Expression
Vanessa Nicholas and Laura Vincent
April 10th - 28th, 2007

Our intention with these portraits is to create a sense of immediacy and familiarity. Each of our subjects is either a close friend or family member with whom we have had many conversations and shared moments; and it is our hope that the viewer will be able to strike up a dialogue with the subjects and experience some of the same intimacy with them.

Laura Vincent, Self-Portrait, oil on canvas, 2007

Laura Vincent
Rarely does one of my pieces not feature a human figure somewhere. I am inspired by Singer Sargent, Rembrandt and Velazquez, to name a few of many. I aspire to express a sitter’s vitality, consciousness and character - a resemblance of their psyche as well as a resemblance of their physical being - as well as these masters did. I cannot think of anything half as interesting or challenging as attempting to put the mind and mood of the subject out on the canvas as plain to see as their physical likeness.

Laura Vincent is a fourth year Fine Arts Honours student, specializing in painting. She was born and bred in London, England, and still calls it home. She misses her dog and doesn’t know what in the world she is going to do with her life. She was honoured to win the Elizabeth Greenshield’s Award last October.


Vanessa Nicholas, Betty Laughing, Helen Laughing, photolithograph, 2007

Vanessa Nicholas
These portraits celebrate three seniors that embody vivacity, humor, and depth, and thus hopefully also challenge the dominant perceptions of this age category. Portraiture allows me to engage and share with others in an intimate way, and I consider it a spirited mode of expression.

Vanessa Nicholas grew up in Toronto, Ontario. She will soon be graduating from the Bachelor of Fine Art Honours program at Queen’s University. Though portraiture has been a prevalent interest throughout her artistic career, she has recently developed a strong interest in collage. She has used printmaking over the past year to explore both portraiture and collage and has divided her work between the Union Gallery and Ontario Hall exhibition respectively. After graduation, Vanessa plans to pursue her MA History of Art degree, and ultimately aspires to work in a gallery or museum as a curator of modern and contemporary art.