Articles

Get Inspired With Sennelier

The Prominent, Top Performing Pastels with Roberta Combs Like many Opus customers, Federation of Canadian Artists Spilsbury Medal award winner and Gold Medal recipient from the International Associations of Pastel Societies, Roberta Combs, has been asking us to stock the... Read More

Painting During a Pandemic – Gamblin

  Oil Painting from Home  Over the past several months, countless artists and educators have had their scheduled workshops and classes moved online to maintain distance and paint remotely. As fall approaches, this trend continues for many of us.   The... Read More

Art Entrepreneurship as Creative Endeavour

Over the past month you’ve been sharing your artistic projects and the Creative Endeavours Gallery is teeming with inspirational work. As well as taking new ideas to the next level, many of you are successfully making a living or supplementing... Read More

An ART HUB update – A Creative Endeavour That’s Picking Up Speed

At the start of September we published a piece about mixed media artist Stacey Dallyn and her Creative Endeavour, the youth arts therapy programme ART HUB. Over the past month, Stacey and her team have been working with Opus and... Read More

Mastering The Art of Creative Entrepreneurship & Flourishing From The Ground Up: Camilla d’Errico

Manga-influenced, Italo-Canadian artist and Opus alumna, Camilla d’Errico has amassed a huge, loyal following whilst carving out a unique niche in her target market. A pop surrealist painter and comic book creator, she also contributes to the vinyl art toy... Read More

Who are Studio 101?

Studio 101 supports artistic experiences for Vancouver’s inner-city youth. Studio 101 is an Eastside Culture Crawl program dedicated to supporting diverse and engaging artistic experiences for Vancouver’s inner-city youth. Many Eastside schools are designated as inner-city and have limited exposure... Read More

The Role of the Studio

Creative Endeavours and the Role of the Studio    What is the art studio? Some might see it solely as the place an artist reflects, researches, stores and produces material, but the potential of the space doesn’t need to end... Read More

Small Trade Ups for Big Results: Trading up to Artists’ Oil Colour

Trading up to a professional level can seem overwhelming. A few small changes to your palette selections can make a big impact and allows for a more manageable transition while offering cleaner mixes and greater tinting strength. Generally there are... Read More

Elevate Your Art Through Prints by Les Picker

  Ansel Adams famously said, “The photograph is the score; the print is the performance.” I’d like to elaborate on that theme for those of you contemplating fine art printing and for experienced printers looking for new perspectives. I grew... Read More

Exploring Stacey Dallyn’s Creative Endeavour, The ART HUB

Producing something fresh and unique through any form of art offers a sense of self-worth and purpose, so as summer turns to fall amidst the upheaval and change of 2020, we’re focussing on Creative Endeavours. No matter how you do... Read More

Creative Summers – Round Two

With Labour Day just around the corner it’s nearly time to close the doors on our Creative Summers Gallery, but not before we show off one final round of some of your spectacular work! It’s been brilliant to see so... Read More

Creative Summers Round One

Art classes, staycations, daily challenges, memories, gardens, family, escapism … despite the challenges of 2020, all different sorts of things are inspiring you this August! It’s really uplifting to see such an extraordinary array of fabulous, imaginative art pile into... Read More

Artist Taka Sudo Teams up with HYPHA Project & Opus

  Tokyo-born, BC-based artist, Taka Sudo emblazoned the cover of our first Create in June 2019. Inspired by human nature, his surroundings, and current affairs, Taka combines neon tones of spray paint with neutral colours of newsprint to amplify the... Read More

Cultures of Canada, Oh Canada – A Virtual Art Tour Grand Finale

Our Oh Canada Virtual Art Tour has ended. What an epic, seven-week adventure! From Faces to Food, Landscapes to Landmarks, we travelled coast to coast, finishing back where we set off in Old Hazelton, at the heart of Gitxsan territory.... Read More

Canadian Foods

This week we’ve been served some sizzling, steaming and scrumptious submissions. What a delicious and diverse celebration of Canadian cultural identity! Dishing out colour, flavour and pizzaz, your snapshot of our national plate couldn’t be more varied. We’re on the... Read More

Canadian Landmarks & Architecture

As times, seasons and skylines change, we take comfort in familiar landmarks and architecture. Not only do they remind us of where we’ve come from, but through their innovation, they can help inspire and drive us into the future. The... Read More

Canadian Landscapes and Land Formations

From the wild shores of the Maritimes through to the majestic banks of the Saint Lawrence, across the expansive, golden grandeur of the Prairies, up the jagged, insurmountable peaks of the Rockies and down to the mirrored waters of the... Read More

Canadian Wildlife

We Canadians love our wildlife and the proof is in the pudding. Majestic, iconic and awe-inspiring, our ‘Oh Canada!’ gallery is swelling with extraordinary submissions alongside some wonderful stories. As ever, it’s been a challenge choosing which ones to feature.... Read More

Home Sweet Home

What an incredible week! We have received ‘Home Sweet Home’ submissions from right across the country and it’s fascinating to see how this theme resonates differently with different people. Our ‘Oh Canada’ gallery is growing and already shows an impressive,... Read More

Canadian Faces

Oh Canada, A Virtual Art Tour is off to a flying start! We’ve been exploring the theme ‘Canadian Faces’ and your response has been incredible. There have been so many outstanding submissions that whittling them down has been an almost... Read More

Community Coming Together to Stay Apart

Covid-19 has brought many new challenges to our lives. During times of struggle, we know we must strive to adapt and support each other and our communities, especially those who need it most. While we may not have the expertise... Read More

Spotlight on Old Hazelton

Sometimes the smallest places have the biggest stories to tell.   We begin our Canadian Summer Arts Tour in Northwestern B.C. under the towering gaze of the Rocher Deboule Mountain range. This is the heart of Gitxsan territory. Today just... Read More

We’re Taking Steps to Re-Opening Our Stores

UPDATE AS OF MAY 14th 2020   We at Opus are so pleased that British Columbians have slowed the curve of COVID-19 – and that we did it together. We are saddened by the people that we lost to this... Read More

Landscapes Through Light & Shadow

Nature brings me into the present and really stops me, focusses me and centres me. It solves a lot of problems and is a vehicle to get me out of my head and then back into it. Wild landscapes are... Read More

Connecting Creative Communities

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been exploring the different ways you’ve been adapting your creativity and practice to the lifestyle changes brought on by Covid-19. Art is a mighty tool. Through it, we have the power to reflect... Read More

Looking To Nature To See Ourselves

Whenever I’m in nature, be it in my yard or a remote and wild place, I feel uplifted, happy and inspired. When I paint, I connect with these experiences so I can share them with others.   I grew up... Read More

Coping Through Creativity

We’re discovering how creativity is helping us cope with these unprecedented times. Over the past week, you’ve been sharing some wonderful ideas and inspiring stories. The response has been incredible and we’d like to thank everyone for sending in their... Read More

Finding The Perfect Canvas

“Many painters are afraid in front of the blank canvas, but the blank canvas is afraid of the real, passionate painter who dares and who has broken the spell of ‘you can’t’, once and for all.” – Vincent van Gogh Wise... Read More

Bursting with Vibrant New Colours – Opus Essential Oil Paints

Our Opus Essential Oil Paints just got a promotion! We are very proud to introduce the New & Improved Opus Essential Oil Paints as the latest addition to our Opus Essential paint family.       Manufactured in North America... Read More

Inviting Creativity Home

  “Closed in a room, imagination becomes my universe.” ~Criss Jami   Although these difficult times have pushed us all indoors, unexpected restrictions can still provide new opportunities. It goes without saying that keeping focussed on something constructive like painting... Read More