About Alison
Alison living most of her life in Nova Scotia; originally being born in Ontario, discovers her joy through painting as there is nothing she doesn’t try her hand at. Alison was a full-time teacher in Saskatoon for 4 years prior to that she was working with the Cape Breton Regional School Board for 12-15 years. When she wasn’t teaching art she was creating her own. She works with all types of painting including the use of different materials, painting portraits/landscapes, encaustic- to paint using hot wax and much more. Her work has been displayed in galleries/ private collections, and children’s books. She’s been involved in many exhibitions, events and was one of the 2017’s Finalist in The Artist’s Magazine Annual Art Competition. Retiring as a art teacher doesn’t stop there for Alison, consistent as paint pours, Alison continues to explore new ways to pursue her pride and joy daily.
I stopped Alison when I had seen her painting directly across from three brightly painted homes in Sydney, NS (hoping I wasn’t walking up on a architect planning work) but rather, Alison was practicing great detail by drawing these houses to prepare for her upcoming event in Halifax later this month, and I couldn’t help but stop and admire her work. This summer she has been setting up her paint supplies around town to practice, limiting herself two and a half hours per painting.
“Motivation is tricky as it is so dependent on mood and where one is in their life at any particular moment”
Alison goes on to say that treating art as a job and committing to going to the studio everyday to maintain motivation and creative thoughts is one’s key. She continues to join art communities and connect with others.
Alison’s past project: Trans-Canada 150 X TWO
Honoring Canada’s 150th, Alison and her life-long friend whom also has an eye for art developed a project called ‘Trans-Canada 150 X TWO’. The plan was to drive from Victoria to St-John’s, NFLD for every 150 km they would pull over, get out, and capture a few photos. That’s right. Every 150KM no matter what it was, they took a photo for inspiration even if there was zero.. At the end of their road trip, they had 106 paintings in total, 53 each. Successful with their plans, and rules they completed the project. A year after many car stops, they had an exhibition in Toronto displaying some pieces of their work they created between the coasts. Eager to display more, within a year they had another exhibition but rather in Montreal displaying all 106 paintings.
Upcoming events:
Alison is apart of an upcoming event in Halifax called Paint the Hydrostones 2019, hosted by 14 Bells, a fine arts gallery located in the Hydrostone Market features local as well as many other Canadian artists. The event will take place September 14-15th and all artwork will be sold throughout the weekend. This year actually brings the gallery to host their second event that includes plein air painting. The artists will paint for two consecutive days, once paintings are finished they are displayed at 14 Bells. 100% of registration fees as well as 10% of their entire sales are donated to the Brigadoon Village.
The Brigadoon Village is one of the largest pediatric camps- a camp for children. It was designed to specifically focus on the medical needs of a child with health conditions by offering 14 programs to accommodate such.
To support the Brigadoon Village, click the above link.
What could Alison’s next project be? See link to view all of her work
Website: https://alisongrapes.weebly.com/
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