Member Artists

Karin Modotto is an amateur photographer who loves to travel. Karin has recently retired after a 40-year career in technology. In 2015 Karin took up photography as a hobby and since retirement is focused on her photography more full time and working on establishing herself as an artist in the community. Karin lives in Wasaga beach, a perfect setting for her photography.

Karin is on the board of directors of the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts as well as a member of the Wasaga Beach Artist community.

My two creative passions are photography and painting. I always keep my camera close to take advantage of the moment. Living in south Georgian Bay is an inspiring atmosphere for both interests.
"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." Scott Adams

From an early age, Pauline had a desire to create. This desire led her to begin a career in Interior Design and as time progressed, to express her creativity in designing jewellery, pottery and the formulation of organic natural soaps and body scrubs. After relocating to Collingwood Pauline’s desire to create, inspired her artistic talent on canvas and she began to work successfully with both Acrylics and Oils. Several of her pieces are displayed and sold in various venues around Collingwood and the GTA. Pauline is currently a member of the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts, Tiny Arts Collective, and Wasaga Society for the Arts.

Her Artwork has been featured on the Blue Mountain Bruce Trail Club site, and she has participated in numerous shows Simcoe Stree Market, Collingwood Art Crawl , Art on the Street, The Loft Gallery Square Ft show, Press Room Gallery, and L E Shore Gallery .

Her philosophy “always try something new and enjoy every step of the way “ is reflected in who Pauline is and in all of her creative endeavours.

I am a full time artist living in the South Georgian Bay Area, where I find inspiration for many of my paintings. I also travel to Northern Ontario on sketching trips in the fall to capture the more rugged landscape.
Art and creating for me is about searching for the beautiful and the sublime in nature. My hope is to provide a type of serenity and healing through my art.

Inspired by the sea….
Jewels by Jill

My jewelry consists of simple, unique statement pieces that are inspired by the sea. The shells and coral come from isolated beaches in the Gulf of Mexico. My driftwood is gathered from the beaches of Wasaga, Collingwood and Thornbury. I combine these with pearls and put them together with comfortable, natural and sustainable materials such as leather cord, leather lace, braided leather, cotton rope and jute or hemp.

My background is in conventional jewelry. For many years, I worked in our family-owned jewelry store doing repairs. I developed my art form independently from mainstream jewelry. This evolution is something I’m passionate about and is my interpretation of various shapes and forms from the sea.

Upon retiring as a teacher, I took up painting as a hobby and was instantly hooked. I try to capture the beauty of Blue Mountain, Georgian Bay, old homes and farm buildings and seascapes of Greece and Florida Keys.
Have done drawing and painting demos and workshops for art groups in Ontario and Florida Keys.

MJ is a passionate skier and golfer. She has been painting her interests for 15 years in the Blue Mountain area. Her acrylic paintings hang in several public and private collections across Ontario. She has been chosen to present banners for both Thornbury and Collingwood. In September she shares a show at the LE shore library in Thornbury.

My name is Chantal, I am an artist, a poet and a soon to be published author. Art has been an essential part of who I am since I was a child. Crayons in hand, colouring, drawing and dreaming of unleashing a masterpiece on my very own blank wall. From classroom to college, marriage and children—from clerical work to commissions to a career in special education, I have made art.
In 2016 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease—not the most pleasant diagnosis, but not the worst either. At that point I made a choice—to see it as a permission slip, an opportunity to seize the moment and whatever that moment brings—and make art, lots of art.
Since then I have been on a personal creative journey of discovery through paint and now poetry. It challenges me and connects me to that brave voice inside. It lights me up, feeds my soul and helps make sense of it all.

I perceive movement in things that are in fact static, and am compelled to either see or feel texture. Similarly, colour also evokes strong emotions, and can pull me in creative directions and expression.
As a child, I was challenged with vision issues. As a result, I was very tactile when something interested me – I had to touch to understand. This resulted in many talks with Mom about “looking with our eyes, not our hands”, and more than one broken item in my wake. However, it was also a catalyst to a deep appreciation of texture, movement, light and dark – albeit often out of focus, but fascinating none the less. The fascination continues as my artistic practice grows and develops, exploring new techniques and materials, and learning from the rich reservoir of practicing artists in the Georgian Bay region.

Mary's passion for art started in 2013 after retiring from Scotiabank.

She took many classes in drawing, acrylic, watercolor painting at TDSB. She continued her studies in Intermediate Acrylics and Art History at Avenue Road Art School in Toronto.

She moved to Collingwood in 2018, where she continues to be an enthusiastic artist. The past 2 years she has studied oil and palette knife classes in Collingwood and is an avid member of the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts. She enjoys studying with other artists in classes and workshops learning about fresh and innovative ideas.

Alison was born in Montreal in 1969. She grew up in Ontario, living in Niagara Falls, Pembroke and North Bay, before moving to Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Art and Design. After spending 15 years in the city, she moved to Collingwood in 2005.

Artistic expression has always been a significant part of Alison’s life. From earliest memories, she has been compelled to use imagery to recreate that which has fascinated her. From flora and fauna, to man made objects and structures, the diversity of colours, textures, shapes and patterns found in these forms have always been a source of wonder to study and translate through an artistic medium. Every scene she paints speaks to her on a very personal level, evoking an emotional response as a reaction to its character or presence.

In her final year at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Alison began using oils as her primary medium. Since graduating in 1993, she has focused on developing a technique to express the intricacies of light, colour and pattern to recreate a realm which captures the essence of the subject. Her interest in painting landscape was initiated when she started traveling in 1995, and she began exhibiting work shortly after, in 1997. Since then she has been exhibiting regularly, first in Toronto, then in Collingwood, in both group and solo shows. The exploration of the natural world provides endless revelations and inspiration for her work.

Robert Pointer is a Canadian artist, educator, and musician working in Grey County. His artwork has been in exhibitions since the 1970's. A figurative artist, he primarily creates intimate paintings from observation or relating to direct personal experience in acrylic, or oil on canvas. A post-modern artist, his paintings can be in the realist, impressionist, or abstract tradition depending on his subject and intention. As a teacher with the Peel District School Board, he taught grades 4 to 7 for over 25 years with a specialty in the arts. After retiring in 2014, Robert Pointer continues to exhibit his art at galleries and shows and teaches art skills at all levels with his business, Wildwood Art adventures and with Magic of Children in the Arts. His exploration of the themes of wildlife, cottage country tranquility and exuberance, aging and a life lived, and the contrasts of rural and urban life keep him inspired. Robert Pointer is a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts.

Bonnie is a visual person, easily inspired by any hint of light, shadow, pattern, or texture. She sees the small details, the little things that make our world a beautiful place. Wandering with her camera helps her to savor life and the world we live in. She hopes that when you observe her photos you will feel something special, __some nostalgia, some magic, a sense of wonder or gratitude. Bonnie loves to wander with her camera in this beautiful Georgian Bay area and in far off places in our world.

Biography for George Rutherford

Although George has always enjoyed drawing and painting, his busy career as a Head of School permitted him very little time to do so. Since he retired and moved to Collingwood, George has devoted more of his time and energy to painting, exclusively in acrylics.

His inspiration comes from his many excursions in the Southern Georgian Bay region, as well throughout the more northern regions associated with Georgian Bay – Parry Sound, Killarney and Sioux St. Marie.

The genesis of many of his paintings is a scene or a feature that catches his eye. Often a photograph is taken for reference. From there, the idea is translated in a sketch. The intention is to create a pleasing composition. It is at this stage that elements in the photograph are eliminated or altered to suit. Once accomplished, then other preliminary decisions are made – time of day, season of the year, weather conditions, the size of the painting and the like.

Once the painting is started, constant decisions are being made and at times, the composition departs from the original mental concept and sketch. Painting often results in happy accidents which catch him by surprise and add to the composition. But there are the not-so-happy accidents that occur which prompt him to pause the work and walk away. Returning to the work with new insight and a new challenge is invigorating even though it feels like a bit of a battle at times.

George also enjoys chatting with other artists as they too inspire him.

Finally, well known artists that inspire him include Andrew Wyeth, The Group of Seven, Ken Danby and Philip Craig.

George’s work is posted on his Instagram site rutherford317.

Margaret Cora Schmor

‘Capturing moments, memories and special places in Georgian Bay and Escarpment Country’

I am a Collingwood-based landscape painter, working mostly in acrylics and mixed media. I paint from a place of gratitude and joy for life, celebrating the beauty of the world in which we live. My paintings reflect my love of nature, the beauty of ‘place’, and the awe and wonder of creation. It is my hope that they bring that same joy and wonder to each viewer.

With brush and canvas, I strive to capture the beauty, and feeling of peace - the gift of a walk in the wild. I love to paint my favourite places and unexpected beauty on Georgian Bay, along the Bruce trail or on one of the many beautiful local trails. The special places that evoke memories and bring joy with each visit. I love the architecture of winter trees and long January shadows, the light dappling through summer shade, the moody blue skies over Georgian Bay, and fall fireworks of colour. While my camera is usually an iPhone these days, the inspiration for my paintings comes from the joy of daily excursions in our local ‘backyard’.

My first creative outlet was designing and sewing fleece outwear. The past 5 years I have been focused on creating art with inks. My journey began with alcohol inks, producing both abstract and nature inspired works. My most recent creations are in encaustic wax and India ink. I love the depth and texture encaustic wax produces. Living in Collingwood brings me close to Georgian Bay and its natural beauty that inspires me.

Barbara Pearn was born in Stratford, Ontario and grew up on a farm near Fullerton. Barbara took up watercolours as a teenager and early sales encouraged her to keep painting.

Barbara began her own successful graphic design business ColourPix, in 1998. Her graphic design work helped fine tune her colour knowledge and composition skills. Starting in 2005 she began to publish The Art Map, an annual guide showcasing regional artists, art galleries and art shows, until 2020.

She has participated in many local art shows in Grey and Bruce and is an active member of the local arts community. She is currently represented by the Matilda Swanson Gallery in Clarksburg and Garage 13 in Eugenia. She is currently a member of the Blue Mountain Foundation of the arts, in Collingwood.

Her work is in private collections in Canada, United States as well as in England.

She currently lives in Grey County.

Heather LaRue lives in Collingwood, Ontario and began drawing and painting at an early age. She studied at the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto for classical drawing and painting.

Barbara Kendrick is a Canadian artist raised in northern Ontario and educated at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. She is an original printmaker and painter working in both oils and acrylics resulting in both traditional works and mixed media works that combine drawing and painting along with printmaking methods such as collagraph, relief and drypoint. Barbara started her artistic journey as a painter but began exploring printmaking in 2010. At first these methods proved to be separate disciplines but have more recently overlapped with paintings that include elements of print and original prints that include multiple mixed media techniques. Barbara has produced numerous small editions and focuses primarily on creating bodies of work that are varied throughout the edition with each piece being different from the previous, ie: monoprints, monotypes and mixed media works. Barbara currently works throughout the Georgian Bay area maintaining studios in both Wasaga Beach and in the Parry Sound area.

Painting from my photography

I love to create art quilt pieces that are colourful, conceptual with lots of texture and embellishments. I began as a traditional quilter and gradually moved into Art Quilting. I love to experiment with new techniques and I am constantly challenging myself. I belong to two international Art Quilting groups and have exhibited in Europe, USA and Canada.

My art is an interpretation of the beauty in our country and places I have visited using acrylics in a realistic style. My desire is that people viewing my art will remember a special moment or place the painting evokes as they view it.

Collingwood-based artist Heather Smiley has been honing her painting skills since retiring from the world of work in 2019. She takes her inspiration from the beauty of water, land, and sky anywhere, but looks first to the landscape on her doorstep: the rural landscape of Simcoe and Grey Counties, the Blue Mountain area, and northern Ontario.

Jennifer Keskikyla Is a Collingwood Artist who is inspired by the
natural world.

Living in Collingwood gives Jennifer access to nature. Whether it
is the shores of Georgian Bay, with waves crashing and skies
brooding, or the serenity of an old maple growth forest towering
over her head, with birdsong and wind rustling the leaves, nature
is where she goes to fill up her energy, to seek inspiration.
Jennifer tries to represent the feeling of energy and wonder she
gets during her time outdoors.

Jennifer has studied art at the Royal Ontario Museum, Freehand
School of Art, The Haliburton School of Art and Design, and the
McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Vaughan. Mediums she
has explored in her painted works include watercolour, oil,
acrylic and mixed media.

Susan Sellers has had a drive to create since childhood. She began quilting in 2000 and hasn’t looked back. She keeps her mind firmly open to new techniques and materials. A love of colour guides the exploration, with fabric as the medium of expression. To allow inspiration to come from the subject, her style ranges from representational to abstract.