On Wednesday afternoon, Butter Gallery owners Andrea Rinaldo and Suzanne Steeves were busy moving a new Toller Cranston acquisition into their Hurontario Street gallery.
“Cranston was one of Canada’s premier figure skaters. He was an Olympian. He was also a very prolific painter. His estate contacted us and asked if we would represent him,” Rinaldo told CollingwoodToday.ca.
Throughout the pandemic, the art world has been hit in a variety of different ways, some financial, and some inspirational. In Collingwood, artists and galleries have managed to pivot in different ways, and the pandemic’s impact on the local art scene may have ripple effects for years to come.
“It’s kind of a feel-good story here,” said Rinaldo of the impact COVID has had on Butter Gallery. “Suzanne and I sat down at the beginning of the shutdowns, not knowing how long it was going to last. We talked about how we could still generate business.”
With many people spending so much time in their home spaces and conducting virtual interviews and Zoom calls from home throughout the pandemic, Rinaldo and Steeves saw an opportunity.
“Instead of wearing their power suits to the boardroom and being assessed, critiqued or judged on that, we said, ‘What about putting a power piece of art behind you in a Zoom call?’” said Rinaldo. “It kind of took off from there.”
Over the past year, Rinaldo says the gallery did a lot of FaceTiming with prospective buyers, to give virtual tours of the gallery. Art lovers have bought pieces from the gallery through Zoom, and Rinaldo says they’ve done a lot of shipping.
“I’m touching wood as I say this because I don’t want to be cocky, but we’ve fared well through this last year. I think one of the reasons is people are not travelling, so they have some disposable income,” said Rinaldo. “They are sitting looking at their four walls and have made a decision that they’re going to support local and invest in their four walls.”
Looking forward, Rinaldo says she doesn’t see virtual gallery tours as becoming the norm post-COVID.
“Art is much easier to sell when people are standing in front of it. Once we’re all vaccinated, there’s no reason we should have to continue doing [virtual tours],” she said. “The joy of buying art is being in the gallery.”
Meanwhile, local artists have also had to pivot and some are finding the demand is slowly changing.
Artist Lily Findlay painted a sunset mural on one section of 100-feet of hoarding fence along Huron Street back in May. She, along with Ruth Hurdle, Sam Nellicks, and Blaze Wiradharma, was commissioned by the Town of Collingwood to paint the mural.
The Ontario College of Art & Design University graduate has had family roots in Collingwood for many years, and currently lives in Clarksburg. She works at a local vineyard, which she says is both flexible and helps her to make connections that help with her art career.
“It would be a living if I could survive,” said Findlay, with a laugh. “The issue with art is it’s not very consistent. (My job) helps me to have conversations with people who appreciate art as well.”
Findlay says the pandemic has made it difficult to sell art with festivals and events being cancelled or postponed.
“That’s been the hardest thing for me. It’s not even just about selling, but just talking to people about art and getting your art in front of a lot of people,” she said.
“I’ve always done more nature (paintings), and I find that’s all I have right now. Our connection to nature has really been emphasized for me,” she said. “My paintings have been more about how beautiful nature really is and we need to be grateful.”
While Findlay paints, she also does work with vinyl such as custom decals and stickers. To pivot during COVID, Findlay has been focusing on smaller crafts and paintings, for which she says there is a higher demand. She says she notices new art trends with patrons looking for more small crafts and textiles that can apply to their lives at home.
“For example, sandwich boards or magnets and other smaller things,” she said. “I haven’t had commissions and my large-scale pieces haven’t been moving as much, but smaller things are gaining more interest.”
Nottawa-area artist Kara McIntosh says being able to paint over the past year has saved her sanity.
McIntosh is one of many local artists whose studios are located in the Tremont Studio on Simcoe Street.
“There’s been a lot of having to shift our way of thinking about how to get our artwork in front of eyeballs when you can’t do it in person,” said McIntosh, adding she’s become very active on Instagram, as well as through her mailing list to keep patrons informed. She has also participated in online shows and exhibitions over the past year.
“There’s been a ton of success and a lot of artwork purchased over the past year from what I can see. I’ve also been able to sell a lot of work. I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” she said.
McIntosh says her sales over the past year have been roughly on-par with her sales over previous years. She says the general consensus from her patrons is similar to Rinaldo’s findings, that more people are staying home and are wanting to spruce up their personal space.
“When times are tough, people crave things that are beautiful and bring happiness and joy, whether it’s nostalgic or interesting,” said McIntosh. “It can be an easy way to shift some energy in your home and bring some new life to it.”
McIntosh focuses mostly nature in her painting, sometimes dipping her toe into the abstract. Throughout COVID-19, McIntosh says she’s been leaning more toward her abstract side.
“I’ve always been inspired by the South Georgian Bay area, but now I’ve taken a closer and deeper look at it, and I’m finding new inspiration,” she said. “I used to do more traditional landscapes. I am now challenging myself to use less reference material and respond more emotionally to experiences.”
“The work is coming out as more abstract than ever before, which I’m grateful for. It’s been an interesting process for me.”
While McIntosh acknowledges this past year as being difficult for many, she says she feels fortunate to have been able to find opportunities this year that have worked out.
“I’ve been really productive. For me, a huge part of the joy in being an artist is the process itself,” she said.
