Visual Arts Archives - Toronto Guardian

“A Day in the Life” with: Visual Artist Angelo Di Francesco

Emilea Semancik — Wed, 06 May 2026 07:33:36 +0000

The resurgence of traditional painting, infused with contemporary energy, is powerfully embodied by Toronto-based artist Angelo Di Francesco. He stands with other Canadian artists at the forefront of painting oil-on-canvas and watercolour works that bridge classic Impressionist tenets with the bold spirit of modern Canadian landscapes.

After years of pursuing art alongside other endeavours, Di Francesco has dedicated himself to creation full-time. This pivotal transition allows him to fully immerse in a style defined by an intense focus on light, colour, and energy, achieved through vibrant pigments and expressive brushwork that captures fleeting moments.

Di Francesco draws deep inspiration from his surroundings, using the varied light and texture of the Canadian environment as a constant muse. His artistic vision is influenced by past Canadian masters and Impressionistic techniques as well as Eastern art traditions. Rather than precise realism, his aim is to convey the emotional essence of a subject, transforming everyday observations into layered visual stories.
As he notes, “Art has always been a big part of my life… I am most passionate about oil on canvas. I love vibrant colour, and brush strokes that create energy.” His intuitive approach and use of saturated, juxtaposed hues build depth and warmth, ensuring his work resonates with a growing audience and cementing his place as a compelling voice in contemporary Canadian art.

A Tangle of Roots, Watercolour on Pressed paper, 12 x 16 (30.5 cm x 40.5 cm). On a hike in the Glen Williams area, I came across this group of trees on a hill with their roots exposed, all twisted and tangled. I was inspired to paint them. I instantly saw that life is like this. We may just see a triumphant moment, accomplishment or that person basking in the light and always fail to see the Tangle of Roots that are left unseen. We are complex. Our lives twist and turn and intertwine with all those we love, the sacrifices we make, the people we meet and all those who have helped us along the way. Instead of painting the trees in the bright sun with their leaves glistening, I chose the tangle of roots that hold them up

Signs, Signs, Toronto Chinatown, Dundas St., Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 11 x 14 ( 28 cm x 35 cm). I frequently walk the streets of Toronto and always marvel at the incredible diversity and beauty of each neighbourhood. I grew up in Little Italy, which is right next to Chinatown. The two blend into each other. I love the vibrant colours, the hustle and bustle, the smell of the food and the incredible sense of community. I never really know what the signs say, but I love them and have always wanted to paint its vibrant feel in a unique and modern way. I want you to see it through my eyes. It’s joyful! It is community! It’s filled with energy that buzzes. I love this place and its signs.

I love to paint around southern Ontario. I’ll pack up my easel and paints on a sunny day and make the most of what I find. I often meet very interesting people on my travels. Places like Mount Nemo, Rattlesnake Point, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Credit Meadows Park or an intersection that catches my attention.

I’ve coached Football for over 30 years and just love spending time with incredible athletes who are driven to succeed. I’ve made countless friends, built meaningful relationships and helped to build championship teams. The championships are great, but the relationships made and the memories gathered are priceless

A View from a Park Bench, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Oil on Canvas board, 11″ x 14″ (28 cm x 36 cm). On a walk through the neighbourhood I grew up in, I decided to sit on a park bench in Trinity Bellwoods Park. I just loved seeing people going for walks, lovers on park benches in conversation, children playing catch and much more. When I looked towards Dundas Street, I saw this colourful scene and just had to paint it.

I often walk through Toronto’s neighbourhoods. I love the sights and sounds, the hustle and bustle, and the energy I find. Often, I’ll enter a shop or restaurant and strike up a conversation. When you greet someone with a smile, you often get one back. That’s been my experience.

ROPSSAA Special Events Track & Field. Every May, I coordinate a major track meet for secondary students with diverse special needs — about 900 participants from 48 schools. It’s one of the largest events of its kind in North America, and it always fills me with joy.

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Which ’hood are you in?

I was born and raised in Little Italy with its unique sights, sounds, foods, and Chin Radio as a backdrop. It was a unique and magical place that bordered on Little Portugal, Chinatown, Koreatown and Kensington Market and a place where everyone seemed to be connected or related. Today, I’m often drawn back to this area to see the changes and to experience the wonderful fusion of foods and the tapestry of cultures that seem to have been woven together. It’s as if one neighbourhood has spilled into the next in a wonderful organic way. When I walk through, I often take photos like a tourist, sketch a scene or chat with someone I’ve just met. I love these walks.

What do you do?

I’m so busy these days. Where do I begin? Are you familiar with Plein Air? Plein Air is a French term that was made famous by the French Impressionist artists. It is a tradition of taking portable easels outdoors to paint in urban and rural settings. French artists would paint together in this way, supporting each other while learning and sharing ideas, techniques and approaches. They painted what they saw and felt in a way that was fresh, new, inspired and dynamic. A group of us casually started to meet and paint in this way.

I am a founding member of the Mississauga Plein Air group (SPag) called @saugapleinairgroup, which boasts over 400 members right now. This Plein Air group meets regularly, shares techniques, celebrates the city of Mississauga and southern Ontario and has become a driving force in the city’s art culture. Artists paint at events, heritage sites, in business centres and have had many group exhibitions. It hosts the annual Mississauga Plein Air competition, which has attracted participants from across Southern Ontario to compete in the spirit of Plein Air with prizes and a group exhibition as a culminating activity.

What are you currently working on?

I’ve always got a series of paintings on the go. I’ve just completed a Toronto Chinatown series of paintings, and now I’m in the midst of doing a series called the Personality of Trees. As part of @saugapleinairgroup, we have a group exhibition, some workshops and indoor painting sessions on the go. Who knows what 2026 will bring.

Where can we find your work?

I’ve got a number of paintings presently at 33 East Street Gallery in Goderich, Ontario, a painting at Visual Arts Mississauga, and another at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinberg. My paintings can also be viewed and purchased through @helloart.inc, @localart.store, my Instagram, and website.

The post “A Day in the Life” with: Visual Artist Angelo Di Francesco appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

“A Day in the Life” with: Visual Artist Henry Banger Benvenuti

Shantelle Canzanese — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 07:33:58 +0000

Henry Banger Benvenuti, an American collagist, painter, curator and philanthropist born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1952. He curated exhibitions in the East Village art scene in the 1980’s, including the controversial Nonson Gallery Punk No-Wave Exhibition. Banger developed his unique photo collage technique from glamour magazines found in the trash and on the streets of NYC. He is a US Army veteran who returned with an honourable discharge from Germany. He lived off the GI bill with limited resources. After a traumatic car accident, he settled in Paris, working and living in the Parisian abandoned building squats. There, he met art patron and fashion designer Agnes b., who became a collector of his work and presented five solo exhibitions in her galleries in Paris, Tokyo, Marseille, and the Grand Palais Annual Decouvertes 93 Exhibition. Group exhibitions included the Picasso Museum, Antibes and the National Gallery of Canada. Banger then moved to Toronto, Canada, working as a scenic painter for innovative directors like David Cronenberg and Guillermo Del Toro. Banger’s work was then collected by directors and artists, including David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Naomi Watts, etc. recently Banger received a solo exhibition at Ph21 Gallery in Barcelona and a solo exhibition at the Agnes b. Gallery in Marseilles.

-Written by Nancy Oliveri, Fine Art Photographer & Psychotherapist

Banger in front of His collage, Media Madness, at his first NYC solo exhibition in 1978 at the Nonson Gallery. Photo by Wallace Littman.

Banger at work in an abandoned building squat at Rue Boinod, Paris, 1989

Banger’s pieces, executed in Paris, from the Collection of the Agnes B. Foundation, Paris, 2024

Photo of Banger resting at sunset, courtesy of Nancy Oliveri, Estero Island, Florida, 2025

Banger at work in an abandoned building squat at Rue Juliette Dodu and Rue Sambre-et-Meuse of Paris, 1990

Banger’s Toronto atelier, 2025.

Banger in the Art Students League in NYC, 1978. Photo by Robert Carrithers

Banger with B.B. King while working on the feature film, Blues Brothers 2000, Toronto, 1997.

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Which ‘hood are you in?

I live in the Bellwoods Park neighbourhood of Toronto, in the Artscape building, at the corner of Queen and Crawford Streets.

What do you do?

I work in my private studio in the Toronto movie industry as a scenic painter and have been working there for over 25 years.

What are you currently working on?

I just finished an exhibition of my portraits with the PH21 Gallery situated in the heart of Barcelona, Spain’s historic Gothic Quarter. I am also now exhibiting my works from the collection of Agnes b. in her gallery in Marseille, France.

I am currently spending the winter on Estero Island, working in my studio in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. I have been working on sculpting photographs printed on Hahnemühle archival photo rag.

Where can we find your work?

Facebook | Website

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“A Day in the Life” with: Visual Artist Eliza Kozurno

Demian Vernieri — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:33:29 +0000

Eliza Kozurno is a Polish-Canadian painter based in Toronto. She studied fine art in Poland before immigrating to Canada roughly twenty years ago, where she built a career first in fashion and then as a jewelry designer, known for bold, original pieces with a devoted following.

Throughout those years, she painted for herself. In 2020, she decided to make it her focus and began working toward a body of work she could present together. Her debut at the Artist Project in 2023 brought gallery invitations, a solo show, and group exhibitions, leading to representation by Roberts Gallery in Toronto.

Over the 6 years since she re-focused on her art, her style has evolved and gotten stronger while staying true to her core ideas. On April 18th, Intimate Space, her third collection, opens in a solo exhibition at Roberts Gallery.

Signing a work

Painting on a summer afternoon

Visiting the gallery booth at Art Toronto

Coffee with fresh baked apple pie

Composing a still life

Relaxing with a just-completed work

Trying to blend in with a painting

Visiting with a friend

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Which ’hood are you in?

Dundas & Ossington

What do you do?

Still Life in a contemporary style, acrylic on canvas

What are you currently working on?

Finishing preparations for the upcoming show at Roberts Gallery

Where can we find your work?

Roberts Gallery, or visit my website

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“A Day in the Life” with: Artist Emilia Strilchuk

Alexis Bain — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:33:24 +0000

Emilia Strilchuk is someone who puts an incredible amount of heart into everything they create. She’s a queer, disabled Ukrainian comic artist and writer who blends autobiography, fantasy, and horror.

Emilia first caught wider attention with her powerful self-published autobiographical graphic novel Be Yourself! Oh, Not Like That, self-published and crowdfunded in 2024. The book shares her experience growing up undiagnosed autistic and the complicated journey of learning to accept herself after years of feeling like she never quite fit the expectations around her. It’s honest, vulnerable, and surprisingly funny in moments, which is very much like Emilia herself. In 2025, the book was nominated for a Doug Wright Award for Best Small-Press Book, and in 2026, she was nominated for two Zelda Awards: Best Graphic Novel Non-Fiction and Emerging Trailblazer.

Outside of drawing, Emilia is someone who genuinely cares about helping other artists and readers feel less alone. She often speaks on panels about mental health, disability, and storytelling, and she brings the same compassion to her community that she brings to her comics.

Shopping for art supplies at my local art shop

Panelists from Fan Expo Canada 2025

Me with a poster that I did art for “comics jam” at the dragon comic store in September 2025.

Me at a convention in Cambridge Ontario

Me with my graphic novel at the Doug Wright Awards 2025

To unwind and to exercise I rock climb

My partner and I with some adorable highland cows!

Giving a keynote speech at Compass Community Centre in Guelph

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Which ’hood are you in?

I’m currently based in Guelph, but Toronto still feels like a second home to me. I lived there for about five years and still spend a lot of time in the city. One of my favourite things to do is sit by the lakeshore and sketch. I also love meeting up with friends, visiting comic shops, and attending comic conventions and arts festivals around Toronto whenever I can.

What do you do?

I’m a comic artist and writer. Most of my work explores themes of neurodiversity, mental health, identity, and resilience. I also have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. In addition to making comics, I’m a keynote speaker and panellist, and I’m passionate about and often speak about topics like autism, disability, mental health, and getting started in comics.

What are you currently working on?

Right now, I’m working on Oriana: The Forgotten Deities, a fantasy comic inspired by Slavic mythology that reimagines old folklore in a modern setting. The first issue is set to release in June 2026. I’m also working on A Little Unsteady: A Journey with POTS, a semi-autobiographical comic about living with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and navigating invisible chronic illnesses. That project received support from the Ontario Arts Council!

Where can we find your work?

The best place to find my work is on my website. There you can find my books, original artwork for sale, blog posts, and free resources I’ve created for comic artists and creators. I’m also active on Instagram and Bluesky, where I share artwork, behind-the-scenes progress, and updates on upcoming projects and convention appearances, such as the upcoming Toronto Comicon on March 20 to 22 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

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“A Day in the Life” with: Children’s Author Olive Green

Emilea Semancik — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:33:04 +0000

I’ve known Olive Green for years, and she is exactly like her stories – warm, whimsical, and deeply observant. Living in our Etobicoke community, she’s the kind of person who finds magic in a simple garden walk. Olive has spent her life crafting worlds where animals solve human problems with kindness and a bit of cheese. She doesn’t seek the spotlight; she genuinely prefers that her characters, like Rags the cat, take centre stage.

Her debut book, ‘Friendly’s,’ is a true reflection of her heart. She believes that children deserve stories that are both funny and meaningful, teaching them about ‘The Fine Print’ of respect without being preachy. Seeing her work travel from Irwin Road to schools in the UK for the Wishing Shelf Awards has been incredible, but to her, the real win is a child giggling at her rhymes. She’s a local soul with a global message, dedicated to making the world a bit cozier for the next generation, one rhyme at a time.

This is “Olive,” my public face and the creative soul behind the stories. In the quiet corners of Etobicoke, she’s the one dreaming up worlds where kindness is the primary language.

My daily creative journey often begins here, at the huckleberry garden café. Chef Rags is always ready with a smile and a treat, reminding me that every day deserves a bit of sweetness.

Inspiration strikes everywhere—from a morning bike ride through our local parks to the quiet, rolling hills of my imagination. Even a simple phone call can spark a new adventure.

This is the heart of my work: “The Fine Print.” It’s a daily reminder for me and my readers that everyone is good, regardless of their mood or the colour of their snoot.

A typical day in the huckleberry garden is a bustling mix of characters. Etobicoke is a vibrant community, and I love reflecting that diversity through the animals that visit Friendly’s.

Life “inside” the book is never dull. Whether I’m drafting rhymes or collaborating on illustrations, I spend my hours making sure the atmosphere is as cosy and welcoming as possible.

Not every day is perfect! We all have moments where things feel like they’re flying through the air. My job as an artist is to find the story within the commotion and turn it into a lesson.

The best part of my day? Seeing how a simple gesture, like a shared cheese platter, can turn tension into community. This is why I write – to bring people (and animals) together.

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Which ’hood are you in?

Etobicoke (Irwin Road community)

What do you do?

I am a children’s author and the creator of the Olive Green Books universe. I write whimsical, rhyming stories that combine gentle life lessons with magical adventures to inspire and delight curious young minds (ages 4-10). All that with the amazing artwork of Dainius Sukys.

What are you currently working on?

Following the successful release of my debut book, ‘Friendly’s,’ I am currently expanding the Huckleberry Garden universe with new stories. I am also developing a series of educational resources and a 7-page Activity Pack designed to help kids explore themes of inclusivity and friendship through puzzles and creative play.

Where can we find your work?

You can discover my stories and free resources at olivegreenbooks.com. My work is also available on Amazon, and you can follow the journey of my characters on Instagram.

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