Aga Khan Muslim Museum visit in Toronto Canada

White and large like a giant sugar cube the museum has simple looking exterior. Designed by FumihikoMaki.
 Near the corner of Eglinton and Don Mills in East Toronto.This is the first and only NORTH AMERICAN museum that shows the Muslim civilizations spanning fromthe 8 th tothe 21 st century
Parking is only $10.

 The Bellerive room is a free exhibit area near the ticket desk. It is a replica of the Shah's display in Geneva Switzerland. This exhibit has wall units with a variety of "vessels" called "Ewer" and ceramic plates with detailed natural looking patterns.
This is the Ewer from Iznik Turkey 1560-1570 . I like the blue fish scales

The second floor had an exhibit of life size photos of  50 weathered locked doors. No photos were allowed in this area.
 I found this display somewhat underwhelming.  I guess you could of added a small sign on every door
 " the door bell is broken and please knock ."

Main room exhibition space has  a large wall Map showing the origin and historical dates of the many items on display. Such as historical relics including carpets paints carvings vessels and hand crafted pages of the  Qur'an.
These beautiful objects cover the area from the Iberian Penninsula to China
 This bone carved horn had  many detailed images of animals.

Brass vessel is like a bowl with unique tiny details

Dragon attack scene!

Horse back fight scene.

Smoking on an old style oil painting . The angry face expressions all look very similar.

The turban wearing group of men also look very similar.

Antique helmet was really interesting to look at. Also an old shield was on display.

This giant wall hanging is estimated to contain over a million gold coloured pins and weign over 400 pounds.

Exit Door has a gift shop near by. Colourful ceramic plates and an assortment of fabric scarves and bottled fragrances and over priced jewelry. Also a wide variety of Knick Knacks

After seeing this exhibit I have a little more insight into why Muslim people are very interesting with great art and history.

The second floor featured an exhibit of 

Doors without keys  photographed by Abbas Kiarostami from twenty years of traveling Iran, Italy, France and Morocco. Features 50  life size door photos on canvas.

My 10 Musky Hunter Magazine cover artworks

Acrylic paintings on canvas/original paintings and  prints available .
Prices start at $350. and depending on size of the artwork.
Should you wish to have a fishing lure in one of my paintings contact me at my website.
 www.charlesweissart.com

Lily pad Panic,
features a leopard frog racing away after jumping off a lily pad. This was my first American MAGAZINE COVER!

End of the Figure Eight,
features a Mepps Giant Killer spinner bucktail pulling a rod and reel into the water at boat side.
This art was inspired by a Cory Trepanier painting  that was in Outdoor Canada

Perch with a Jerk,
features a muskie hooked on a Suick Thriller and chasing a near by Yellow Perch away.

Sunrise Surface Action,
features a leaping muskie on Clear Lake fighting a Rapala Super Shad crankbait.
Rapala lure companywas excited to see this art on the cover and sent me a box of their Super Shads.

Lunge on the Wing,
features a rare moment of a muskie attacking a Red Wing black bird. This has been my most successful painting !

Intense Concentration,
features a tiger Muskie chasing after a Suick Thriller jerk bait.

Close Encounter,
features a Creek Chubb Pikie Jointed crankbait.

Swimming free,
featuring a Muskellunge being Released underwater  at boatside

Deep Water Strike,
features a Bondy Bait Jig

Edge of Night Bite,
features a Lac Seul Turbo surface Lure

Review of Museum of the Street/ 50 Years of Toronto Illustration

Amazing illustration exhibition in downtown Toronto, Ontario Canada put together by Gail Geltner and Bill Grigsby

, MacDonald Block, 900 Bay Street, Toronto! John B.Aird Gallery

featuring well known and lesser known artists :

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Jammes Bennett, Huntley Brown, Tak Bui, David Chestnutt, Julius Ciss, Mike Constable, Sylvie Daigneault, Ken Dalison, Will Davies, Sandra Dionisi, Blair Drawson, Bob Fortier, Gail Geltner, James Hill, Roger Hill, Jeff Jackson, Barbara Klunder, Jerzy Kolacz, Anita Kunz,  Ted Larson, Ross MacDonald, Doug Martin, Ton McNeely, Joe Morse, Simon Ng, Tomio Nitto, Dennis Noble, Doug Patton, Mareen Paxton, Joe Salina, Gerry Sevier, Peter Swan, James Sweetland, Mark Thurman, Maurice Vellekoop, Richard Whyte, Muriel Wood, Rene Zamic

Exciting Russia versus Canada Hockey of the 1970's

Wonderful and portrait filled map of Canada

Very well composed and stylish car illustrations
The show was well designed with one framed original artwork surrounded by pages of publications they appeared I enjoyed seeing a lot of familiar looking illustrations. I remeber seeing some of these in the pages of an illustration and photography promotion book Creative Source.
 I met illustratorTomio Nitto and he described his process of brushing on "gesso" on canvas board to create a scene of a giant boot and a chain saw of a lumberjack in a "clear cut" forest..

Muskie painting; Swimming through the valley

A step by step painting demonstration for a design that shows a large predator fish in it's environment.

 Mixing two coloursof acrylic in a heavy wash /watercolour technique over the canvas and letting it dribble down.

The Muskie shape is added in the middle of the canvas with some details of light flickering across it's back Along with darkening the spaces between the paint dribbling.

Mure detailhas been added to the bottom of the image to create the light from above broken by wave action .

More green and blue have been added and orange added to fish. Sunken branches are added and detail to stems ofvegetation.

More colur and detai ladded to branches with white highlights as broken light dabbles the bottom.



The finished effect of a distant submerged weed lines are added and acouple of suckers swimming at the bottom edge
Perhaps I will add a lure for the fish to chase and bite.

Charles WEISS Colouring book Water's Edge Wildlife Collection

 The colouring book features 26 drawings to colour. The idea was to have a selection of animals  from Ontario Canada that live in or along the waters edge.

 ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT CHARLES WEISS 2015

Brook Trout , design is similar to TomThompson Painting from 1916

Releasing a rainbow trout

Muskie chasing a spinner bait

White Pelicans of  Northwestern Ontario

Red Necked Grebe with chicks on back

Mother Moosewith Calf

Black Crappie eating minnows

Carp swimming around foot

Snapping Turtle

Muskie rising above weedline

Smallmouth Bass chasing crayfish

Muskie leaping after Redwing Black Bird

Largemouth Bass biting fishing Lure

Voluptuou Mermaid swimming among the underwater vegetation

Beaver swimming with birch twig