Featured Artists

The Town of East Gwillimbury (EG) recognizes local artists for their work. Please submit a Virtual Art Display Application Form if you would like to showcase your talent on the Town's website!

If you know of an artist or artistic group who you think should be recognized, nominate them to be a Featured Artist.

We are pleased to feature graduating students from the Sacred Heart and Huron Heights arts programs. These EG students have excelled in their craft, and we are so proud of them! Congratulations! 

Sacred Heart Secondary School

Sharokeen Yago 

Visual Arts

Sharokeen enjoys using most mediums when it comes to her artwork but especially enjoys using digital and paint mediums. She is inspired by works from Sui Ishida and Yamamato Takato to push her creativity and hopes to one day transform her art to give off a similar mood. Sharokeen expressed that art is important to her especially during the pandemic because it gives her a sense of stability and comfort as the days go by. She explains that when she is drawing or painting all worries seem to fade as she glides her pen across her table or brush against the canvas. Although she knows that her art still needs improvement, the challenges still excite her as she knows that with every problem she solves it will bring her one step closer to becoming a better artist. 

Sophie Mably 

Visual Arts

Art has always been there for Sophie throughout her life and especially during these times where everyone is spending the majority of our time at home. Art has helped in bringing up her mood and helps her to reconnect with herself and the world around her. Art challenges Sophie by making her concentrate on the work and slow her mind down. Sophie’s inspiration stems through nature. Sophie always tries to incorporate nature into her artworks because that is what brings her the most joy, especially as being a biological/plant science major in the near future. A lot of the time Sophie’s art inspiration comes from impressionist and post impressionist artists such as Claude Monet and Van Gogh. In these artworks along with numerous others, you can see Sophie enjoys working with an array of different mediums, although pencil or acrylic paint would have to be her favorite. 

Daniel Giambattista

Visual Arts

Daniel Giambattista is in Grade 12 at Sacred Heart Catholic High School. He enjoys art and his favourite mediums are pencil, pen and acrylic in concept art.  Daniel loves to explore themes of music artists, in particular, two of his favourite rappers; XXX tentacion and Trippee Redd.  His love and talent of pencil art allows him to express his thoughts and ideas in great detail. He enjoys sharing concept and media art through music. He hopes others who see his art can interpret it in a positive way. He feels his art can serve the purpose of improving social consciousness and increasing awareness of the issues many kids face in today's world.

Sophia Saracino 

Visual Arts

Sophia Saracino is a grade 12 student from Sacred Heart Catholic High School based in Newmarket and an Art Awardee. For the past few years, she has been creating pieces with visually pleasing colours in composition with prevalent societal themes. Being a young woman in a time lacking colour or imagination, Sophia's intent is to bring forward attractive and pleasing paintings and drawings to those around her. With monochromatic components and precise technique, her works hope to inspire the same vibrant look upon our current situation within readers. 

Huron Heights Secondary School

Olivia Diaz

Visual Arts

I am infatuated with the warping of reality and the creation of new worlds and stories. My art acts as a method of escapism, and through it I have built a world to retreat to when my current reality becomes unbearable or boring. 

My personal art is recognizable by the fantastical subject matter. Vibrant creatures of other worlds populate my pages and canvases. Fur, feathers, scales, and skin of all kinds gleam in radiant colours on my artworks. Portraits of animals of all colours are my favourite subject matters to depict in my artworks. 

My signature mediums are acrylic paints, and a combination of Copic alcohol marker, ink pens, and coloured pencils. I have also worked extensively with graphite, although I am better known for my use of coloured materials. I use canvases of all sizes with acrylics, using the shapes and sizes of the surfaces to impact my design. With non-paint materials, I use a variety of different papers: namely marker paper, toned papers, and cardstock. I use a variety of mark making methods, but among my most popular are stippling and long strokes (this is usually to imitate fur or feathers). With acrylic painting, my most-used technique is dry brushing and I love mixing colours by dabbing a paintbrush across the colours. I have been told that my preferred colour palette has a 1980s retro tone, because of my use of blues, teals, purples, and pinks. 

I believe my art is taking me on a journey in which I can invite others to join me in my fantastical world. I am pursuing a career in animation and I think this is the appropriate next step to take if I want my creations to burst to life.

Plans for next year

Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art and Design in the Animation Program.

From

Holland Landing

Julia Gammage

Visual Arts

I have been passionate about visual art for as long as I can remember. Creating art is the one thing I'm sure about in life, the one thing that makes sense to me. When I'm painting or drawing I feel like the purest form of myself like everything else fades away and it's just me and the art.  

My art journey started when I simply wanted to draw myself and my friends as characters from a show we liked and it led me to watch countless Youtube tutorials and staying up way too late just because I wanted to get better. Many of those nights were spent trying to figure out my unique art style. If I were to describe my art style I would say it's a semi-realistic ever-changing explosion. My style is ever-changing because I'm constantly finding new ways to improve and finding new artists that inspire me. My style has also improved since I began doing digital art. I developed a painterly style that avoids line art and focuses on more realistic blending. 

I've always had big plans for my future like creating a graphic novel or becoming a fashion designer but I've always ended back at the drawing of characters. I've now been accepted into Max The Mutt School Of Animation And Design where I will learn how to be a concept artist in today's industry.  I'm extremely excited, it feels like my dreams are coming true! I can't wait to get good enough to work on big video games and animations.  I'm eagerly awaiting to see where my art takes me and I'm looking forward to every bit of it. 

Plans for next year

I’m going to Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art and Design for Concept Art.

From

Holland Landing

Jillian Sanders

Visual Arts

When creating art, I focus on themes of myself, humanity, fantasy, and--most importantly--the beauty and strength of women. While I mostly use traditional mediums like paint, ink, and pencil, I am adapting and embracing the continuously evolving art world by challenging myself and experimenting with different methods, styles and thematic choices. I strive to be versatile and create works of art that are both personal and full of variety.

My art serves as a tribute to both the past and present, my own experiences, beauty, and the wonders of fantasy. In the future, I plan to use my knowledge and appreciation of art to empower other artists’ creations in museums and galleries. I am always learning, exploring, and changing, but my passion for art will forever be strong.

Plans for next year

I will be going to the University of Guelph, I will be majoring in History and my minor will be Museum Studies. 

From

Mount Albert

Vince Rae

Visual Arts

My art explores the personification (or monsterification?) of emotions, thoughts, interactions, philosophies, and experiences. All the things I perceive in my life turn into these entities. I draw because I really need the outlet, not because I think my own idea of the world is especially profound or unique.

I really want the things I illustrate to intrigue people. If I’m struggling with not being able to express myself, I use my artwork to elaborate on the world when things are getting too dull and boring and depressing. My process involves listening to lots of music, artists like Cosmo Sheldrake and Tom Rosenthal, and considering the traits of different monsters and animals so I can relate them to whatever idea I’m trying to recreate. 

I work with pencils, ink pens, paints, and digital art. My favourite is working with fine-tip ink microns because I love doing all the intricate linework. I don’t struggle with not having the patience, I’ll stipple a million dots on a paper and be totally chill with it. It’s a meditative experience.

I know I’m not the only other person who thinks our world, or at least the pieces of the world we’re exposed to, is mind-numbingly bland. Sidewalk colour is the most boring colour. Now that the snow is gone, people obsess over the greenness of their grass, and it becomes a weird unspoken competition over who’s lawn looks the most artificial. You can’t tell me our human world isn’t bland. If I didn’t draw, would I also be content perceiving the world at face value?

I’m not completely sure where I’ll end up. I want to be an animator, but all I can really ask is that I find a path that allows me to continue creating art. I don’t think I’ll be content pursuing any other path in life.

Claire Howden

Theatre

Art affects everyone in some way. It can be influential, controversial, thought-provoking or simply beautiful. Personally, observing others that art has positively impacted may be the most alluring aspect of all. My mother is a visual art teacher, who truly and fully loves what she does. She is honestly passionate and will never miss an opportunity to tell me who an art piece is created by. She spreads her enjoyment through teaching which for me, has solidified the idea that art brings people together. It can be collaborative, interactive, or even a conversation starter. Art is extremely important in my life for this reason. I hope others can feel the same appreciation for art as I do. 

Skyler James

Theatre

The arts has played such a crucial role in my life over the past four years. The art of theatre is all about collaboration, and creating productions has taught me so many valuable lessons within this skill set. Being on the production side of performance art has given me a space to be creative and execute my visions with the help of talented actors. The creative outlet I have found in theatre has brought me so much joy, and I hope to continue to inspire people through my work. 

Hayden Sachedina

Theatre

The Arts are something I never expected to join. I always enjoyed drama and was pressured by my peers to try out for the Arts. I am so glad I did! Being part of the program has helped me grow confidence in myself and learn important skills for communication and teamwork! Joining the program is something I will not regret nor forget!

Alexis Harrison

Theatre

My name is Alexis Harrison and I am graduating from Arts Huron Drama! It was genuinely the best part of my entire high school experience, I gained so much confidence since auditioning in grade 8, and I met the best people. although I am not pursuing acting as a career, I am so excited to continue being involved in the arts for fun, wherever I may end up in life!

Kathryn Bellamy

Theatre

I’ve always been very into the arts, especially drama arts, I do plan in the future of further exploring my passion in theatre once I graduate. Because of the arts I have managed to grow and learn as a person, as well as making friendships that I know will last a lifetime due to the connections and the teamwork that we have built together. I hope as the years go by and more students come to Huron Heights, that they get to take part in the arts program that it offers, because I know it has changed my life.

Music Vocal

Music has played a very important role in my life when it comes to expressing myself, staying in tune with my emotions, and really exploring my passions. The music program has open to opportunities for me to grow and learn as a performer and make new friends and connections that I will never forget.

Reilly Leck

Dance

My name is Reilly Leck and I am a dancer in the Arts Huron Program at Huron Heights Secondary School. The Dance Program has allowed me to explore my individuality and artistic visions. I have been dancing for over a decade now and I can wholeheartedly say that it is my favourite way to escape stress. I plan on attending Lakehead University in the fall and I hope to share my passion for Dance with every new face that I encounter. 

Rebecca Lawrence

Dance 

I am Rebecca Lawrence. I have been enrolled in the Huron Heights Dance Program for the past 4 years. Throughout my years of dancing with the school, I have learned many lessons from my peers and teachers that I will take with me in life. Dance itself has been an outlet for me to find myself through my 4 years. I have created bonds with people that I had the opportunity to work and to explore creatively with. Next year I will be attending Carleton University for Psychology with a minor in Law, but I will be continuing my passion of dance in the program at Carleton.