Meet the Ten Collective Artists | April 26-27, 2025
After our fourth show in April 2023 it was decided that in order to create a significant body of work for the next show we needed more than 11 months in our studios. We’re much happier now that the Ten Collective show will be considered a biennial show and we are not under the pressure to “produce”. We’ll decide after the 2025 show if that will change.
Now, having said that, most of the Ten painters have been painting and showing and selling at other venues all this time, either solo or with other artists. It is, afterall, their “career” and not something they do as a job, but to fulfill a passion that completes them..
Amelia, Bhat, Jennifer, Charlie, Lily, Kaija, Jill, Eileen, Kathy, Maria, Allan and Maci, the Wonderdog.
I feel quite privileged being part of this group and I readily admit I have learned so much from them since our first show in 2018. Each one of them is different from the other, their styles and approaches, their colour palettes and content. And we have built stronger relationships with each other. In 2017 the group was formed with ten artists who, in general, knew very little about each other, other than we felt great respect for each other’s work (that’s a lot of “others”…..should I have used Chat GPT to fix that?). It’s lovely that, regardless of our different styles, etc., we can share and understand what we’re feeling about our processes and what we wish to achieve.
Charlie Spratt has been a devoted plein air/studio painter for many years, and has shared stories of being outdoors even in the winter trying to catch that elusive light on snow as the sun sets. Kaija Savinainen has travelled to the North several times since April 2023 and has created an extraordinary offering of vibrant paintings, as well as shared her adventures on her website’s blog. Lily Swain continues to juggle a young family’s demands and manages to fulfill her creative drive alone in her studio. Her work is quiet and soft and beautiful and strong, and always makes an impact.
Jennifer Noxon had the opportunity to work on her music and choir commitments since the last show yet she, too, could not ignore her drive to create arresting pieces that will surely make you experience and embrace. Amelia Ah You has surrounded herself in Nature to its fullest and promises to bring deep, meaningful creations to our fifth show. And when it comes to exceptional “quirkiness”, who better does that than Jill Halliday. Her sense of humour and ability to render it in her paintings is always on point.
Maria Moldovan has been in shows and her highly crafted ceramics and whimsical paintings are sold at L.A. Pai Gallery, Ottawa and General Fine Craft, Almonte. Katherine McNenly always has a painting on her easel, be it a commission or for the Ten Collective. Her palette and content is expressed beautifully because of her skilled grasp of the traditional style of painting. Bhat Boy has been showing in Art in the Park, Artissima and at Orange Gallery. Always fun, fantastical and a joy to experience, Bhat’s work never disappoints.
Allan Stanley has been shifting from graphic design to fine art for the past four years. Each year his work has evolved with his thoughtful, considered approach to subject and content. My painting is still on the road of discovery (always will be) and gives me pure joy when the work turns out as I envisioned. A story or connection inspires my work. I can’t paint it otherwise.
Over the next four months blog pieces will be posted on a regular basis right up to the show date. All of the painters have submitted their articles and each one of them is interesting and worth the read. I hope you will enjoy them as well. We’re looking forward to seeing you April 26-27, 2025. ~ Eileen