SCUGOG: Scugog Arts Gallery at 175 B Queen Street in Port Perry is hosting Worlds Collide. The event opened on Saturday, July 10th and was sponsored by Town Brewery. It was a great opportunity to view the artworks and interact with the artists. The show will be featured in the gallery for the remainder of the month of July, and entry is free of charge.
Jeff is a graphic artist and creative director with over a decade of experience in the industry. With a French-only background, Jeff relocated to Port Perry as a young teen. Filling the pages of his notebooks with comics and skateboard designs became the language that would help him bridge the anglophone barrier.
He continued on to PPHS, excelling in art class and eventually pursuing a Diploma in Graphic Design. Jeff travelled the globe, broadening his palette and capturing real-world inspiration from far-off corners like Hokkaido and Tasmania. He’s gone on to launch an art show in Japan, paint murals in multiple Australian cities and helps create logos and branding for Fortune 500s and mom and pop shops alike.
Jon Colwell has been doing art his whole life. He has found his stride and has been honing in on the style he calls his own. He is a proud member of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. He studied art at Durham College and completed a year of Graphic Design before deciding that it was not what he wanted to do full time. Everything else is self-taught, and he continues to grow every day. He has done lots of local design work in and around Scugog and the GTA. A few he is particularly proud of are the new logo for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (2018) and a couple of murals in Port Perry High School (2019).
The show Worlds Collide features more than 20 original artworks created by artists Jeffery Laine and Jon Colwell. The pieces encapsulate the artists’ self-isolation reflections and questions for our post-pandemic world by showcasing wood-cut shapes and psychedelic motifs. Jeff and Jon have known each other since early art classes at Port Perry High School. Despite multiple collaborations and shared art sessions, this is the artists’ first opportunity to showcase at a gallery together.