"Floravision", The Inner Gallery, St. Lucia

February 4, 2012 Donna Grandin Leave a comment

The following is a post that I’ve brought over from my original blog where I wrote about exhibitions, career highlights etc. in the 3rd person.

From top to bottom: Donna Grandin with her parents Richard and Nancy Gomez. Stephen Shingleton-Smith, Peter Walcott, Rachael Du Boulay (curator of The Inner Gallery), Derek Walcott (Nobel laureate) and his wife Sigrid. Richard and Nancy Gomez. Donna with Rachael Du Boulay and Sir Dunstan St. Omer (Donna’s former art teacher). Donna with Sir Dunstan St. Omer. All photos courtesy of Terry Wedge and The Inner Gallery.

Donna Grandin’s solo exhibition, “Floravision”, opened on Feb 2nd at The Inner Gallery, Bois D’ Orange, St. Lucia. The Cocktail Reception was very well attended. Donna’s former art teacher (at the St. Joseph’s Convent Girls’ Secondary School in St. Lucia), Sir Dunstan St. Omer was present with his wife and son. He was also present at Donna’s first ever solo exhibition, “Aquavisions” in St. Lucia in 1996!

Donna was also pleased that St. Lucia’s Nobel Laureate, poet Derek Walcott was able to attend with his wife and son. Rachael Du Boulay, curator of The Inner Gallery presented Walcott with a belated birthday gift of a few canvases. He and his son, Peter Walcott, are also visual artists represented by the gallery. Some of the other Gallery Artists present included Christopher Cox, Janet Lang, Arnold Toulon and Alcina Nolley. Jonathan Gladding and Daniel Jean-Baptiste had both just left the island but wished Donna well on her first solo show with the gallery.

“Floravision” includes 24 acrylic paintings of tropical flowers, fruit and foliage, specifically hibiscus, banana, frangipani, flamboyant and croton. An online preview is available on the Gallery website.

The exhibition runs until Feb 27th. Regular gallery hours are Mon-Fri 9-4:30pm.

Donna would like to thank Rachael Du Boulay and the Inner Gallery staff, her parents Richard & Nancy Gomez, her husband Brent Grandin and their sons, the press (Radio St. Lucia, Helen Television Service, Calabash TV, The Voice newspaper, Choice TV), and everyone who attended the exhibition, collected her art and referred their friends.

Exhibitions, Small paintings

Miniature Show, 337 Sketch Gallery, Hamilton

November 8, 2011 Donna Grandin Leave a comment

The following is a post that I’ve brought over from my original blog where I wrote about exhibitions, career highlights etc. in the 3rd person.

Opening night of Miniature Show, 337 Sketch Gallery in Hamilton, Fri Oct 25th, 2011.

Almost 130 miniature paintings are on display in the gallery, located at 337 Ottawa St. N, Hamilton, ON. The show has been extended till Nov 13th, regular gallery hours are 11-6pm Thurs-Sun, but it will be open a little later on Fri Nov 11th because the Art Bus will be making a stop there as part of the Art Crawl.

Fireworks, 4"x5", acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold — Fireworks, 4″x5″, acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold

Friendship. 4"x5", acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold — Friendship. 4″x5″, acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold

Frenzy, 4"x5", acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold — Frenzy, 4″x5″, acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold

The trio of 4″x5″ miniatures I painted for this exhibition were inspired by photos I took of some bees buzzing around a patch of flowers outside a store in Midland Ontario this summer. That night while I sat on the couch at my friend’s cottage, sorting through the pics on my laptop, zooming in and cropping the centers of the flowers where the bees were doing their thing … an amazing and unexpected fireworks display began on the other side of the lake. So “Fireworks” was my way of commemorating that wonderful weekend retreat with my fellow artist. And the other paintings just fell in to place.

For more info on the show, and the gallery, take a look at the FB page: 337 Sketch Gallery.

Exhibitions

Upcoming exhibition at The Inner Gallery, St. Lucia

October 11, 2011 Donna Grandin Leave a comment

The following is a post that I’ve brought over from my original blog where I wrote about exhibitions, career highlights etc. in the 3rd person.

The Inner Gallery, located on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Lucia

Donna is pleased to announce that the Opening for her 2012 exhibition at The Inner Gallery will be held on Thurs Feb 2nd!

In fact, Donna has just returned from a short visit to St. Lucia where she soaked up the inspiration, and gathered more reference material on local tropical flowers and foliage in preparation for this exhibition.

Visit: The Inner Gallery, Bois D’Orange (1-758-457-8728), to view a new selection of Donna Grandin original acrylic paintings on canvas. The artwork hasn’t been added to the gallery website yet, so you’ll be one of the first to get a sneak peek!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/artbydonnagrandin

Email: donna@bluerootsartstudio.com for a pricelist of paintings currently available through Blue Roots Art Studio in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Paintings may be rolled to ship world-wide, and mastercard and visa are accepted.

Update: read about the exhibition here

Exhibitions, Frangipani, Small paintings

Square Foot Show, AWOL Gallery at Twist, Toronto

August 9, 2011 Donna Grandin Leave a comment

The following is a post that I’ve brought over from my original blog where I wrote about exhibitions, career highlights etc. in the 3rd person.

Gala Opening of the 9th Annual Square Foot Show, 5th Aug ’11, Twist Gallery.

AWOL’s Square foot show is being held at the Twist Gallery in Toronto this year. Twist is located at 1100 Queen St. W. The exhibition and sale continues till Sun Aug 21st. Hours are Wed-Sat 12-7pm, Sun 12-5pm.

Each artist (500 max) submitted up to 3 pieces, each had to be 12″x12″, but could be in any media, any subject. It’s wall-to-wall paintings, each time you return to a wall, you’ll see things you missed the last time you looked! With such a wide variety of styles etc, there’s sure to be something for everyone!

Donna has 2 new Frangipani paintings in this exhibition … let us know if you’ve spotted them!

Frangipani sisters, 12"x12", acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold — Frangipani sisters, 12″x12″, acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold

Frangipani, 12"x12", acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold — Frangipani, 12″x12″, acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011. Sold

Frangipani beauty, 12″x12″, acrylic on canvas, © Donna Grandin, 2011

Exhibitions

2-Person Exhibition, 337 Sketch Gallery, Hamilton

July 13, 2011 Donna Grandin Leave a comment

The following is a post that I’ve brought over from my original blog where I wrote about exhibitions, career highlights etc. in the 3rd person.

Views of the exhibition from outside of 337 Sketch Gallery, located at 337 Ottawa St. N, Hamilton, ON.

The acrylic paintings of Donna Grandin, and the glass art of Stephen Zawadowski are currently on exhibition at 337 Sketch Gallery until Sun July 17th.

Donna Grandin, a visual artist whose acrylic paintings, while realistic, explore the abstract rhythms and organic shapes of nature in vibrant colours. Donna received the gold award in visual arts in the M&C Fine Arts Awards in St Lucia in 2000 and has an Hons. B.A. in Art from McMaster University.

Stephen Zawadowski, a glass artist and graduate of Sheridan College has been written up in the Remote Stylist. His work is a fusion of clear crystal glass and copper.

Meet the Artists:
Donna will be painting in the gallery on Sat, and Stephen will be in the gallery on Sun.

337 Sketch Gallery is located near Barton & Ottawa St. N
Hours: Thurs to Sun 11-6 pm

Anne Becker: 337sketch@gmail.com

Exhibitions

Art donated to L.A. fundraiser for St. Lucia

April 8, 2011 Donna Grandin Leave a comment

The following is a post that I’ve brought over from my original blog where I wrote about exhibitions, career highlights etc. in the 3rd person.

Artwork donated by Donna Grandin, on display at Chapman University, Orange, California.

Donna’s art auctioned at ” Poetry, Music, Art: a Celebration to Benefit St. Lucia”, April 5, 2011.

The following is from a blogpost from online literary journal dirtcakes.org, which included an image of one of Donna’s recent paintings:

“Did you know that the West Indies island of St. Lucia has more Nobel laureates per capita than any other nation and one of those –Derek Walcott – is a poet?Come celebrate Caribbean poetry, music, and art in a hot, hot, hot event on Tuesday, April 5, as dirtcakes sponsors an event to support Red Cross disaster relief for St. Lucia, an island devastated by last year’s Hurricane Tomas.

Join us in the Malloy Performance Portico at Chapman University’s Leatherby Libraries where Los Angeles poet Lynne Thompson, author of Beg No Pardon, will read work inspired by stories of her Caribbean ancestors, while Francis Lynch, from Trinidad and Tobago, adds a gentle steel pan cadence. Yes, you read that correctly, we’ll have a drummer in the library. And food. And art. Donna Grandin, an artist originally from St. Lucia, has donated two paintings for silent auction. Work from notable St. Lucian poets, including Derek Walcott, will be read and then, drum roll, Lynne Thompson will announce the winner of the dirtcakes First Annual Benefit Poetry Contest.”

There was a slide show projected on a screen behind the poets as they were doing their readings, which included images of Donna’s Hibiscus ‘n Bananas series. Donna was invited to participate in this event by organizor Natalie D’Auvergne, whose blogpost http://aphroditeares.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/poetry-music-art-a-celebration-to-benefit-st-lucia/ could almost have been written by Donna herself. Both the artist and the writer get inspiration from their Caribbean background, both observed how Hurricane Tomas devastated St. Lucia and her people last year, through the safety of Facebook, and felt compelled to help somehow. Proceeds from the event on Tues went to the St. Lucia Red Cross.

Exhibitions, Hibiscus

"St.Lucian ART 2011" at The Inner Gallery, St. Lucia

January 21, 2011 Donna Grandin Leave a comment

The following is a post that I’ve brought over from my original blog where I wrote about exhibitions, career highlights etc. in the 3rd person.

From the core, acrylics on canvas, 2009, 16×13 inch, Donna Grandin. Sold

This painting, and two others by Donna, will be part of “St. Lucian ART 2011: a selection of new and recent work by established, unknown and emerging artists from St. Lucia”. The group show opens Tues 25 January and runs till 5 February, 2011 at The Inner Gallery, Bois d’orange, St. Lucia.

DONNA GRANDIN

"Floravision", The Inner Gallery, St. Lucia

Upcoming exhibition at The Inner Gallery, St. Lucia

2-Person Exhibition, 337 Sketch Gallery, Hamilton

BLUE ROOTS ART STUDIO – acrylic paintings of Caribbean & Canadian landscape, flowers & foliage. Burlington, ON, Canada. 905-639-3419