Finger presses the pause button on wooden cubes. Canadian Art Junkie is on a break. In the meantime, enjoy browsing the popular posts or use the categories list to discover new artists. See you in mid-October.

Over the last year, artist Maggee Day has developed a daily practice of drawing, making quick sketches of what catches her attention—a pile of toys, objects left on a table after friends have gone home, containers gathered while starting a garden. Gardener, 2026, Oil on canvas, Diptych, Each panel: 72” x 54”, Total dimensions: 72” x 108” Day's bold, new paintings are at Vancouver's Equinox Gallery in…

Nostalgic, ghostly and accurate, Andrew Valko's drive-in series is captivating. Memories anyone? See more on his website, here (Below - a sampling from his drive-in series click image to go to page) Andrew Valko (b. 1957, Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Canadian artist known for his meticulously detailed paintings and printmaking. He immigrated to Canada in 1968 and later earned a Diploma in Graphic Design and Applied Arts from Red River Community College in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

This title comes from the Instagram account that features photos of laundry on the line, a surprisingly satisfying place to browse. These are examples of some of the sketchbook pages that match its magic. (source) Sarah Quarella "saw the picture on @clotheslinespoetry page and knew I had to draw it.Clothes are always a challenge for me... I will keep practicing." …

Joe Coffey, "Visitation From a Valkyrie", oil on canvas, 2026, 40 x 57 in Joe Coffey (b: 1966) is a contemporary Canadian painter best known for his highly realistic yet theatrical paintings of animals. Ted in Orange, oil on canvas, 2022, 36 x 44.75 in "Rather than depicting wildlife in a purely naturalistic way, he uses animals as expressive characters that explore human emotion, personality, and storytelling," says Mayberry Fine Art, which represents him.

Wereldse Duinen, Soesterduinen with map pieces from around the world, 40 x 60 cm Anna Belleforte trained as an architect but her first loves were drawing and maps. So she eventually started creating imagined places with materials like old maps that have real histories.  Undeniably Connected, acrylic and acrylic-tinted paper maps (Canada) on canvas, 100 x 100 cm Human brains are hardwired to recognize patterns.

Wherever there are protests, there are artists telling the story. These sketchbook pages are a few examples of their interpretations. Sketch artists who capture protests on the spot have been a fact of life for decades. Above, from the 2014 immigration protests in Murrieta, California by Los Angeles artist Mike Sheehan. Above and below, Cathy Raingarden has numerous examples on…

Sahar Manri is a Toronto-based artist whose vivid, colorful paintings reflect her passion for animals and nature. Living in the Moment, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 x 1.5 in With a background in graphic design, art, and environmental planning, Manri creates vibrant depictions of animals in geometric forms. Above: One of the paintings in a series inspired by dogwalkers in a winter park.

Ailene Vrana MacDougall's mixed-media paintings draw inspiration from travel, architecture, her love of colour, and the emotional memory of place. Lisbon tram Working in acrylic, collage, graphite, oil pastel, and mixed media, MacDougall creates layered abstract compositions, viewable in a solo exhibition in Toronto this summer. Beach Through layered colour, circular forms, and transparent structures, her work explores the interplay between movement and balance.

Bucharest-based artist Cristian Blesnoc says his work lives somewhere between graphic design and illustration , "symbolic, a little rough, always intentional." His creative ideas begin in his sketchbook. I try to come up with things that seem off and weirdly pleasing... but I always feel that in the back of my mind I pull influences from a lot of the things I get as input...

Zhan Zhang is a Toronto-based artist known for the otherworldly quality of her soft sculptures. Pieces of my Minds, paper, 2025, 10.16 × 12.70 × 10.16 cm Zhang works with paper, fabric and found objects, producing unique cut-out art. Pieces of My Minds, Japanese Paper Version, 2025, 30 × 30 × 4 cm (Above, from Instagram and below from Instagram) See her bio on her website here On Instagram

The McCord Stewart Museum traces 150 years of Mount Royal Park’s history through 50 archival images drawn from the museum's collections. Alexander Henderson, Snowshoers on Mount Royal, 1879. McCord Stewart Museum, MP-0000.261.3 The park’s design follows the vision of Frederick Law Olmsted—the landscape architect also behind New York’s Central Park. Mount Royal has been a natural refuge at the heart of Montreal since 1876.

Florence (Mouette) Sabatier, a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in Montreal, captures personal memories in acrylic gouache. This one was in a stable on PEI where the deep red soil truly contrasts with the green of the land and the blue of the water. Being around horses always makes me so happy and it was so peaceful as well I’m glad to have a souvenir - …

Internationally acclaimed artist Joan Jonas is on exhibition in We come from the sea, an immersive multisensory installation that pays homage to the beauty, biodiversity, and vulnerability of oceans. Jonas performing in the immersive exhibition when it was in Venice The exhibition reflects years of research, performance, and filmmaking in the waters of Jamaica and Nova Scotia, and in aquariums around the world.

This exhibition of work by artist Pavlo Bovdur explores the quiet emotional landscapes that emerge after dark. Between Home and Nowhere, acrylic on canvas, 2026 36 x 48 in (91.4 x 121.9 cm) Snow-covered streets, empty roads, late night cafés, parked cars, glowing windows, rain, and drifting fog become more than familiar scenes; they become spaces where memory, silence, and imagination meet.

Lithuanian illustrator and art director A. Bran filled his sketchbooks with symbols, inspired by the 1966 classic "Design as Art," by Bruno Munari. The book became a bible after the Italian artist set out his ideas for visual, graphic and industrial design and the role it plays in the objects we use everyday - from lamps, road signs, typography, posters, books, to chairs.

This mosaic by Montreal artist Laurence Petit is Crépuscule de Janvier (Glass, Ceramic on Wood Panel, 2026, 24 × 24 in). It's part of Oeno Gallery's summer exhibition (see more here / see detail in video below) The finely cut glass and ceramic pieces that make up this work are rendered in a fresh, modern palette of blues, yellow, melon, pink and white.

Kaitlin Johnson is a contemporary Canadian abstract painter known for dramatic, colorful abstract and floral paintings. Above, Venturing into the Mulberries acrylic on canvas, 42" x 45." Soft and Saturated, acrylic on canvas, 24"x24 Her practice draws inspiration from nature, travel, and everyday observations, creating works that balance spontaneity, texture, and expressive colour combinations.

Shivam Choudhary's colour-saturated sketches provide a glimpse of his superb storytelling ability as a children's book illustrator and animator. "I love creating images that feel lived-in rather than polished, art that carries emotion, atmosphere, and a sense of presence," the India-based artist says. Choudhary says his inspiration comes from everyday experiences: "conversations, streets, music, films, old photographs, changing light, and the strange tenderness of being human."

Celebrated artist and designer Geoff McFetridge is on solo exhibition in Grasslands with new paintings carrying references to the landscapes of Western Canada. Grassland (for Alberta), 2026, Oil and gesso on canvas, 31.25" X 41.25" X 2.25" / 79.37 cm X 104.77 cm X 5.71 cm While rooted in observations of the everyday, the works in Grasslands carry traces of the vast horizons and spatial sensibilities of the Canadian prairies where McFetridge was raised.

There are some big Canadian names in this group show, including revered photographer Edward Burtynsky, painter and printmaker John Hartman, and the beloved Georgian Bay painter Ann MacIntosh Duff. The exhibition runs at the respected Toronto contemporary gallery through August 8, 2026. See more on the exhibition and all artists here. Above, a new painting by the multidisciplined Tom Wilson Tehohàhake (Bear, 2026, oil on panel, 48 x 72 1/4 in.) His…

Are you sometimes immobilized by the blank page? Carlotta Klee’s sketchbook exercises are simple and flexible activities that are motivations to take pen or brush in hand. She’s a talented illustrator. So, have a closer look at this Berlin-based atist's approach. Below: Cakes, made from blobs. See this Instagram reel explaining it. (She also runs a "Lazy Sketchbook" club here…

This is a prime example of how exhibitions can be more accessible, not to mention creative. Conceived in the spirit of a summer reunion, One in a Million marks the 40th anniversary of Expo 86 and looks back at a pivotal moment in Vancouver’s history: a city on display, full of optimism, spectacle, and public energy, just before monumental changes reshaped the landscape of the Lower Mainland, says Gallery 881.

Ukaliusat, 2019. Arctic cotton grass, 200 × 150 × 150 cm. Courtesy of the artist Bolatta Silis-Høegh Quillaniq is a groundbreaking exhibition showing contemporary artists from across the Arctic, the largest cicumpolar exhibition ever assembled. Hannah Tooktoo, Saimavik, 2025. Acrylic on canvas, 121.9 × 152.4 cm. National Gallery of Canada. Running through September, 2026, the exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada features works by more than 70 Indigenous artists from Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Siberia and Sápmi.

The creativity of artists who use sketchbooks, journals and even commercial datebooks to create calendars is always inspirational. These examples stand out. From A Wonderful Sheep Above, calendar-izing a beloved leather journal. See the whole story here. source North Carolina middle school art teacher Grace Boros creates monthly calendars like the one above. See the full reel on gracabo.art…