John Smith and students with some of their art. (Tichaona Tapambwa/Toronto Observer)
It was a family affair for a group of Leaside artists.
Local painter and teacher John Smith held a spring art show at the unique Studio 51 Design Art Gallery on Laird Drive. The showcase invited guests to view a diverse group of acrylic, watercolor and oil paintings made by local artists.
“My idea originally was to take people that were making a lot of mistakes in their work and introduce them in a brief course on basic drawing skill,” Smith said. “What you see (in the show) is that if they didn’t get it by instinct they got it by perseverance.”
The artwork in this year’s version of the annual exhibition came from a range of groups, from aspiring college artists to retired residents living in North York.
“When I retired I never painted before so when I happened to go to a painting workshop at the Furlong Community Centre for four Saturday mornings I was totally hooked,” said Anne Neidhardt, an artist with six paintings at the show.
The showcase had almost a hundred pieces of artwork. The painters even included Smith’s daughter and grandson, who came from Montreal to be part of their grandfather’s show.
“(A) group that paints together, show (off) together”, said Neidhardt, explaining the camaraderie and community all the artists have.