RESIDENT ARTIST STUDIOS
STUDIO 9
ARTIST: KELLY CORBETT, BRENDA CASTONGUAY, JOANNE AYLEY
Studio 9 is home to resident artists Kelly Corbett, Brenda Castonguay and Joanne Ayley. They each bring years of training and a unique perspective to their work, blending photography, painting and design.
Visitors are welcome to stop in, meet the artists and see creativity at work.
KELLY CORBETT
Nanoose Bay artist Kelly Corbett paints the majestic landscapes and wildlife of British Columbia in acrylic. Holding diplomas in Fine Art from the University of the Fraser Valley and from Photography Academy, she blends academic training with natural talent. An avid outdoorswoman, Kelly draws inspiration from hiking, kayaking and camping trips throughout BC, photographing striking wilderness scenes that later become the basis for her paintings.
Her realistic style invites viewers to relive their own adventures or discover remote places they may never visit. Kelly is also inspired by local birds, from pudgy quail to sleek birds of prey, and enjoys capturing their delicate detail. Through her work, she offers everyone a chance to experience the beauty of British Columbia.
BRENDA CASTONGUAY
Brenda Castonguay is an award-winning, published photographer with more than thirty years of experience in photojournalism and fine art. After studying fine art at Montreal's Dawson College, she discovered her calling in photography and went on to study commercial photography at the Dawson Institute of Photography. During the Oka Crisis, she met photojournalists from around the world whose mentorship led her to freelance for the Montreal Gazette and other publications. She later studied at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, with advanced standing, earning the Southam Publishing Scholarship.
Settling in Calgary, Brenda opened a portrait studio in the Inglewood community specializing in black and white infant portraiture. For more than seventeen years it served a diverse clientele and twice earned Calgary's Child Magazine's Parents' Choice Awards. Today, Brenda combines her fine art background with photography, printing her seascapes on aluminum and hand-painting texture and detail with acrylic gel mediums to create richly tactile works.
JOANNE AYLEY
Joanne's interest in art has been lifelong, spanning everything from pen and ink and block printing to watercolour, silk painting and tile mosaics. After studying film and communications at McGill University, she built a career in advertising and marketing, writing copy, designing materials and later working as a freelance graphic artist. She also studied design, illustration, life drawing and watercolour at George Brown College in Toronto, and has taken classes and workshops with a number of established artists.
A few months spent drawing and painting in Vancouver shortly before retiring sparked her love of both art and British Columbia, and she has since relocated here and embraced painting. Joanne has exhibited in group shows across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, including at TOSH, the McMillan Arts Centre, the Brandt Wildlife Art Show and the Federation Gallery. She is an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists (Arrowsmith and Nanaimo Chapters) and the DeCosmos Art Society.
VISIT THE STUDIO
STUDIO 9:
Located Upstairs at TOSH , At least one of the studio’s resident artists is typically working in the studio during TOSH opening hours.
HOURS:
10am-4pm, Tue - Sat
LOCATION:
The Old School House Arts Centre - Upstairs Gallery
Admission is free:
As a non-profit charity, we rely on the generosity of our visitors. Please consider a donation of $10 per person (or any amount you’re able to give) to help keep art thriving in our community.
Donate online here, or tap the
terminal at the front desk.