Series: "Know our Member Artists"

KUMAR SAMARANAYAKE A.O.C.A.D

Kumar Samaranayake was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and immigrated to Canada in 1975. He is the youngest in the family of two brothers, two sisters and four pet elephants. He studied Architecture at Carleton University in Ottawa and graduated in Industrial Design from Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto.

Kumar has loved to sketch and paint as long as he can remember and is a self-taught artist. It is only very recently that he has started to paint seriously after persistent encouragement from his family and friends. Watercolor is his first love but he is continually exploring other media in Acrylic, Oil, Encaustic and multi-media. He is a versatile artist who can adapt different styles and methods to suite his subject matter. This approach keeps his work fresh and exciting. Mostly he likes to incorporate bold colors with a loose style that leaves something
for your immagination. His work is influenced by artists such as John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer and Edward Seago.

He is a member of Springbank Artists and Mississauga Art Society since 1997. In the Fall of 2001, his first solo show “Ephemeral 1 ” meaning “Changing light” was very well received and has become an annual event since. Several times his paintings were selected to juried shows held by Visual Arts Mississauga and Oakville Arts Council. Twice he has won first and second place in Valentine show with Visual Arts Mississauga. His paintings are in private collections in Canada, USA, France, Hong Kong, Australia and Sri Lanka.

Presently he freelances as a graphic designer, illustrator and teaches part time at Visual Arts Mississauga which allows him to devote more of his time to paint. For over fourteen years he worked as a creative director for a reputable advertising agency in Toronto. His graphic design work has nominated and won numerous SAM ( Sales and Marketing) awards in Real Estate field in Toronto and throughout Canada.

Kumar lives in Mississauga with his wife and three children. He continues to devote his spare time to paint. His work is represented by galleries in Mississauga, Streetsville, Oakville and Schomberg,Ontario. He accepts commission work for Fine art, Illustration, Graphic design and just about everything in between.

(905)569-3448 or samk1@rogers.com

www.yessy.com/samk1/

Series: "Know our Member Artists"

Nada Annan

When Nada discovered oil painting, it was love at first stroke, because it allowed her the chance to translate inspiration into instant colour. Every oil painting she does is an exploration, combining focus with intuitive freedom. Her career began by copying from impressionist artists under the tutelage of known experts in the field.

As she got more and more involved in her art, she took some art classes, and then joined the Mississauga Art Society. She enjoys painting still life, landscapes and figures and is noted for her use of deep and rich colours.

Nada is passionate about her art. “I want people to see in my paintings the beauty of the structure that they may walk by every day and might never notice. As with my still life painting, I hope to evoke a smile or feeling of calm for my viewer”.

Her works have been included in numerous group and one-person shows and her art has been exhibited in a number of galleries.

To find out more about Nada, view her works, and learn about her upcoming shows and endeavors, you are invited to visit her website at http://www.nadaannan.com/ and you can email her at nadaannan@rogers.com.

Port Credit Library Exhibit

Mississauga Art Society (MAS) had their exhibit at the Port Credit Library , Mississauga, on a sunny Saturday, May 26th 2007 – and what an excellent show it was !! The show looked better than ever, with its 15 member artist team offering a heady brew of new works. It was evident that most artists were making leaps in their artistic development, while also offering a good selection of classic and traditional talent.

The show was a success in all respect.

The walls were filled imaginatively with beautiful pieces of art. Aggressive marketing with flyers displayed in and around the venue along with colorful signage ensured a steady stream of visitors to the exhibit. Cries went out by artist for more and more space as the artwork was immense.

Visitors were treated to an impressive and eclectic mix of work, in different mediums and styles, by the artists of MAS which included:

1. Diane Lee, winner of the Visual Arts Mississauga Awards and Jury shows, with her paintings in oil;


2. Ed Clark, whose landscape watercolor art took us on a stroll through the landscapes of Ontario cottage country;


3. Hooshang Zahiri, whose watercolors showed us the colors and scenery of Tuscany and Spain;


4. Ron Sypher, with his amazing acrylic renditions of country-side landscapes;


5. Elaine Quinn, who has a great eye and patience to capture infinite details in her beautiful work, especially on wild life;


6. Nada Anan, with her dreamy and misty landscape in acrylic on canvas;


7. Luba Repar, with her Van Gogh style paintings (she actually had a portrait of Van Gogh on exhibit !!)


8. Sandi Pryhodki, the featured artist from the Spring show, along with her bold splashes of paint on canvas, amazing abstract art;


9. Nadine Smith, with her dreamy and colorful watercolors;


10. Vishal Misra, with his figurative and surprisingly panoramic landscape artwork;


11. Anupama Vittal, with her expressive abstract pieces which offered a faint glimpse of ‘surreal’ work;


12. Mary-Louise, with her Mississauga landscape paintings;


13. Frank Tonido, with his amazing portraits and real-like acrylic paintings;


14. Cliff Riviere, his works on elements and strong influences of the African-American culture, and finally


15. Kumar Samarnayake, with his amazing collection of landscape and nude figurative paintings.

The show was even made more special when a long-standing member of the Group, Lorne Scott visited the exhibit despite his ailing health. His presence was pleasant surprise for all the members.

The excitement flowed as visitors interacted and discussed subjects and style of paintings with the exhibiting artists. To encourage visitor participation, a grand draw was held along the exhibit. The winners of the draw were:

• Leigh Lucas, who won a miniature painting on a 23KT certified Gold leaf (from Italy) and


• Jamie Davis, who won the painting puzzle from the AGO collections of the work by Lawrence Harris (Group of Seven).

At close, the exhibiting artists were left with hunger for more time to interact with the visitors and share their works. But alas ! all good things come to an end. So to all those who missed out … patience, for we will be back at the same venue on July 14, 2007 - Stay tuned !!

For images from the show, please visit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8558516@N03/