Art Conversations with Lisa Jayne Irvine

Barbara Reade lives right beside Lake Ontario in the heart of downtown Burlington. The windows of her my studio space look out on a sweeping vista of sky, water and all the urban elements that make up her vibrant neighbourhood. Barbara’s palette is often influenced by the colours that she sees with a mix of natural hues, highly saturated pigments and the weathered stone neutrals of the local architecture.

When describing her work, describes a powerful interplay between wildness and precision that draws her to abstraction, much like the mix of the natural and urban landscape in which she lives. There is an exhilarating energy that happens when these two opposites coexist. 

Technically, Barbara is a mixed media artist, which means that she uses a variety of materials to layer and build history on the surface of each painting. Every painting that she make begins with play. Barbara never knows where a piece is headed, which keeps her studio practice fresh and unpredictable. One of her goals as an artist is to keep exploring and pushing my limits, whether that be with materials, scale or with new techniques.

On today’s episode Barbara talks about her return to art making after many years away, how her aversion to rectangles lead to her current totem series and launching “No Brush Required”, her weekly artists chats on instagram with Tamara Grand and guest artists. 

Interested in seeing some of Barbara’s work. Go to their website at https://barbarareade.com/

Find Barbara on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bdreade_art 

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

Happy 1st Anniversary!!!

It’s hard to believe that the podcast is a year old. What started as an idea has evolved into great conversations with artists from across Canada and around the globe. The podcast has now been downloaded in over 26 countries and continues to grow. Thank you to all the artists and individuals who have continued to support the podcast each week. My gratitude is overflowing. 

So for this special Anniversary edition, we have turned the tables. I have invited back my first guest, Lydia Swanson to sit in the host chair and interview me on this special occasion. Tune in as we discuss the conception of the podcast, my creative process and the work I make in my studio. And of course my dreams for the future… 

Find me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lisajayneirvine

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

Nicole Kagan is a multi-faceted visual artist born in Johannesburg, South Africa and based in Toronto, Canada. Deeply inspired by the natural world as a reflection of the interior human experience, her works are layered and lush, thoughtful and evocative. In her making practice, Nicole thrives on the freeing sense of experimentation and alchemy that accompanies working in mixed media — with an increasing interest in meaning-making, and the intersection of movement and stillness. Her works exist as both beautiful images to behold, as well as mindful visual reminders in one's space, symbolizing a range of contemplative themes and concepts. Nicole also facilitates creative-mindfulness sessions — teaching a range of alternative methods to stay more present in the moment, through accessible, sensory practices that explore a calming experience of creative expression and flow. 

On today’s episode Nicole talks about her process as an artist, the importance of being in the moment and how her work has evolved over time. She also discusses the book she is currently working on and how art and life influence one another. 

Interested in seeing some of Nicole’s work. Go to her website at www.nicolekagan.com

Find Nicole on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nicolekagan_art/ or https://www.instagram.com/meditativemuses/

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

Sometimes as artists we forget the importance of the creative pause to refill our creative well. Recently I took a mini vacation to just get away from everything, and it got me thinking about the importance of getting out into the world to explore new ideas, find inspiration and just breathe. 

Here are 5 ideas which I go into on today's episode for how you can begin to refill your own creative well:

1.Explore a new part of our city or nearby town

2.Try a new local restaurant

3.Go for a walk in nature

4.Visit a museum, art gallery or bookstore

5.Disconnect from social media

On today’s episode tune in as I share my insights, a little about my vacation and let you in on what’s coming up next for the podcast. 

Want to see the cabin I stayed in? Check out my Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lisajayneirvine

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

Sarah Brodie has found a brilliant way to write off all her art and office supply purchases by becoming an art therapist. She went to Canada’s one and only english language graduate studies program: getting her Masters in Art Therapy from Concordia University in 2005. She beefed up her studies with post-graduate specialization in child development and psychoanalysis at another one of a kind Institute in Toronto (CICAPP) and founded The Arterie with the only other person who also has those two diplomas, her work wife, Claudia Corradetti. They’ve been lucky to find a few other kindred spirits to practice with out of a sweet sage coloured Bungalow in Burlington Ontario. They’ve been even luckier to be so warmly received by a community hungry to use creativity in the service of healing, and mental health. 

On today’s episode Sarah talks about becoming an art therapist, her creative journaling and how Julie Cameron’s The Artist’s Way guided her journey.

Interested in learning about Sarah’s work. Go to her website at arterie.ca

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

Andrew Cheddie Sookrah is a Canadian artist based in Toronto. An elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists (Lifetime, Mentor), Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, Ontario Society of Artists, and the Portrait Society Of Canada.

Andrew was a contestant in the finals of Landscape Artists Of The Year Canada Competition; episodes can be streamed on CBC tv GEM Documentaries. Andrew teaches online at the McMichael Gallery of Canadian Art, The Barrie Arts Club and The Richmond Hill Art School.

His body of work includes landscapes and figurative work in abstracted realism, porcelain sculpture and social commentary. He is a raw colourist whose free brushwork is confident and powerful. Varied subjects are presented in his exploration of the interconnectivity of everything. Andrew’s strengths are evident in his strong sense of design, exquisite use of effective composition, confident presentation of bold colours.

Andrew has gone on several painting expeditions including to the Arctic, Gros Morne, Killarney, and Algonguin Park. 

On today’s episode Andrew talks about his love of landscape, his 2012 Nuit Blanche project and how teaching informs his practice as an artist. 

Interested in seeing some of Andrew’s work. Go to their website at www.sookrah.ca

Find Andrew on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/andrew_cheddie_sookrah/

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

Andrew Scheglov is a Toronto based figurative painter. Born in Russia and raised in Israel, he currently lives and works in Canada. His education includes a diploma in Classical Animation from Sheridan College in 2005, a year long apprenticeship with Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum in 2007, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2012. 

Andrew’s recent work oscillates between motifs of intimate queer portraiture in quotidian domestic or outdoor settings, and larger socio-psychological images of crowds in motion, particularly from the late Soviet era, resulting from the collapse of major spiritual systems and threat relevance to our own, contemporary Western psychic uprootedness and instability. In both bodies of work, Andrew is driven by a desire to address the psychology of the sitter in an empathetic way. On a formal level, he is fascinated with the effects of light, colour and movement.  

On this week’s episode Andrew talks about his journey from Classical animation to fine arts, his two series - queer portraits and crowd paintings, along with his apprenticeship in Norway and his creative process. 

Find Andrew on Instagram at https://www.andrewscheglov.com/

Interested in seeing some of Andrew’s work. Go to their website at https://www.instagram.com/secondhand_fresh/?hl=en

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

Kaitlin is an award-winning artist who uses multiple layers of coloured pencil to create her trompe-l’oeil fabric drawings. Leaving the wood exposed adds an additional element of organic detail, which is unique to each piece. She enjoys playing with light and shadows, in an attempt to transform an otherwise mundane item, into a sculptural entity. Capturing these fragments of fabric preserves the intricate details of each fabric, which can never be recreated in that specific form again. Each drawing is unique, special, and layered with details to explore! 

On today’s episode Kaitlin talks about her unique approach to drawing, what it’s like being in art fairs and how she pivoted from studying interior design to the fine arts. 

Interested in seeing some of Kaitlin’s  work. Go to their website at https://www.kaitlinmason.com/

Find Kaitlin on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kaitlin_mason_/ 

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

After a career in television and cinema in the 2000s, Pascal Normand has devoted himself since 2009 to the creation of his pictorial artwork.  Independent and self-taught, Pascal has participated in artistic events such as the New Art Festival in Ottawa, the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TAOF) and MTL en Arts in Montreal.

In recent years, Pascal’s  work has won several important awards: Mayor's Prize at the Couleurs Urbaines symposium in Granby (2018), CCLGBTQ Jury Prize at the MTL en Arts festival (2018), 3rd Grand Prize at the 34th International Gala of Visual Arts in Montreal (2019), Desjardins Public Prize at the 22nd edition of Mtl en Arts (2021). Several solo exhibitions are already scheduled in various venues until 2024.

Pascal’s primary inspiration, the textural uniqueness of industrial landscapes and architectural jewels is at the heart of his creative work. In his nocturnal photography, he combines digital art and aerosol painting to develop a different perspective on these places. A collective memory to which he pays homage by giving life to a current urban aesthetic where evocative settings are established. 

On today’s episode Pascal talks about his journey from the film industry to the fine arts world, why he takes photos at night and his involvement in art shows. 

Interested in seeing some of Pascal’s work. Go to their website at https://pascalnormand.com 

Find Pascal on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pascalnormand/ or check out his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6AF715037DE2E4BB

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com

Originally from London, Tara Leaver is an artist and teacher living by the sea in Cornwall, England. After completing a Foundation Diploma in London in her early twenties, her regular art practice took a back seat to travel and various forms of employment, including six years teaching Montessori. She was also dealing with recurring bouts of depression which impacted her creativity for several years.

Tara moved to Hove on the south coast as part of her recovery, and resumed painting in 2008, embarking on a period of intensive study and development after discovering the world of online blogs and art courses. Ten years later she moved again, this time to Cornwall, to live in a clifftop cottage with a purpose built studio in the garden. She began swimming outdoors, and this saw her work - always inspired by ideas of freedom and coastal living - evolve to focus on her deep love of sea swimming and immersing in wild nature.

As a result of her years of exploring art as a means of self discovery and self expression, Tara began teaching online in 2013. This has evolved into a comprehensive artist membership site and community, supporting other artists on their own paths. Having these two strands to her work - her own practice and the artist support she offers - brings a rich diversity to her life as an artist.

Tara sells work in galleries in London, the Cotswolds, and Cornwall, and via her own website. 

Her work is owned by private collectors in Europe, Australia, the USA, Canada and Africa. 

On today’s episode Tara talks about her love of nature, how living by the sea has transformed her and her work as well as her online teaching. 

Interested in seeing some of Tara’s  work. Go to their website at taraleaverart.com

Find Tara on Instagram at www.instagram.com/taraleaverart

Want to know more about her teaching? Check out Tara’s teaching instagram @taraleaver or her teaching website at www.taraleaver.com

Find me on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/artconversationswithlisajayne/ or at my website at www.lisajayneirvine.com