The usuals (Rotter, George A. Walker, Debra Tate-Sears, etc) were there, with more good stuff.
The same but different.
If you didn't make it out, here are some highlights (I go so you don't have to!):
Oleg Lipchenko
Picked up his book Freudoscope, which plops our favourite cigar obsessed psychiatrist into famous paintings, including The Garden of Earthly Delights. Wonderfully rendered, playful illustrations with a mischievous edge. He's best known for his award winning Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrations, published by Tundra Books.
Julie Roch-Cuerrier
Bizarre collages that merge animals with fashion illustration. Quite striking visually and full of fun. More of her work can be found at Art Is More.
Scott Bergey
Reminiscent of Paul Klee (One of my art heroes), his warped, boisterous abstracts are wildly free and creative. You'd never know he has no formal art training; his work is better than many who do. On top of that, he's an airline pilot.
John Shea
Specializes in tightly rendered watercolour paintings of houses that use the surrounding snow to add a bold, abstract quality. Schweet!
Elly Smallwood
On the far side of tightly rendered is Elly Smallwoods. Her tightly framed portraits are executed with wild, mad brushstrokes that stop you in your tracks.
Sab Meynert
Delicate yet bold, Sab's work struck me as highly idiosyncratic and definitely worth a look.
Leyre Arroyo
A Spaniard, her work seems to mesh Picasso with children's illustration. I think I liked her collage the most, but all of it was distinctive.
Alice Vander Vennen
This sort of work usually isn't my cup of tea, but Vander Vennen's is so good it won me over. Reminds me of Native North American art, but set on clean, antiseptic white.
John Ovcacik
Flat and graphic yet tightly rendered in minute detail, it reminds me of Alex Coleville and Christopher Pratt. Only more abstract. As sharply composed as they are rendered.
