Participating Artists | 2026
Michelle Barkway
Michelle Barkway is a Vancouver Island based artist whose work is inspired by the landscapes of Canada’s West Coast. A former biologist, she draws on a lifelong connection to nature, translating forests, shorelines, and coastal vistas into vibrant contemporary paintings.
Working primarily in acrylics, Barkway transforms complex landscapes into expressive forms, bold colour palettes, and dynamic compositions. Inspired by time spent exploring the forests, mountains, and coastline of Western Canada, she creates works that capture both the beauty of a place and the feeling of being immersed in it.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries across Canada and is held in private collections throughout North America. Through her paintings, Barkway invites viewers to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the natural world.
Olivier Bonnet
Olivier Bonnet is a Montréal based visual artist whose work explores memory, history, and visual storytelling through drawing, printmaking, and mixed media. Influenced by time spent in Europe, Asia, and Africa, his practice reflects a deep interest in cultural exchange and the ways images connect us across time and place.
Working from vintage photographic archives dating from the 1920s to the 1950s, Bonnet reimagines historical imagery on antique maps, book pages, and other surfaces rich with history. His work has been exhibited in Montréal and Ottawa, and he works from his studio at the Centre d’Art de Montréal in Griffintown.
Nancy Jane Farnum
Nancy Jane Farnum is a Hudson based artist and designer whose work is inspired by texture, natural materials, and the beauty of imperfection. Working across painting, sculpture, concrete, lighting, furniture, and decorative finishes, she creates pieces that blur the line between art and functional design.
Drawn to organic forms and tactile surfaces, Farnum incorporates plaster, cement, wax, wood, and found materials into her practice, creating work that feels both contemporary and timeless. Whether creating abstract artwork, sculptural objects, or reimagined furnishings, her work is guided by curiosity, experimentation, and a love of making by hand.
In addition to her studio practice, Farnum is a co-founder of Le Collectif L’Art de Vivre and a co-organizer of Art de Vivre Hudson.
Holly Ann Friesen
Holly Ann Friesen is a Canadian visual artist whose work captures the essence of the landscape through abstraction. Inspired by forests, waterways, and expansive natural environments, she uses colour, light, and shape to create paintings that encourage viewers to see familiar places from a new perspective.
Drawing on a background in scientific research and a deep connection to the natural world, Friesen explores the relationship between observation and experience. Her layered compositions distill the landscape to its essential elements, creating works that are both contemplative and immersive.
A nationally represented artist, Friesen’s work has been exhibited across Canada and is held in private and corporate collections throughout North America.
Tania Love
Tania Love is a Toronto based visual artist whose work explores the relationship between the natural world, memory, and place. Using paper, natural pigments, textiles, and other tactile materials, she creates intricate works that invite close observation and a slower way of seeing.
Inspired by patterns found in water, plants, landscapes, and the body, Love’s practice reflects a deep curiosity about the connections between people and their environments. Her layered works balance delicacy and strength, transforming everyday observations into contemplative visual experiences.
Love has exhibited extensively across Canada and internationally, and is the recipient of numerous grants, residencies, and awards, including support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
Judith Harvey
Judith Harvey is a Quebec based painter whose work is inspired by the traditions of classical art, particularly Dutch still life painting and landscape. Drawing on a background in art history and a lifelong appreciation for the Old Masters, she creates paintings that celebrate simplicity, beauty, and quiet observation.
Working primarily in oil, Harvey is known for her refined still lifes and atmospheric landscapes. Through a minimalist approach to colour, composition, and form, she seeks to capture the essence of her subjects while conveying a sense of harmony and timelessness.
Her work has been exhibited throughout Quebec and is held in private collections internationally.
Ron Jamieson
Ron Jamieson is a Montréal based visual artist whose work explores perception, consciousness, and the quiet moments that often go unnoticed in everyday life. Working across painting and digital media, he creates evocative images that invite viewers to slow down, look closely, and reflect on the spaces between observation and experience.
Combining realism with a subtle sense of ambiguity, Jamieson draws inspiration from light, water, reflection, and the natural world. His work seeks to capture moments of stillness and wonder, encouraging a deeper awareness of the beauty and mystery found in ordinary life.
Jamieson has exhibited extensively in Canada, including solo exhibitions in Montréal, Toronto, and at international art fairs.
Allison Robin Smith
Allison Robin Smith is a Canadian landscape painter and art educator whose work is inspired by light, atmosphere, and the ever changing beauty of the natural world. Working from her barn studio in Saint-Lazare, Quebec and her gallery/studio in Hudson, Quebec, she creates serene semi-abstract landscapes that invite moments of calm, reflection, and connection.
Using layers of transparent acrylics, watercolours, and oil pastels, Smith builds luminous compositions inspired by changing skies, quiet landscapes, and time spent outdoors. Her distinctive style balances softness and movement, capturing both the essence of a place and the emotions it evokes.
In addition to her studio practice, Smith is co-founder of Art de Vivre Hudson and founder of Le Collectif L’Art de Vivre, where she helps foster creativity and connection through exhibitions, workshops, and community events.
