Meet Nikkolas Smith: The Artist Who Painted the Soul of Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" and "Sinners" - Motion Picture Association

Transforming a plain canvas into a dramatic Canadian wilderness scene, or observations of the of European landscapes deeply scarred by war, the artist manifested passion with paint and brushes. Describing his work when in his 70s, Charles Comfort wrote that the artist “envisages his world as being inexhaustibly inspiring and meaningful.” Seeming to have art emerging from every fibre of his being, Comfort’s lifelong journey took him from the classroom to the studio, and to haunting, ravaged battlefields. One of eight children in the Comfort family in Edinburgh, Scotland, Charles Fraser Comfort was born on July 22, 1900. He was enchanted with books and art from a young age. Living in England, the boy was “already showing promise as an artist at the age of eight,” said “Library of Charles Comfort” exhibit, National Gallery of Canada. (NGC) “He was awarded a book as first prize for painting and brushwork at Little Hadham School, Hertfordshire.” Four years later, the family immigrated to Canada, settling near Winnipeg, Man.

For the past six years, Jilly Frances has painted the sky every single day. The Toronto-based artist and poet began the ritual on January 1, 2020, shortly after having her first son and shortly before the pandemic hit. Amidst a time of so much change, she turned to the sky as a source of consistency. What began as a personal practice for the artist has evolved into a widely resonant body of work, with collectors seeking out Frances’ paintings of the sky from dates close to their hearts—whether it’s an anniversary, death, or date of birth. This Mother’s Day weekend, a collection of Frances’ daily sky paintings will be on view at Kikospace as part of her exhibit, Like a Mirror, Like a Mother, Like a Memory. Alongside the Sky series, the deeply personal exhibit consists of two other bodies of work from Frances, both inspired by nature: Ground and Rain. The Ground series incorporates natural materials collected by Frances from her daily environments, while the Rain series is painted outdoors in real time, with each work shaped by the falling water.