“I started this gallery for my 40th birthday,” Nancy explains. “My goal was to have something for the local artist.”
Gallery Owner Nancy Johns
Around her, Nancy Johns Gallery and Framing prepares for its Size Show exhibition, an annual showcase for local artists with one requirement that changes each year: the size of the canvas. The name of this year’s show is THIRTY X THIRTY, a reference to every canvas being 30 inches tall by 30 inches wide.
Originally envisioned by Nancy as a way to “see what was out there,” the show is still a local mainstay nineteen years later. For the 2026 show, the gallery has a record-breaking 102 canvases lining the walls, each with a unique style, theme, and even materials, connected only by the dimensions of the canvas.
The reason Nancy chose size to unite the submitted pieces, rather than theme, is specifically to encourage artists to paint in the style they love. “Paint it for a reason, don’t paint it for the theme of a show,” she stresses.
That freedom produces some unexpected trends, like this year’s frequent use of the colour orange, and the odd coincidence that McDonald’s fries were featured in not one, but two of the pieces.
The show is unique in its mission to be inclusive. Established artists like Brodie MacPhail hang alongside newcomers exhibiting their work publicly for the first time.
“Every year there is a new gem, someone we haven’t met before,” Nancy says, pointing out a painting of a fairy blowing a kiss to a woman in the woods.
The artist is Nikita, who is exhibiting his work publicly for the first time. For him, the 30-inch canvas represented a new challenge: it was his biggest canvas to date.
Nikita agreed to do the showcase with a friend, but wasn’t even sure he would be able to submit to the show. “It was a very challenging project that I was ready to quit at least three times,” he says of the process.
Fortunately, when Dianne, the gallery’s manager, organized a live painting demonstration at a farmers’ market, he found just the nudge he needed.
“That was such a cool opportunity to get out, meet other artists, and receive a ton of encouragement to get the painting completed,” Nikita says of the experience.
The THIRTY X THIRTY exhibition represents Nikita’s first public showcase, and Nancy says his painting is one of her personal favourites this year.
“And this is still just a sampling of the talent we have in this area,” Nancy says excitedly. “World-class art just in our backyard.”
–
The Nancy Johns Gallery and Framing’s THIRTY X THIRTY size-themed showcase will be on display and available for purchase from September 1 to October 31, with a special reception on September 19 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
