Meet the Artists: Steve & Roxana McDonald

Please join us on Thursday, October 19th, 2023

Reception: 6-8PM
Artist Talk: 7PM
(RSVP below)

Exhibition

The Riverdale Gallery is excited to announce “Natures Cathedral”, an exhibition by Steve McDonald (photography by Roxana McDonald), taking place from October 4th – November 1st, 2023.

Contact [email protected] for more information.

About the Artists:

Steve McDonald is a widely recognized Canadian illustrator. His work has taken many forms over the years but he is best known for his highly detailed line drawings and fantastical illustrations of both architecture and landscapes. He is an international best-selling author and illustrator with his coloring book series from Chronicle Books. Recently he produced four new sketch books with Field Notes as their spring 2023 editions. A few past notable clients include Architectural Digest, Blueman Group, Amazon Prime, Entertainment Weekly, and The Atlantic. He is a fan of many techniques and has even spent the last few years mastering the new AI rendering platforms and diffusion modelling tools. Steve doesn’t see these tools as a bad thing – he views them as a progression of the evolution of image crafting.

To classify Steve’s work one should look at his influences: Moebius, Terry Gilliam, Luc Besson, Imperial Boy, Hayao Miyazaki, Roger Dean, Noriyoshi Ohrai, Looney Tunes, and then painters like the the Canadian Group of Seven, NC Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, and even Frank Frazetta. His new work could be best described as ‘escapist fantastical realism’. Steve believes almost all approaches and tools are legitimate as long as the work you are producing is striving to be singular and unique. He also believes in having fun and hopefully making you smile.

Roxana Pye McDonald began photographing her many travels at a young age. Living and growing up in Canada, India, and Indonesia, and spending her summers in Algonquin Park gave Roxana a fantastic array of locations to practice her hobby. Roxana began successfully showing her work alongside her father’s illustrations as a teenager and continues to travel and photograph their many adventures together. Among them are trapping beavers in Northern Ontario, surfing in Java, exploring the nooks and crannies of Morocco, and most recently adventuring around Canada’s West Coast in preparation for the ‘Nature’s Cathedral’ exhibit. Roxana’s Photographs tell a story of time and place and often leave us wondering about the why, where, or what is portrayed.