Realism

Realism, sometimes called naturalism, is generally the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding speculative fiction and supernatural elements.

  • Colour Outside the Lines

    “Colour Outside the Lines”- 1800 ft2 acrylic paint, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, 2020. Funding body: StreetARToronto. Budget $33,000.00.

    In November of 2018, the artists developed and held art workshops with elementary school children of The Mississauga’s of the New Credit First Nation to collaborate on a vibrant mural intended to highlight the beauty and whimsy of children’s imaginations. This mural was installed on unceded land near a historical Indigenous burial site in Scarborough.

    Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)

  • Pillars of the Community

    “Pillars of the Community”, Rogers Place Arena, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2016. Approximately 2,227 square feet (67.5 ft x 33 ft)

    Pillars of the Community is a public art project that reflects the diverse culture, character and spirit of Edmonton’s inner-city community. Working together with Boyle Street Community Services- an inner-city initiative to combat homelessness and poverty- the artists photographed people from all walks of life to capture the very real essence of the Edmonton core. This project is about the honesty of urban life- the daily faces, the overlooked and the under-praised that all contribute to the vast culture of this urban wilderness. The use of colour and lines draw connections and help to highlight Edmonton’s reality – complex, urban, vibrant and yet still connected.

    Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)

  • Passage

    “Passage” created for the Wall2Wall Mural Festival in downtown Winnipeg, MB in 2019. Location “The Forks” Market, 864 square feet (36’x12’ x 2 murals)

    “Passage” is a diptych about time and place, place in one’s life, one’s city, and one’s heart. With this project, we wanted to paint an idea, rather than an individual, a representation of the complexity of human life, evoking a conversation on issues of loneliness, community, compassion and the challenges we each pass through in our life. This elderly figure, who has lived a life full of both trauma and triumph gazes deeply into the beauty of a prairie sunset. These tunnel walls at The Forks is the perfect location to represent the love and comfort provided by proximity to nature. We hope that viewers passing by this project will find a connection, both with their own relationship to nature and their compassion for humanity.

    Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)

  • Langland Farms

    “Langland Farms” 2,300ft2, acrylic paint, Bruce County, ON, 2019. Funding body: Langland Farms.
    This mural project was undertaken to highlight the beauty of farm life while repurposing an underutilized farm structure and creating an outdoor gallery for this small rural community. It can be seen from a major route of travel in the area and has since become a local tourist attraction, highlighting the dedication of local families to rural life.

    Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)

  • Notre jeunesse, notre future

    Notre jeunesse, notre future (our youth, our future), Ferme Michel Dignard et Jeannette Mongeon, Embrun, Ontario, Canada. 4,175 square feet.

    Popsilos was a Canada 150 project to celebrate and encourage tourism in rural areas,
    Lacey and Layla Art were granted one of five massive farm silos to paint in the Prescott-Russell farmlands of Ontario. Working within the themes of the Government of Canada’s 150th celebration, we consulted with local Algonquin community members to create an original artwork that would positively reflect important themes symbols to move forward with unity and hope for the future of Canada.

    Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)

  • Leif: 1993-2019

    “Leif (1993-2019)” 1900 ft2 acrylic paint, Montreal, Quebec, 2020.

    This project was undertaken as a memorial to honour and celebrate the life of Leif. The funding of the production materials and equipment was fundraised with the help of Leif’s family and the artists donated the entirety of the production of the mural.

    Artists: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)

  • Look Closely

    “Look Closely” was a self-initiated project funded by us, and subsidized by a personal art auction and kind donations by patrons, friends and family. Our intent with this project is to celebrate and promote age diversity and the beauty and wisdom in growing older in the bustling heart of Montreal’s trendy and young Plateau neighbourhood.

    Artist: Lacey and Layla Art (LALA)

  • Oak Lake MB 150 Mural

    This mural is part of a MB 150 project, created to celebrate the impact that rural communities have made on the province of Manitoba.
    This project was spearheaded by Arts Mosaic Inc., a regional arts organization. Arts Mosaic provides arts programming for communities in the Town of Virden, and the RMs of Pipestone, Sifton and Wallace-Woodworth.
    Erica and Mary Lowe were chosen to create the murals in the communities of Elkhorn, Oak Lake and Virden. This mother-daughter mural team are local, professional artists who excel at painting realism, historical imagery and creatively playing with the beauty of nature.
    The mural has an educational component, and will serve to celebrate and explore the history of the Ox Cart Trail. Resources and images were gathered from the book Ox Cart Trail to Blacktop , and the mural is based on the belief that it is important for people to know as much as  possible of their own history.

  • Elkhorn MB 150 Mural

    This mural is part of a MB 150 project, created to celebrate the impact that rural communities have made on the province of Manitoba.
    This project was spearheaded by Arts Mosaic Inc., a regional arts organization. Arts Mosaic provides arts programming for communities in the Town of Virden, and the RMs of Pipestone, Sifton and Wallace-Woodworth.
    Erica and Mary Lowe were chosen to create the murals in the communities of Elkhorn, Oak Lake and Virden. This mother-daughter mural team are local, professional artists who excel at painting realism, historical imagery and creatively playing with the beauty of nature. The mural is a celebration of Isaac Clarkson. “Ike” to his hundreds of friends, had a boyhood dream of being able to collect and display for future generations some of the machines of his youth; here, the dream came true. A museum was opened in 1967 and he continued to work on the cars until his passing in 1971 at the age of 58.

  • Virden MB 150 Mural

    This mural is part of a MB 150 project, created to celebrate the impact that rural communities have made on the province of Manitoba.
    This project was spearheaded by Arts Mosaic Inc., a regional arts organization. Arts Mosaic provides arts programming for communities in the Town of Virden, and the RMs of Pipestone, Sifton and Wallace-Woodworth.
    Erica and Mary Lowe were chosen to create the murals in the communities of Elkhorn, Oak Lake and Virden. This mother-daughter mural team are local, professional artists who excel at painting realism, historical imagery and creatively playing with the beauty of nature.
    The mural is a reflection of the industry, people and landscape that brought life into this community. The mural brings together the history and vibrancy of the prairies into a collage bursting with color and life.
    Support for this project was provided by the Town of Virden and the Virden and Area Foundation.

    Artists: Erica and Mary Lowe

  • Skinks and Skunk

    Private commission for Artscape Foundation fundraiser

    trompe l’oeil mural of woodland creatures of the Kawartha’s. Several creatures are endangered, threatened or of special concern.

    On painted wood shed.

    Artist: Karen Roberts, July 2020

  • Hope

    Hope was the message of the mural for Artscape at Lakeview Village construction site. Approx 200 sq. ft themed around BLM and isolation during the Covid19 pandemic by Khaula Mazhar.

  • Red Brick Revamp

    Covid-compliant takeout window with a new, fresh, floral look!
    The Red Brick Café is a Guelph hotspot for fresh coffee, baked goods, and often hosts local artists. With their doors shut for the pandemic, they’ve pivoted to feature artists on the exterior.

    Artist: Amber Ozols, June 2020

  • Fox on a Box

    Fox on a Box created for Mississauga’s Boxes and Banners project with Bell and Alectra.
    May 2019.
    Fun image of a fox chasing after a dragon fly in front of a depiction of the Britannia Post Office which used to be near this location.

    Artist: Khaula Mazhar

  • Supply Trains Here

    This mural depicts an early small town scene. Excursions to town were few and far between for homesteaders and ranching families. The arrival of the supply train provided an opportunity for people to socialize and get caught up on the latest news.

    Artist: Terry Gregoraschuk, 1991-92

  • Aviation History in High River

    The first mural (facing east) features squadron leader ‘Ack Ack Leitch’ one of Canada’s outstanding aviators and a long-time resident of High River. He was awarded both the Military Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was stationed in High River at the Air Station and was later promoted to Officer Commanding. The parachutists are Flight Lieutenant Carter, M.M. seen
    making the first local jump at the High River Air Station in 1926, and stunt man Roy Lomheim demonstrating his free-fall dive to students from the No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School in the 1940s. The south-facing mural shows an inspection at the No. 5 E.F.T.S. which operated on the former High River
    Air Station site from 1941 to 1944. The west-facing mural depicts an aerial fire patrol carried out by members of the Canadian Air Force who manned the High River Air Station, which opened in 1921. Carrier pigeons were used until ground to air communications were established.

    Artist: Doug Dreidiger, 1992-94

  • High River’s First Nurse

    Marie Meyer Davis was a trained nurse who lived and worked in the High River area from 1903 to 1939. She was an invaluable assistant to pioneer doctor Dr. G.D. Stanley, and accompanied him to many out-of-town cases, often driving
    the horse-drawn vehicle while he slept. During the 1918 influenza epidemic, when the doctor was too busy to make all the calls, she often worked alone.This mural was a joint legacy project between the 1996 High River Science Festival
    Committee and Science Alberta, and is a reminder of the significant contribution science makes to our everyday lives

  • Rt. Hon. Joe Clark

    High River native Joe Clark was Canada’s 16th and, at age 39, youngest Prime Minister. His family has deep roots in High River, where his Grandfather Charles Clark Sr. started the High River Times in 1905. His father Charles Clark Jr. then operated the Times from 1949 until he sold it in 1966 when Joe and his brother Peter decided to pursue other careers.

  • W.O. (Bill) Mitchell

    W.O. (Bill) Mitchell is one of Canada’s best-loved writers. His works include such Canadian classics as Who Has Seen the Wind and Jake and the Kid. Bill, his wife Merna, and their family lived in High River from 1944 to 1968 (except for three years when he was fiction editor at Macleans). Bill taught English, Social Studies and Drama at High River High School. Stories of Bill’s exploits in High River abound and he is fondly remembered by many locals. In later years, he and Merna lived mainly in Calgary, but they chose the High River Cemetery as
    their final resting place.

    Artist: J.M Compton, 1994

  • Fort Spitzee

    In the late 1800s, many whiskey traders from south of the border came to southern Alberta and set up trading forts where they exchanged liquor, arms, and ammunition for furs and buffalo hides. There were several forts on the Sheep and Highwood Rivers, but the largest was Fort Spitzee. There were at least two other posts also known as ‘Spitzee’. These posts proved to be disastrous for the
    First Nations people. In 1874, the North West Mounted Police were sent west by the Canadian government to put an end to the whiskey trade. Traders heard of their arrival, and abandoned the forts – often burning them to the ground as they left. Kneeling in the foreground is Jerry Potts, who was a guide for the NWMP.

    Artist: Terry Winter, 1992