it signifies that we have to consider a whole lot of historic and creative context, but if you want to boil it down to 2 easy ideas, here we'll current them: protection and identification.

As for Isuzu’s pickup line, it’s providing 3. The i-290 Extended Cab 2WD has a 2.9-liter Inline 4-cylinder engine, 185 hp, and is a 5-speed Manual. The package is designed for all ages, so in the event you love fingers-on activities then don’t let age stop you. Is the completed equipment fragile? Despite "battle surplus" appears to be like and L-head powerplants, it could remain on the domestic scene till 1968, then final another decade for export under a U.S. Though it, too, was an L-head design, the 251 was not merely the 230 with completely different cylinder dimensions. Repeat as vital and as soon as you’re pleased with it, tighten the lockring down. I like the length of the arms, finishing mid-manner down the bicep, and the length in the body was high-quality as well. Cayley, particularly, examined airfoil shapes, which regarded rather a lot like a cross-section of an airplane wing, to investigate rules of drag and carry. It also options mechanic’s tools like a full-polish ratchet and eight sockets along with hex keys, a 1/4-inch spinner handle and a 1/4-inch bit holder. Since not all instruments have straightforward-to-acquire inexperienced counterparts, you can go green by reducing again on consumption.

[danholtart]

Choose Fantasy Art Paintings from Ontario that is Hypnotic and Surreal

Everybody at some point in their life questions their beliefs and whether they make complete sense or not. Kids believe in the tooth fairy for a couple of years and then start questioning themselves about the existence of Santa Claus in the North Pole. It’s people’s imaginations that lead to new inventions and discoveries. https://tananet.net/choose-fantasy-art-paintings-from-ontario-that-is-hypnotic-and-surreal/

[yurimother]

Interview: Shilin Huang, Creator of Amongst Us and Carciphona

Shilin Huang ( @okolnir​​ )is a Canadian freelance artist and comic creator, known for her long-running series Carciphona. She has a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Western Ontario. Carciphona is a long-form fantasy story set in a world where demon-magic is forbidden. The series follows a young sorceress named Veloce, and the mythical assassin assigned to kill her, Blackbird.

Shilin’s newest book, Amongst Us, based on the webcomic of the same name, is an alternate universe comic that reimagines Veloce and Blackbird as musicians and girlfriends in the modern world. You can support the physical release for Amongst Us book 1 on Kickstarter today.

The first book of Amongst Us is coming soon. How do you feel about the release?

Eager and relieved!! I had worked for so long to make the web format viable for print format, as well doing all the extra drawings that were necessary--like covers--that I had to keep under wraps, it felt great to know that that part is finally done and I can release my child into the wild. I was very worried too before the launch of the Kickstarter, because though I am the one who made this story, I am not quite a slice-of-life type of person myself, and it was hard for me to see value in this mundane, not-plot-driven kind of story as a printed book. But I was very lucky to have that worry dispelled!

What drew you towards creating comics and artwork? Was it a dream of yours?

I’ve been drawing since before elementary school because I enjoyed it, and somewhere along the way, I wanted to create my own characters, and then I wanted stories for them. It was always just me doing what I felt like doing, more so than something that I aspired towards achieving consciously. If I had to analyze the allure myself, maybe it was because people and the world are so interesting, I’ve always loved thinking about their nature and circumstances, and art/storytelling was the best way for me to explore and share those thoughts.

Could you briefly walk us through your creative process for making a page of Carciphona or an episode of Amongst Us?

Carciphona is a long, plot-driven story, and so the scale of preparation required before the page eclipses the actual drawing of the page itself. [A] small moment has some larger impact in the plot, character development, and accuracy of world-building. So I usually spend about half a year or more writing out an entire volume, read it over many times over the course of the years, before I do the same thing with sketching the entire volume on the computer, rearranging pages and panels and entire scenes for best delivery, before I finally commit to drawing out each page in detail on the computer. 

Where Carciphona is like an elaborate set course where I chop up and measure ingredients and time their cooking with a careful game plan so everything can be served as they should, Amongst Us is more like an omelette that I’m making to taste. There is still planning and writing ahead of time, but each episode is much more self-contained, and I do more of the planning of the episode within the episode itself, adding and taking away details as I see fit before I feel like it reads naturally enough for me to fine line, colour, and paint.

You talk about being a self-taught artist, how did you learn to create artwork? What are some of your favorite educational resources?

While I did come across many tutorials, they were mostly short ones here and there made by my peers, so I don’t have any favourites in my mind that I can share ): . I learned by just looking at the art of my peers at the time and drawing a lot myself, thinking about what I could learn from each time I see something great, and what I could try next time to make the next drawing look better to me. When I had just started drawing digitally, the internet was quite new, drawing tablets expensive and uncommon, with no social media to share art or find resources. Over time, I did try to learn more properly by doing studies and seeking out professional tutorials, but I found that I hated it and decided that I’d rather learn and make mistakes at my own pace and be happy than to commit to effective and efficient learning and make myself dislike drawing.

Amongst Us is, of course, an Alternate Universe comic featuring characters from Carciphona. What inspired you to put your characters into a GL slice of life work?

Back in 2006, when I started drawing Carciphona, I had no plans of this frenemies dynamic for the two main characters, Blackbird and Veloce, and when the thought had occurred to me as I continue to tweak the story, canon GL relationships were still rare and rarely accepted. I was even told on many occasions by readers that they hope the two do not end up with some couples dynamic, or they will no longer be interested in the story. Ultimately, Carciphona was a fantasy story about an entire world, and I wasn’t going to risk the story’s reception over a small detail like whether or not Blackbird and Veloce sleep together, so I just played with the ideas of their relationship on the side, in paintings of many different AUs. Eventually, all that did was make me become so attached to the idea that I decided to say, screw it, I need someplace where they could be together, and I’m drawing an AU for real.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your work? Both Amongst Us and Carciphona.

I love a lot of things, feelings, aesthetics, and I eat up all of that and take it back out in the form of my stories. The inspiration is everywhere, from beautiful imagery I witness in pictures and in real life, to [the] lives of people that I hear about or experience firsthand, to the ethics and structures of professions from mechanics to medicine… In feelings, knowledge, and perspective, there’s an infinite amount of things that makes me think, and that thinking is what creates AU and Carciphona, whether or not that line of inspiration can be clearly drawn back to the root of the thought.

What are some of your biggest challenges or fears creating Amongst Us? Was there any realization or advice that helped you overcome those difficulties?

My biggest fear is always in relatability because it’s a difference between me and the reader that I do not and cannot have a solution for because it involves another person. In such a relatable genre as slice of life/comedy/romance, where the readers have more experience and therefore more varied but stronger expectations of a version of life that is relatable to them, I know that even if somehow I become a master writer, I still would not be able [to] say whether I could story that others would get or would be interested in, especially because I am aware I am an oddball when it comes to how I think, how I live, and what I value. What helped me the most was simply seeing that there were readers who did enjoy the stories for what it was, and reminding myself that I’m telling the stories to find those who might enjoy it, not to avoid those who might not. It’s a different perspective, rather than a solution, so the worry constantly resurfaces, but I hope it becomes easier over time as I am proven wrong more often!

Amongst Us readers have gotten to see Veloce and Blackbird as an established couple, and now we are witnessing flashbacks to how they first met. Where do you hope to take the series in the future?

I intend to tell both of these timelines concurrently, so as the couple timeline ended at episode 20, I intend to end the flashback at around episode 40, and then switch again at episode 60, and so on. While this kills the momentum for each arc, I made AU so that I can have the cake and eat it too--I want both their back story and a happy ending at the same time without having to wait 10-20 years for it, like I do with Carciphona’s plot haha!

What is one dream or aspiration you would like to accomplish? Even if it is unrealistic.

My only dream right now is just to finish both Carciphona and AU before my time’s up! Funny how unrealistic is specified, it made me realize that I rarely consider unrealistic dreams/aspirations as worth thinking about as they are unlikely to happen when there are so many other things I want to do that are actually possible. Most of my unrealistic dreams actually revolve around music, a profession I had left behind with an aching heart. I dream to play a concerto with an orchestra someday, or even learn to conduct, but for now, drawing my dreams out feels enjoyable and fulfilling enough a compromise!

What advice do you have for people wanting to create artwork and comics?

The true challenge these days I feel like is rarely in the work itself; there are so many readily available free resources that anyone who is capable of working hard and thinking critically will sooner or later be able to master skills they acquire to some degree. What is truly challenging is finding, and then accepting, what paths work for you. Someone might find great joy in working in a studio with a group on something big, while someone else might only enjoy drawing what they feel. Both, in this current climate, will be compelled to adhere to the standards of drawing what others want to see in order to gain recognition and financial stability, one will thrive, one will not. 

I think the most important thing to keep in mind is understanding what you want out of drawing/creating, and why. Understanding yourself is often not as straight-forward as it may seem, everyone has different circumstances that subtly motivates them to sometimes misdirect energy and misinterpret what it is they truly want. Some people need to be understood, some people want an excuse to execute, and some people want fame, money, recognition, validation. Whatever it is, and all valid, understanding and accepting your own motivations to create can tremendously help you find the path forward that is suitable for you, not anyone else, even if it might mean following an impractical path that no one else recommends.

Finally, after the release of the first Amongst Us book, what is next for you? Anything special your fans can look forward to?

My game plan through the decades has always been to just keep going. I did choose long-form projects such as the comics that I draw, and the best thing I can do is to just keep it up and reach those exciting points of the story that I’ve always worked towards, no matter how uneventful that may make my work routine sound. However, I do have a little side thing with a(nother) recurring theme that I’ve been doing here and there for fun whenever I had time, people who keep up with my social media art posts may have noticed. If I ever accumulate enough material, maybe there will be some bonus snacks for my readers on the horizon!

Read Carciphona and Amongst Us online now and be sure to support the physical release on Amongst Us book 1 on Kickstarter today. Also, be sure to follow Shilin on Twitter @Okolnir.

[hinaypod]

Meet the Stars of Episode 9

In our latest episode, Kuwento, you got to hear some seemingly unbelievable stories from some very uhhh interesting characters. Those stories and characters came to life with the talent of some incredible guest voice actors! 

Ivan Dapul

Ivan Dapul voices JD, a Kijiji prowler who’s very-- err... enthusiastic about sharing his haunted encounter with a cabinet.

Jamie Legaspi

Jamie Legaspi voices Lyn, a Toronto resident who likes to go on night walks but ends up witnessing some spooky stuff on not just one but two of them. Jamie is a writer whose works include “The Crocodile God.”

You can find more of their work here at https://www.inkitt.com/stories/fantasy/211084

[ID: A headshot of a woman with long, wavy black hair, brown eyes, and brown skin. She has a strong gaze and a slight smile. She is wearing a red jacket and a blue top.]

Sarah Bransfield

Sarah Voices Mary S., a frequent jogger whose brief encounter with a homeless man might have saved her life. 

Sarah Bransfield is an actor and comedian who hails from Toronto, Ontario. She currently continues her studies in comedy with the Second City Conservatory Chicago, while working in the Toronto Film and T.V.  industry.

You can find more of their work through the following links:

Instagram: @unoriginalsarah  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAfGhoMuAog&t=1s

[ID: Bust shot of a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She smiles brightly as she looks at the camera. She is wearing a red v-neck sweater.]

Mike Ramirez

Mike voices Jake S., a gardener working for a popular socialite who might be more than what she appears to be.

Mike lives in the Philippines, in Metro Manila, where he works from home as a freelance artist and writer for various clients; he especially gravitates to projects involving storyboarding, character design, and digital art in general. His dream is to create or collaborate on original content, whether films, stories, komiks, animation or even games, featuring Filipino culture, history, characters, settings and traditions—particularly but not limited to precolonial and indigenous cultures, religions, and mythology and the supernatural. 

He is excited at the prospect of more and better Filipino representation in media around the world (to which Hi Nay is a very welcome addition), and would very much like to help make that happen. In his spare time, Mike writes and does personal art, bikes, and reads and watches diverse online content; period pieces are a plus.

You can find more of his work through the following links: Instagram: @artophone_ig 

[ID: A self-portrait painting of Mike. He is in the hallway of a building, petting a cat. He has black hair, brown skin. He is wearing glasses, a t-shirt, and jeans.] 

[huckleberrycomics]

On this Thanksgiving, I’m going to give thanks for some of my favourite First Nations artists who continue to fight the good fight against colonialism

(that I have to research as part of my final exam anyway)

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Coast Salish and Okanogan, born 1957. Surrealist painter, history painter, and creator of the Manifesto of Ovoidism. Featured here are his paintings “Red Man Watching White Man Fix Hole In Sky” (1990), and “The Fish Farmers They Have Sea Lice”.*

Rebecca Belmore, Anishnaabe, born 1960. Performance artist, sculptor, and activist. Pictured here are her works “Ayum-ee-aawach Oomama-mowan: Speaking to Their Mother” (1991) (a sculpture in response to the Oka Crisis in Quebec) and “Vigil” (2002) (a response to the missing and murdered Indigenous women in the downtown east side of Vancouver, BC).

James Luna, Payómkawichum, Ipi, and Mexican-American (1920-2018). Photographer and performance artist. Featured above are his works “Take A Picture With A Real Indian” (2010) and “Half Indian/Half Mexican”. Here’s his memorial article.**

Norval Morrisseau, Anishnaabe, 1931-2007. Painter. Founder of the Woodland School of Canadian Painting and a member of the “Indian Group of Seven”. Pictured above are his famous “Thunderbird” print (1960) and “Indian Erotic Fantasy” (n.d.).

Bill Reid, Haida, (1920-1998). Hugely influential Canadian sculptor who had an enormous impact on the art world surrounding the work of First Nations artists. Pictured above is “The Spirit of Haida Gwaii” and “Raven and the First Men”.

Susain Point, Musqueam Coast Salish, (born 1952). Printmaker. Pictured above are “Beyond the Edge” (2015) and “Transformation” (2005).

Edgar Heap of Birds, Southern Cheyenne, (born 1954). Mixed media. Pictured above are two examples of his work from two of his series “Native Hosts” and “Genocide and Democracy: Secrets of Life and Death”. 

And now for some writers!

I highly encourage you to read some of these books if you can.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. You can find a free PDF here, or buy a copy here!

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson*. You can buy it here!

As she races along Canada’s Douglas Channel in her speedboat—heading toward the place where her younger brother Jimmy, presumed drowned, was last seen—twenty-year-old Lisamarie Hill recalls her younger days. A volatile and precocious Native girl growing up in Kitamaat, the Haisla Indian reservation located five hundred miles north of Vancouver, Lisa came of age standing with her feet firmly planted in two different worlds: the spiritual realm of the Haisla and the sobering “real” world with its dangerous temptations of violence, drugs, and despair. From her beloved grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, she learned of tradition and magic; from her adored, Elvis-loving uncle Mick, a Native rights activist on a perilous course, she learned to see clearly, to speak her mind, and never to bow down. But the tragedies that have scarred her life and ultimately led her to these frigid waters cannot destroy her indomitable spirit, even though the ghosts that speak to her in the night warn her that the worst may be yet to come.

Not up for something that old? How about Robinson’s new book, Son of a Trickster that came out this year?

Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon.

Jared can't count on his mom to stay sober and stick around to take care of him. He can't rely on his dad to pay the bills and support his new wife and step-daughter. Jared is only sixteen but feels like he is the one who must stabilize his family's life, even look out for his elderly neighbours. But he struggles to keep everything afloat...and sometimes he blacks out. And he puzzles over why his maternal grandmother has never liked him, why she says he's the son of a trickster, that he isn't human. Mind you, ravens speak to him--even when he's not stoned.

You think you know Jared, but you don't.

Something a bit more historical is Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse.

Saul Indian Horse has hit bottom. His last binge almost killed him, and now he’s a reluctant resident in a treatment centre for alcoholics, surrounded by people he’s sure will never understand him. But Saul wants peace, and he grudgingly comes to see that he’ll find it only through telling his story. With him, readers embark on a journey back through the life he’s led as a northern Ojibway, with all its joys and sorrows.

Kiss of the Fur Queen by Thomson Highway is somewhat convoluted, but a thoroughly enjoyable read with a touch of queerness inside.

Born into a magical Cree world in snowy northern Manitoba, Champion and Ooneemeetoo Okimasis are all too soon torn from their family and thrust into the hostile world of a Catholic residential school. Their language is forbidden, their names are changed to Jeremiah and Gabriel, and both boys are abused by priests. As young men, estranged from their own people and alienated from the culture imposed upon them, the Okimasis brothers fight to survive. Wherever they go, the Fur Queen--a wily, shape-shifting trickster--watches over them with a protective eye. For Jeremiah and Gabriel are destined to be artists. Through music and dance they soar.

Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden is another excellent, tragically dark tale.

It is 1919, and Niska, the last Oji-Cree woman to live off the land, has received word that one of the two boys she saw off to the Great War has returned. Xavier Bird, her sole living relation, is gravely wounded and addicted to morphine. As Niska slowly paddles her canoe on the three-day journey to bring Xavier home, travelling through the stark but stunning landscape of Northern Ontario, their respective stories emerge—stories of Niska’s life among her kin and of Xavier’s horrifying experiences in the killing fields of Ypres and the Somme.

Not in a reading mood? How about some of my favourite films!

Indian Horse is now a movie.

Smoke Signals shaped my childhood.

Powwow Highway is amazing.

Reel Injun gets to the core of the history of Indigenous Cinema.

And Atanarjuat is arguably one of “the most indigenous films ever made”.

Happy Thanksgiving, lovelies! Support your local First Nations artists!

*I have met Lawrence and Eden. They are both very nice people. :)

**Huh, turns out my professor in the class I’m currently taking wrote this article.

(disclaimer: I am of settler descent, I am not Indigenous. I’ve grown up in Indigenous territories with lots of exposure to First Nations cultures, but I can’t claim that title for myself. I merely hope to uplift some First Nations artists and celebrate them, never to speak of behalf of Indigenous cultures <3)

[hdenvs3000-2018-blog]

Nature as an expression

Nature in my opinion is a characterization of art. Nature expresses itself with seasons, where light carries color and temperature paints the circle of life through weather patterns and stochastic events. Being able to sit back and admire the beauty of a landscape whether it be a meadow, mountain or body of water, become a rare skill and one that I feel is essential when trying to connect with the environment. Possessing a sense of wonder through questioning nature’s history and existence as well as associating philosophy with visual art becomes both a talent and struggle many interpreters come to pass.

Many of you do not know this, but I do at times consider myself an artist and have a secret passion for expression through hands-on projects. When it comes to nature, it is safe to say that many famous artists have expressed their view of the environment as a “gift of beauty”. One of which I find most inspiring is a man named Tom Thomson. He was a Canadian raised oil painter in the early 20th century (mostly self-taught) from Claremont, Ontario and grew to be one of the Group of Seven, which came to be one of the most famous artist groups in history. His family were environment enthusiasts, just like him, which came to life in his 400 oil paintings of plant life. He was employed as a graphic designer in Toronto until he found a new love for painting on his first trip to Algonquin Park, where most of inspiration came from. What I find most interesting is that his favorite thing to paint was rugged, unkempt scenery (hence why he was excepted into the Group of Seven) using very short yet broad brush strokes. This style followed his impressionist stature giving more emphasis on the meaning behind his work as opposed of making it look identical to what he was painting. The painting “The West Wind” shows a pine tree standing in early winter with the Canoe lake in the background and is one of his most famous pieces. He loved painting trees since it reminded him of great structure and unity, but pines he loved especially. In this piece, the pine represents the Canadian character or in his words:

 “the visual equivalent of a national anthem, for they have come to represent the spirit of the whole country, notwithstanding the fact that vast tracts of Canada have no pine trees” ~ (2006, Firefly Books)

(Painting by Tom Thomson, “The West Wind”) (2006, Firefly books) 

The reason I bring Tom in the picture is because he poses as a great example of reconnection with nature through artistic processes. Educating ourselves just by simply being aware in our surroundings can bring us closer to nature and help us appreciate the environment and what it gives us. Now Tom Thomson is only one perspective of beauty in nature. I personally love seeing nature and a home and almost a fantasy world full of creatures we can’t explain. This idea keeps reminding me that there is still so much we do not know about nature and its vast connections.

(Quick sketch I drew a couple years back of life in a potted plant)

What do you use to express you love for nature? Comment down below!

[goder28]

Queen bee 🐝 Last digital painting for the summer. Am very happy with my improvement so far. Gonna take a short break from digital painting and gonna back to my root: some damn good traditional painting😍🎨 #drawing #toronto #torontoart #poster #creative #artist #artgallery #design #instaart #instaartist #artoftheday #artsy #arte #artistic #illustration #digitalbrushes #digitalart #environment #photoshop #paint #artwork #bestoftheday #instalike #graphic #conceptart #art# mauritius #painting #scifi #monster #horror #fantasy (à Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnbe4ZIBZG5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19rvc9y6e99pk

[middlecountries]

Quiet Heroes (1 of 2)

What gets written about the quiet heroes? Where are the stories of the toiling, unpraised few who don’t seek glory for themselves but live contentedly helping others? Who are they who heal wounds they neither caused nor suffer from directly? Who is Kevin DiFiore? Who is Mark Hodgson? Who are Alana Parisi, Alex Lambert, Paul McKeown, and Uzair Amir? 

...Who is Zenek Krowcyk-Lewedowski?  

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Zenek Krowcyk-Lewendowski was born in Warsaw to Wojtek Lewendowski and Angelika Krowcyk. Wojtek was an artist and Angelika a nurse. They separated when Zenek was four and his sister Ewelina was one. The cause of the separation was complicated. Angelika desired a better quality of life than Wojtek could afford as an artist and Wojtek, in retaliation to his wife’s dissatisfaction, cheated on her. Angelika was so enraged when she found Wojtek in bed with another woman one afternoon when she got home early from work that she told him to take the children and leave. She loved Zenek and Ewelina deeply but she wanted Wojtek to feel the pressure of being the chief breadwinner for a family. Wojtek lived in a fantasy land of pretty, swirling colours while she got abused by drunken patients and conceited doctors. She wanted Wojtek to learn what responsibility felt like however much she would miss her children.  

Angelika was so stubborn and set on her plan that when Wojtek said he was taking the children to live in Canada where he thought his paintings would sell better, she didn’t try to stop him. She figured he would come running back to Warsaw after a few months he was so naïve to the expense and energy it took to look after small children. 

So Wojtek, Zenek and Ewelina packed up and moved a half continent and ocean away. Zenek missed his mother greatly but was soon distracted and excited by his new surroundings. He and his dad and sister moved into a sleepy West-end neighbourhood of Toronto where there was a large Polish expatriate community including one of Wojtek’s friends from art school. Within weeks of arriving in Toronto, Zenek and Ewelina had friends on their street and Wojtek was being introduced to artists and gallerists all around the city. Things got even more comfortable for them when Wojtek met Mika. Mika was a sculptor and she and Wojtek were instantly attracted to one another. Mika was undaunted by Wojtek’s family situation and she moved in with him and Zenek and Ewelina after less than six months of them dating. 

Mika took to Zenek and Ewelina without hesitation and the children in turn, welcomed her into their lives. Zenek’s childhood progressed relatively free of stress or difficulty for some time after. He was briefly embarrassed at school for not speaking English but he soon picked up the language and integrated easily with his Canadian-born classmates. Once a year his mom would come visit him and his sister or they would go to Poland to see her. Zenek liked his mom’s visits or trips to Poland a lot. Angelika took them up the CN Tower, to Niagara Falls and other tourist attractions around Toronto and south-central Ontario. In Warsaw they’d visit relatives who showered Zenek and his sister with gifts and affection. But the, just before Zenek turned thirteen, at the end of Angelika’s visit to Toronto, his mom started to sob when they went to say goodbye to each other. In a way that had become characteristic of him, Zenek asked, ‘What’s the matter, Mom? Why are you crying?’

Angelika hugged him as they stood on the porch to his dad’s house. ‘Oh, sweetheart,’ she said. ‘I made such a terrible mistake letting you move away from me. I’ve missed you terribly. I’m a horrible mother.’

Zenek pushed himself back so he could see look his mother in the eye. The two were now at eye level with one another so he looked straight ahead at her. ‘Mom,’ he said. ‘I love my life here. You’re the best mother in the world.’ Angelika sobbed again and kissed and hugged her son. After a few minutes she turned and walked off the porch and back to Poland.

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Zenek grew into a happy, well-adjusted teenager. He had many friends and his grades were excellent. He was quieter than most of his Canadian friends but he didn’t think anything wrong with this. His favourite things to do were look after his sister and solve math problems. These things gave him much greater peace of mind and tranquility than drinking and getting stoned did, activities that were becoming favoured by his friends.

Zenek’s love of math inspired him to apply to the computer science department at the University of Toronto for his bachelor’s degree. He was accepted and lived at home while he studied. His life was quiet and uncomplicated. The only possible complaint he had was that he couldn’t easily met girls living at home. His classmates were predominantly male and he felt self-conscious about asking out girls he met at parties back to his dad and Mika’s house. All in all it wasn’t a serious problem. He got a great deal of female attention and companionship from his sister and stepmom albeit not of a romantic variety.

After undergrad Zenek took a job with IMB in their manufacturing products department. It was well paying and decently interesting work. He liked many of his colleagues and was generally happy with his direction in life. Around the same time he moved into an apartment in Parkdale with a few of his friends from high school in the hopes of jumpstarting his romantic life. Unfortunately, despite the opportunity he now had to invite women home after parties or dates, he remained single for nearly two years. 

Then in late 2009, at a party he and his friends were throwing for Halloween, Zenek met a girl who captured his interest and seemed to return it. Her name was Margaret and she was a painter. They had a few friends in common and she was in the midst of creating a website to promote her artwork. She and Zenek talked enthusiastically about art and website design for almost an hour at the party. But just as Zenek was gathering the nerve to ask her for her phone number, a man walked up to her who she immediately turned to and kissed. Turning back to Zenek, Margaret said, ‘Zenek, this is my boyfriend, Daniel.’ Zenek’s heart sank and he could barely gather the strength to clasp Daniel’s outstretched hand. ‘Nice to meet you,’ he said. He looked over his shoulder then down at the floor. ‘I’m going to the kitchen for a drink. Do either of you want anything?’  

Daniel shook his head and Margaret did the same. Then, changing her mind, Margaret said, ‘Actually, sure. Get me one of whatever you’re having.’ ‘No problem.’  On his way to the kitchen Zenek tried to put the idea of any of union between him and Margaret out of his head. 

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Margaret friend-requested Zenek the day after the Halloween party and they started messaging each other about Margaret’s website. Zenek was happy to answer her questions about coding. He was an art lover and he’d reached a level of competency at his job that he was starting to have a good deal of free time on his hands. He and Margaret soon started meeting in person to discuss Margaret’s website. Margaret told him from the outset that she couldn’t pay him except in a piece of art and Zenek assured her that that was fine, that he was glad to help make the world more beautiful and support an artist. 

After three months the website was done to a level that satisfied both Zenek and Margaret. In the interim the two had grown very fond of each other. Zenek liked Margaret’s emotional exuberance and active imagination. He couldn’t help feeling his original attraction to her return when he visited her one time at her studio and she was covered in paint wearing nothing but cut-off jean shorts and a tank top. For Margaret’s part, she liked Zenek’s stoicism and unfailing moral compass. At various times she’d told him about hers and Daniel’s sexual problems of late and she didn’t notice a change in his demeanour whatsoever. Instead praying on Margaret’s vulnerability and trying to get her into bed, he repeatedly assured her that she and Daniel would work things out. 

The painting Margaret made for Zenek in compensation for his help creating her website was one of her favourites ever. It was a four by five canvass of layered green and yellow paint with designs and impressions scrapped out of it using different pallet knives. It was a technique she’d worked at considerably but had only felt mildly successful at doing up until then. Most of the scrapings and cut-outs in her previous pieces were of fairly predictable patterns whereas Zenek’s piece was the first in which she’d tried using more organic shapes and lines. The overall effect of the piece was of something controlled and deliberate yet spontaneous and messy. 

Margaret brought Zenek his piece at 8:00 one evening in mid-January. When she presented it to him he looked at it quizzically for a least a minute. Finally, when he took his eyes off it, she noticed they were moist if not wet. ‘Thank you,’ he said in a low voice. ‘It’s very beautiful.’

Margaret had never seen anyone so moved by her art. This, coupled with the physical neglect she was experiencing from her boyfriend, caused her to take a half-step closer to him. ‘I’m glad you like it,’ she said and glanced at his lips. Zenek felt his breath speed up and his heart beat in his chest. He completed the remaining distance between them and kissed her. A minute later they went to his bedroom.

The premise of Zenek and Margaret’s affair was strictly physical. Margaret loved Daniel but his inability or unwillingness to please her sexually left her feeling very lonely. She felt tremendous guilt at abusing Daniel’s trust but what else could she do. They’d tried to talk about their intimacy issues but Daniel was unwavering in his belief that he could have a heart attack if he made love to her. He suffered from severe anxiety yet refused to see a therapist or take any medication for it out fear it would interfere with his work as a filmmaker. 

Zenek felt bad about sleeping with Margaret too. He’d met Daniel several times and really liked him. He was always friendly and appreciative towards him for the work he’d done for Margaret’s website. Less trusting men would have been suspicious or jealous of someone who spent so much time with his girlfriend. (It turned out he had reason to be.) 

Nevertheless the sex was great and Margaret was lovely. Zenek let her decide the times and lengths of their encounters and was careful not to kiss him on the mouth more than a few times per meeting. Mostly they met at Margaret’s studio on weeknights to avoid his roommates catching them. (Daniel and Margaret lived together so her place was out of the question.) The air mattress Margaret bought from Wal-Mart for them to have sex on in her studio was a bit tawdry but she managed to make a joke about it that put Zenek more at ease.  (She said it was a dystopic, late-stage capitalist canvas.)

Gratifying though it was, the affair couldn’t go one forever. Guilt over Daniel’s would-be feelings was mounting in Margaret and Zenek’s need for a fuller relationship was starting to show. When he brought a new sheet set for the air mattress one night in late March, Margaret felt it was time to stop. Glancing at the sheets in Zenek’s hand, she sat down on the mattress. ‘I think this might be starting to get out hand,’ she said. 

Zenek sat down beside her. ‘Yeah, I guess. What do you want to do?’

‘Let’s pretend we never met, that this was just a beautiful painting hanging in a gallery we each glanced at but never saw again.’

‘Sure,’ said Zenek, lowering his eyes. ‘A beautiful painting.’ He got up slowly. ‘Goodbye, Margaret.’

He kissed her on the cheek and left.

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That spring was a depressing one for Zenek. However incomplete his relationship was with Margaret, it was better than nothing and he missed her a great deal. He tried to occupy himself by taking up rock-climbing and the activity helped somewhat. By the time the first consistently good weather of the year arrived in June he was virtually free of longing for his former lover. 

Yet there was more missing from Zenek’s life than romance and companionship. His job no longer brought him the peace of mind and detachment he remembered falling in love with in math class so many years ago. He couldn’t stop his attention from drifting to bigger pictures, to what his daily efforts were going towards. He thought about the possibility of advancement within IBM or moving to another company. He could become a project coordinator, a manager and perhaps with a lot of work, a VP. But all of these roles, while better paying, required him to over-see other people and this responsibility went against his sensitive and non-judgmental nature. He thought about going back to school to do a master’s; the prospect certainly appealed to him intellectually. He’d like nothing more than to immerse himself in the most challenging theoretical and conceptual problems computer science had to offer. The drawback to this direction was money. He’d just managed to pay off his student debt from his bachelor’s degree and graduate school tuition was twice as much as undergrad. And besides, what was the end game with a master’s, A PhD? He couldn’t see himself working strictly in research or academia. No, a master’s in computer science wasn’t a solution to his vocational ennui. At best it would be a temporary fix. 

One day in mid-July 2010 Zenek saw a poster for a lecture on the applications of information technology to environmental issues on the bulletin board at his rock-climbing gym. He went to the lecture and learned about a concept developed by an American economist called ‘distributed systems’. According to the economist the concept and its principles were already at work in the communications, political and cultural arenas. The prototypical distributed system was the Internet, a decentralized and non-hierarchical system of organization and distribution of goods. According to the economist – and the lecturer cribbing him – distributed energy systems wherein individual homes could produce green energy was the only way out of the world’s addiction to fossil fuels and eminent global environmental ruin. 

Zenek was inspired by the lecture and immediately started researching schools and programs where computer science and sustainability were being taught together. His research led him to the University of Edinburgh’s master’s in environmental design and sustainability program. He liked the idea of returning to Europe in addition to the program itself. He looked at the admission requirements, saw that he met most of them, and set about applying.

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Zenek was accepted to the 2011 master’s program in environmental design and sustainability at the University of Edinburgh. He found out he’d gotten in during the middle of the winter after his and Margaret’s affair and was really excited. He had lots of time to prepare to move and he didn’t even own much furniture or things he couldn’t easily pack up and take with him. Anything he had that was excessively heavy or bulky he could leave at his dad and stepmom’s house until he came back – if he came back. 

After learning of his acceptance and getting organized to move, Zenek found his attention again drifting back to his romantic void. He thought about Margaret and whether he’d ever find another woman like her. They’d bumped into each other occasionally at parties since their affair and the experience always depressed him. She seemed to have resolved her issues with Daniel, the two of them always hanging off of each other like teenaged love-birds. 

Thankfully that summer arrived and left quickly. For his departure, Zenek’s friends organized a big farewell party at his Parkdale apartment. His dad and stepmom and sister came. Ewelina cried at several points in the evening over, but Zenek assured her he’d be home for Christmas and every other chance he got. The rest of the party was filled with raucous drinking and laughter. 

Zenek flew to Edinburgh airport the day after his farewell party carrying a sizable hangover along with all his luggage. He managed to sleep on the plane and woke up an hour before landing in foggy, damp Scotland. The first thing he noticed as the plane dipped beneath the cloud-line was the emerald green colour of all the plants and fields below. It seemed like a very appropriate place to study ‘green’ technology. 

Zenek went through customs and got the bus to the city centre. Edinburgh was much smaller than Toronto and he arrived just outside Waverly Station in less than half an hour. Along the way, he gazed out the bus window at the buildings and scenery of Scotland’s capital. Nearly everything was built in moss-covered stone and nothing was taller than five or seven storeys. The architectural feel gave a sense of history, modesty and authenticity. 

Zenek passed Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens and the bus came to a stop. At that point he found his bus to the university and boarded it. It was difficult managing all his bags but Edinburghers were very polite and yielded to him as he got on and off the buses with all his things. 

He arrived at his stop on campus and made his way to the student housing complex where he was renting a room in an apartment along with two other students in his program that he’d met online. He was the first of the three of them to arrive and when he opened the front door to the flat, he dropped his bags and went straight to the couch to collapse.

[marcelo-terashima-art]

Seth, from the D'zola Desert #illustration #art #arte #sketchbook #drawing #painting #ilustração #figuredrawing #figurativeart #portrait #fantasyart #fantasy #instaartist #gallery #artoftheday #instaart #characterillustration #characterdesign #conceptartist #illustrationoninstagram #sketchdaily #dailydrawing #colour #charcoal #colourpencil #nanking #inks #inking #oakvilleartist (at Oakville, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Qz9GUnMCg/?igshid=zv0ebgr1b15

[mycreo-blog]

FEATURE OF THE WEEK. This Couture top is a play with fantasy. Create magic wherever you go. Artist: Dorothy Meij. Style Fit Care - Raglan top, V- neckline, 3/4 sleeve, Longer at the back. Semi fitted. Total length 90cm. Fabric: 95% Cotton 5% Spandex Wash care: Machine wash at 30°c, low tumble dry heat, hang to dry, do not wring, low heat iron. Sizes Available from XS - 3XL Orders accepted now….www.creowear.com #art #paintings #galleries # figurative #fashion #women # Blouses #tops #couture #designers #original #creative #new #fall #Oakville #Ontario #Canada #Burlington #Toronto #Mississauga #Hamilton #mode #style #fabric #vote #visual #clothing #visual #abstract #global #lifestyle https://www.instagram.com/p/B3CVkVlnRNe/?igshid=1lqioh377l0g3

[danholtart]

Own a Hand-Painted Art Reproduction by a Master of Illustration from Ontario

Among the many genres of fine arts are science fiction and fantasy which has recently spiked in popularity because of several movies and TV series set in an alternate universe. Fantasy art can be illustration or painting with otherworldly animals and birds. There are pixies, elves, dwarves, and more living in beautiful forests and palaces. https://shortkro.com/own-a-hand-painted-art-reproduction-by-a-master-of-illustration-from-ontario/

[wikitopx]

What do the films American Psycho, Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Repo Men have in common? Well, they were all set in the city of Toronto!

You don’t have to be a cinephile to appreciate this Canadian city, though. Here lies all the glittering modernity of cities further south in the USA, with just a fraction of the gun violence, and a hearty boost of ethnic and cultural diversity.

So if you don’t mind the slightly strange accents or a bit of northern wind-chill, perhaps this Ontarian capital may be the vacation destination for you. In which case, you’ll probably be looking for things to do in Toronto. What a total coincidence that you’ve stumbled across this article then!

1. Toronto Reference Library

This is not a tourist attraction in the same sense that some other entries on this article are. That is, it isn’t a place where you go in with and come out having accomplished an act of Tourism.

This is the type of attraction that strikes a similar chord to St. Andrews Church. Come here for a love of books, knowledge and learning. This complex is vast, with students and casual readers scattered all around. Expect light background noise in the lush sound of pages flipping, fingers typing and the hum of air-conditioning.

Fans of Sherlock Holmes might be interested in the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection of this library, considered one of the most comprehensive in the world. Marvel at the first edition of Sherlock’s adventures, or pick up a copy of Doyle’s other, less well-known books.

2. Casa Loma

Originally built for Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, a Canadian financier who was credited with pioneering hydro-electricity in Canada by building a plant to harness the power of the Niagara Falls, Casa Loma is stunning.

A house built in the Gothic Revival style, sitting at 140m above sea level and overlooking the rest of Toronto, Casa Loma has been the setting for many a famous film, no doubt because of it’s otherworldly architecture. Jutting turrets, exposed grey brick and grand glass windows, it plays to every gothic fantasy there ever was.

The attraction here, however, doesn’t end with just the castle itself. Casa Loma is also known for its enchanting gardens. Wandering around the immaculately groomed grounds will leave you feeling like you’ve stepped back into a place far, far away, from a long, long time ago. Fr those wishing to learn more about the history behind this building, self-guided tours are available here in several languages!

The original X-Men movie was actually filmed here!

3. Queen Street West

New York has Soho, Toronto has Queen Street West - known by locals as Queen West.

You won’t be able to mistake this type of area. Every metropolis has something like it. Instead of plaster and paint, you find brickwork and graffiti. For tourists, this is the land of Chinese restaurants and antique stores. You can even swing by after the sun goes down for a drink with live jazz music at The Rex.

If hipster adventures are your thing, this is the street for you. And what meal could really be more hipster than brunch? For those seeking a less conventional meal experience, give our recommended King and Queen West Brunch Walking Tour a shot. Link below!

4. Toronto Zoo

Almost every major city has a zoo of some sort. However, not every zoo can claim to have the same number of species in its care as the Toronto Zoo. As of now, it has over 5000 individual animals in its care, totalling more than 500 species!

Even if those numbers seem abstract to you, at least know this about the Zoo. It is one of only 13 Zoos around the world that has the privilege of hosting Giant Pandas. They are further distinguished by the fact that they, in fact, have 2 Giant Pandas! Who on earth could possibly resist these charming fuzzy creatures?

5. Ontario Science Centre

You’re never too old to learn something new! Whether you’re 6, 16 or 60, there’s sure to be something interesting in the Ontario Science Centre for everyone.

For the older ones among you, there are the typical science exhibits you may remember from middle school excursions. Think planetariums, practical physics exhibits and fun science shows demonstrating the seemingly impossible!

If pure science doesn’t quite seem to be your cup of tea, take a walk around and admire the many art displays around the museum. Ogle at The Maple Museum Forever Tree or consider the significance of climate change with the Portraits of Resilience photo exhibition.

In the spring and summer season, there’s even an outdoor park section of the museum where one can see live moss graffiti and take a ride on a tree slide made of 125-year-old Eastern White Pine.

6. St Lawrence Market

St Lawrence Market can look like a stern - even boring - structure from the outside, but appearances can be deceiving. Step inside, and you’ll find yourself whisked away into the delightful mess of one of the world’s best farmer’s markets.

To clarify, know that St Lawrence Market is actually split into three distinct sections, namely The South Market, The North Market, and St Lawrence Hall. Depending on when you drop by St Lawrence Market, the mix of shops will be different. Weekends would really be the best time to come, as The North Market holds two special events on each day.

Saturdays are for Saturday’s Farmer’s Market, a centuries-old tradition where Ontarian farmers bring their finest seasonal produce down to Toronto, where Sundays are when The North Market floods with antique sellers hawking their wares.

Fresh produce is not all there is to the Market, however. If you do come down, be sure to come down with an empty stomach, as St Lawrence Market is also home to hawkers selling the best of Ontarian comfort food. If you’re looking for a good Portuguese egg custard tart or a proper Canadian peameal sandwich, St Lawrence Market is your place!

7. Distillery District

Where Kensington Square may have piecemeal sections of Victorian-era architecture splintered across the neighbourhood, the Distillery District rocks the Victorian vibe through and through.

As the name suggests, this area was first developed as an industrial complex to support the distillation of whisky. At one point, this neighbourhood held the biggest distillery in the world, exporting more than 2 million gallons (7.6 million litres) of whisky a year. When alcohol was no longer enough to keep this busy industrial area afloat, the district did undergo a period of abandonment.

In the modern-day, however, the Distillery District has been yanked back to life. Now a pedestrian-only area, the industry that’s come to wash over this area is art. Expect galleries and theatre shows here, and stop for a bite to eat in one of the District’s many award-winning restaurants and cafes.

8. Niagara Falls

What can be said about the Niagara Falls that has not been said before? It is an awesome sight, in the most original sense of the word. It is a vivid display of Mother Nature’s might, flowing at up to 68km/hour (41 mph).

For those not familiar with North American geography, did you know that the Falls actually span across both the US and Canada? However, if you were to visit Niagara Falls from New York, you’d be seeing a completely different Falls than from Ontario. The good news here, though, is that the Ontarian end of the Falls is the grander one, with a much wider brink and more powerful stream. Score for Canada!

While it is about a 1.5-hour drive away from Toronto, it is definitely a must-see for anybody in the southern region of Ontario. In addition to the falls proper, there is also the Niagara History Museum, two different waterparks, as well as the World’s Largest Free-Flying Aviary - Bird Kingdom. For those who feel the prospect of planning an entire day trip out to the falls is too overwhelming, perhaps an organised tour might be the option for you! Check it out in the tour link below.

9. Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

Ripley’s, an American franchise better known for their Believe It Or Not! museums all over the world, has an aquarium in Toronto. Rather than the usual exhibits on strange phenomena from all over the world, the focus of this museum is on the somewhat more standard topic of aquatic life.

That is not to say, however, that this aquarium is in any way lacking intrigue. Featuring a total of 10 different galleries, a day in this aquarium can see you through a mind-boggling number of activities. From a journey on North America’s longest moving walkway - with some of the ocean’s most dangerous animals swimming around you - to a swim with real stingrays, you can look forward to a truly immersive experience with Ripley’s. For those who cannot stand queues at popular attractions like these, pre-booking your ticket is an absolute must! Look in the below for where you can book tickets online.

10. Royal Ontario Museum

Located right in the middle of downtown Toronto, no visit to the city is complete without at least a brief visit to the Royal Ontario Museum. It is the largest museum in Canada, and certainly one of the largest in North America.

The Royal Ontario Museum covers more than just art. Let sheer curiosity be your guide, and you’ll find yourself seeing everything from Near Eastern and African cultural artifacts to the world’s largest collection of fossils (more than 150,000 specimens!). There’s even a gallery that’s a life-size mock-up of the St Clair Cave in Jamaica, complete with 20 bat specimens and over 800 models.

Just don’t expect yourself to be able to finish the whole museum in a day (or even a whole week), as there are over 40 galleries in this museum, totalling more than 6 million artifacts. If you took only a second to look at each artifact, that would still amount to almost 70 straight days of browsing!

Read also: Top 9 things to do in Nagoya, Japan

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-toronto-2-705721.html

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: 9/30/2019

Weapons (Ammoland): On the Internet, and in print, many people claim that pistols lack efficacy in defending against bear attacks. Here is an example that occurred on freerepublic.com: “Actually, there are legions of people who have been badly mauled after using a handgun on a bear. Even some of the vaunted magnums.” OK, give us a few examples. As you claim “legions”, it should not be too hard. I never received a response.

  Fiction (Walker’s Retreat): As the book just went live in paperback, product linking will take a few days, but both versions are meant to be linked. I’ve set it such that any paperback purchase gets you the ebook for free. The same applies to other features such as Look Inside.

BACKERS! I’ve ordered your copies. They’re due to arrive at my house between the 8th and the 16th. I will begin turning around and sending them to you as soon as they arrive.

  RPG (RPG Pundit): Lion & Dragon contains a bestiary chapter, which has 40 different entries for creatures (not counting 13 animals and a bunch of entries for human NPCs; and also not counting Demons which have their own section in the “Summoning” rules of the magic chapter, alongside the homunculus and the golem).  Many of these monsters have names that you would see in any number of OSR/D&D monster manuals, but their version in L&D is very different, being based on medieval lore and styling.

  Fiction (Cirsova): The idea is that wars on Earth created a race of albino Khan Noonien Singh-esque Mutant supermen whose intellect and self-determination put them at odds with a socialist global superstate, so said superstate booted them and other non-Mutant freethinkers off to the moons of Jupiter. The societies and states on the moons of Jupiter have a nominal perpetual peace, except they’re actually in a state of perpetual strife and intrigue acted out via agents.

  Comic Books (Paint Monk): It’s the same group who thought Avengers: No Road Home and Savage Avengers were good ideas. Editorial is a milkmaid and Conan is the cow.

I feel like I’m beating the same old drum. Conan the Barbarian is a terrible comic. Jason Aaron’s prose is just abysmal. Mahmud Asrar’s art is merely serviceable in that for every brilliant panel there are two or three he must have drawn while sleepwalking.

  Ian Fleming (M Porcius): One of the issues one might raise about some of the first four 007 novels is that Fleming didn’t do much to flesh out the lead villains.  For example, we spend very little time with the Spangs, the twin brothers who head an American crime family in Diamonds Are Forever before Bond sends them to hell with his .25 caliber Beretta or a handy 40mm anti-aircraft gun.

  RPG (RPG Confessions): These vocabulary words are useful in that they summarize complicated concepts, and that leads to greater communication. But we live in a time where everyone skims, and no one is very good at reading for context anymore, and subtlety is gone and nuance is out the window, and…I guess what I’m saying is, “Sandbox” and “Railroad” are positioned in our current lexicon of geek patois as Yin and Yang, a positive and a negative, one to emulate and the other to assiduously avoid at all cost.

  History (Swords Sorcery): During the French and Indian War (1754-63), the French capture of Fort Oswego on the shore of Lake Ontario opened the rich farmland of the valley and the homes of the British-allied Mohawk nation to military threat. The valley survived the war mostly intact. It was a very different story twelve years later in the American Revolution.

  Book Review (Everyday Should be Tuesday): If it wasn’t entirely clear after Cold Iron that Cameron is writing an Epic Fantasy with a capital-E and capital-F, it certainly isn’t now.  This is also definitely Flintlock Fantasy—early modern guns play a much more significant role in Dark Forge than they did in Cold Iron.

  Cinema (Postmodern Pulps): Last Blood, on the other hand, appears to have been conceived for the sole purpose of getting to the last 20 minutes of the film, and no one gave any real thought or care as to how the film got there. In order to talk about this, I’m going to have to deal with some extensive plot spoilers, so now is your chance to bail now if you don’t want this.

  Fiction (Hi Lo Brow): Sixty-five years ago, the following 10 adventures — selected from my Best Nineteen-Fifties (1954–1963) Adventure list — were first serialized or published in book form. They’re my favorite adventures published that year.

Please let me know if I’ve missed any adventures from this year that you particularly admire. Enjoy!

  D&D (Skulls in the Stars): WG5: Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure (1984), by Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax. This adventure is reeeeeally old school, even though it was published in 1984! The name sounds a bit silly, but don’t let it fool you: this adventure was first written in 1972/1973 by Robert Kuntz in order to challenge the skills of none other than Gary Gygax, who used his wizard Mordenkainen! It is a quite punishing dungeon.

    Fiction (Superversive): The Goddess Gambit is the series’ first novel, telling the tale of a post apocalyptic Earth, ravaged by a mysterious event called “The Storm.” Humanity is now primarily concentrated around an immense fortress called the “Zigg,” with the fortunate pure ones living inside in relative luxury, the unfortunate– mutants, aliens, and general undesirables– living in slums clustered around it. (If you’re thinking Final Fantasy VII‘s Midgar, you’re on the right track.)

  Storytelling (Wasteland and Sky): What I dislike the most is anything that makes the universe smaller. Any story device that clips the wings of potential from the outset is one I cannot get behind. And, unfortunately, this has happened more and more over the last decade. There are two examples that are functionally the same thing, but both are very good at making me lose interest in your story.

Gaming (Bell of Lost Souls): Come take a look at some of new rules and changes to existing ones that turn up the newest Warhammer Underworlds season’s competitive heat! Source: https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2019/09/warhammer-underworlds-beastgraves-seasonal-delights.html

  Westerns (Paul Bishop): If I could only choose one Western novel to recommend, it would be The Cowboy and the Cossack. The traditional cattle drive formula is given a refreshing twist when fifteen Montana cowboys sail into Vladivostok, Russia, with a herd of five hundred longhorns. The experienced wranglers are fired up to drive their herd across a thousand miles of Siberian wilderness, but are startled to find a band of Cossacks—Russia’s elite horsemen and warriors—waiting to act as an unwanted escort.

Horror (Too Much Horror Fiction): So within a couple months I’d tracked down Lansdale’s 1987 novel The Nightrunners (Dark Harvest hardcover 1987, paperback by Tor, March 1989). I recall coming home one afternoon from the bookstore I worked at with my brand-new copy, going into my room, locking the door and then reading it in one white-hot unputdownable session. That had never happened to me before; I usually savored my horror fiction over several late nights.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (DMR Books): February 1912 saw the ground-breaking publication of Under the Moons of Mars—later rechristened A Princess of Mars—in All-Story Magazine. Readers clamored for more adventures on Barsoom and Edgar Rice Burroughs gladly obliged. The first installment of The Gods of Mars was published in January of 1913. ERB, no fool, ended TGoM on a cliffhanger. John Carter fans demanded the conclusion to the saga and Burroughs delivered the goods. The Warlord of Mars saw its first publication in All-Story beginning with the December, 1913 issue.

Comic Books (Brian Niemeier): Everybody has a theory of how the American comic book industry died. “It was the early 90s investor boom,” some say. “The glut of variant covers and similar sales gimmicks created a bubble, and when it burst it took out the direct market.” Others lay the blame on publishers driving out seasoned writers and letting rock star artists run the show.

Detective (Moonlight Detective): An anonymous comment was left on my review of The Fort Terror Murders explaining Van Wych Mason’s long-running Captain Hugh North series has two main periods. The first period covers the fourteen novels published between 1930 and 1940, which have the word “murder” or “murders” in their title and “tend to have elements of the Golden Age detective story,” but the second period moved away from detection towards more spy-oriented intrigue novels – starting with The Rio Casino Intrigue (1941) and ending with The Deadly Orbit Mission (1968).

Dashiell Hammett (Black Gate): Sam Spade, the quintessential tough guy shamus, appeared in a five-part serial of The Maltese Falcon in Black Mask in 1929. Hammett carefully reworked the pieces into novel form for publication by Alfred E. Knopf in 1930 and detective fiction would have a benchmark that has yet to be surpassed. Hammett, who wrote over two dozen stories featuring a detective known as The Continental Op (well worth reading), never intended to write more about Samuel Spade, saying he was “done with him” after completing the book-length tale.

Sensor Sweep: 9/30/2019 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[micaramel]

Artists: Timothy Yanick Hunter, Eileen Isagon Skyers, Eve Tagny, Qualeasha Wood
, Curtia Wright

Venue: Cooper Cole, Toronto

Exhibition Title: A Complete Change of Form Into A More Beautiful Or Spiritual State

Curated By: Timothy Yanick Hunter

Date: May 10 – June 8, 2019

Click here to view slideshow

Full gallery of images, press release, and link available after the jump.

Images:

Videos:

Eve Tagny, Spring, part of We Weight on the Land – Part 2 – Spring and Legacy, 2019, video installation, 4:37

Eve Tagny, Legacy, part of We Weight on the Land – Part 2 – Spring and Legacy, 2019, video installation, 2:07

Timothy Yanick Hunter, Basic Instructions, 2019, video, acrylic sheet, 5:15

Timothy Yanick Hunter, Something I’ve Been Meaning To Send You, 2019, video, acrylic sheet, 5:25

Images courtesy of Cooper Cole, Toronto

Press Release:

COOPER COLE is pleased to present A Complete Change Of Form Into A More Beautiful Or Spiritual State, a group exhibition curated by Timothy Yanick Hunter. This exhibition continues the gallery’s commitment to offering a platform for emerging curatorial practices. Participating artists include Timothy Yanick Hunter, Eileen Isagon Skyers, Eve Tagny, Qualeasha Wood, and Curtia Wright.

This exhibition is symbolic of the intersection between the digital plane and spiritual practice, both can be characterized by their ephemeral abstractness. A Complete Change Of Form Into A More Beautiful Or Spiritual State investigates varying ideas surrounding identity, memory, and the transformation of self. Together these artists explore the phenomenon of technological convergence – in this case, a phenomenon where transcendental spaces and ritual meet digital space and practice. The term transfiguration is defined as a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state. The works in this exhibition navigate ideas within religion, spirituality, digital space, and the internet as technologies of self realization. How do concepts of memory & identity parallel each other? Each artist in A Complete Change Of Form Into A More Beautiful Or Spiritual State identifies a step in this process by questioning the states of being to which we aspire, asking how much control do we have over our states of being, what ways they can be manufactured and manipulated, and what ways do we gain control.

“Convergence is a deep integration of knowledge, tools, and all relevant activities of human activity for a common goal, to allow society to answer new questions to change the respective physical or social ecosystem. Such changes in the respective ecosystem open new trends, pathways, and opportunities in the following divergent phase of the process” – Roco, 2002 [1], Bainbridge and Roco, 2016 [2]

“…The Internet is a place that fosters identity formation and self-authorship in a population that has traditionally been viewed as deficient in Internet use…As discussions on the digital divide transform from focusing on technical access to more societal concerns, the notion of culture and identity becomes more substantial. As the digital divide continues to close, the potential for reducing the “cultural divide” continues to increase” -Hales, 2008, The African Diaspora, Racial Identity, and The Evolving Discourse of the Digital Divide

Timothy Yanick Hunter (b. 1990, Toronto, Canada) is a multidisciplinary artist and curator. After graduating from the University of Toronto in 2015 with a degree in Art History and English, his practice explores varying concepts surrounding digital security, identity – both digital and lived, narratives of hierarchical power-structures and how these ideas intersect with notions of Blackness and the greater African Diaspora. His approach alternates between exploratory and didactic. At times Hunter defines his process as experiments in visual language, where the mediums represent a range of languages and individual works express different stories. His work ranges from painting, sculpture, video, performance and installation. August 2018 Hunter debuted his first curatorial project Terms And Conditions – a group exhibit exploring information technology and the culture of mass surveillance. Currently Hunter is exhibiting overseeing programming at the Whippersnapper Gallery for its 2018-19 season alongside fellow members of Black Artist Union Collective. Timothy Yanick Hunter lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

Eileen Isagon Skyers (b. 1991, Manila, Philippines) holds a BFA from University of South Florida, and a MFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art, USA. Her work has been shown at Williamson Knight, Litman Gallery, Surplus Space, Portland; and Quiad Gallery, William and Nancy Oliver Gallery, Tampa, USA. Skyers’ has curated exhibitions at American Medium, HOUSING, New York; Digital Gallery, Hap Gallery, Portland; and Unit 19, Tampa, USA. Eileen Isagon Skyers lives and works in Brooklyn, USA.

Eve Tagny (b. 1986, Montreal, Canada) holds a BFA in film production/documentary from Concordia University. Her work has been shown at Xpace Cultural Centre, Critical Distance, VTape, Toronto; Never Apart, FOFA Gallery, Montreal, Canada; nGbk, Kleiner Salon, Berlin, Germany; WISHLESS Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; and Two by Two Art Studio, Johannesburg, South Africa and has an upcoming exhibition at Gallery 44, Toronto, Canada. Eve Tagny lives and works in Montreal, Canada.

Qualeasha Wood (b. 1996, Long Branch, USA) holds a BFA in printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, USA. Her work spans from printmaking, textile works, and digital media and suggests realities and narratives surrounding black female bodies as they existed, and currently exist, as well as proposing potential futures in which they may exist. Through creating new narratives of black potential, Wood’s work often creates dialogues across time in different historical contexts and settings. It is not about imagining an alternate reality but proposing a new perspective on an existing narrative that is just as real as the standardized Eurocentric view. She has exhibited at Rhode Island School of Design, Woods Gerry Gallery, RISD Exposé Gallery, and Benson Hall Gallery, Providence; New Image Art, Los Angeles, USA. In fall 2019 Wood will commence a MFA in photography at Cranbrook Academy of Fine Art. Qualeasha Wood lives and works in Providence, USA.

Curtia Wright (b. 1991, Scarborough, Canada) is a multi-disciplinary artist and mural artist. She holds a BFA from OCAD University. Wright’s work concerns the way societies perceptions of bodies, specifically black bodies, have the ability to shape their narratives without consent. Her current works delve into the spiritual and mental wellness of African peoples and the link to mythology and disseminating what ‘fantasy’ is and who it belongs to. She has exhibited at Margin of Eras Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, 918 Bathurst, White House Gallery, Younger than Beyonce, Toronto; Art Gallery of Guelph, Guelph, Canada; and Arts Dimensions Gallery, St. Louis, USA. Curtia Wright lives and works in Toronto, Canada.

Link: Group Show at Cooper Cole

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