Leading up to Remembrance Day, Martello Alley is pleased to welcome Todd Tremeer as our visiting artist. You can see some of Todd's beautiful Great War themed art on our feature wall, along with an assortment of poppy and war themed art from our artists.

Since the third lockdown, we have presented much of our work using interactive 3D technology. Using the link below you can look at our feature wall and select pieces of art and get the details of each piece.

About Todd Tremeer

Todd paints with oils and watercolour, make etchings and linocuts. His art oscillates between historical and landscape themes. Be it painting outdoors or from miniature models, close observation of the subject is an important element in his work.

The genre “history painting” underpins much of his work; yet, his practice strategically falls short of the grand narrative tradition of centuries past. He  situates history as both, fixed past event and conversely, evolving present memory or reconstruction. Painting from models means he views firsthand an imagined representation of history. In other words he's “representing representation.”

Paintings meld archival images, his travel sketches and snapshots of museum displays with memories of war films, childhood wargames and his own past lived experience, as a soldier in the Canadian army reserves. He draws often within museums and prefers working from direct observation over photographs. He does however have some affinity for blurred photos. Blurred photos, photo-stitching, poor light and other “problems” leave space for imaginative interpretation.

 "As a kid I liked history and its stories. I had a train set and built model kits. Ultimately the train outgrew its table, wrapped itself around the room and was overrun by Hot Wheels cars and small soldiers. Today I continue to think about model building―albeit dioramas associated with museums, train sets, dollhouses and pop-up books."

To see Todd's work at Martello Alley, go here.

To learn more visit www.ToddTremeer.com

Martello Alley and Martello on Brock have been closed to in-person shopping during the lockdown, so we created online virtual 360 stores to allow you to shop from the comfort of your home. Using a PC, tablet or smartphone you can “walk around” our store to pick out something special from our locally made art, gift and decor. To access the online 360 virtual shops just go to https://www.martelloalley.com/pages/virtual-3d-shopping-is-here
By the way, we offer curbside pickup, free delivery in the Kingston area, and we gift wrap for free too!

However, scanning each store to create a 3D virtual shop takes a lot of time, and our next scan will likely not happen until at least late June. In the meantime we have new guest artists featured. Although their art is installed on our walls, they do not "show up" yet on our virtual shops. So we have had to find a workaround. The solution: a virtual gallery exhibition! So, without further ado (drumroll) .....

Martello Alley Feature Wall

Martello Alley is pleased and excited to welcome Ottawa artist Katerina Mertikas. Katerina is a self-taught artist who was born in Tripoli, Greece. She and her family (Patrinos) immigrated to Canada in 1960; first to Montreal and then to Ottawa. Her two daughters were originally the inspiration of her work, and now she happily depicts her grandchildren in her works with a renewed energy of watching them grow.

Our virtual gallery for our feature artists is fun and easy to use! It’s simple! Just click to enter the gallery, and then look for the menu icon in the top right corner (3 white horizontal lines in a small black square), then click the “Art Works” tab. Select a piece you like, click “Go” & you’re on your way!
See? Easy, peasy!You can visit her virtual online gallery exhibition below.

Martello on Brock Feature Wall

We're trying something new at Martello on Brock. We have a mini visiting artist wall. And.... we have two artists sharing it. Since they both have some retro/vintage art to share, we thought that they would show well together.
First up, we have Julie M Green ( @artjuliemgreen ) with her collection "Beatles for Sale." She says, "Something so timeless about their music..... made these for my son a few years ago when he *discovered* the Beatles. Alas, he has moved on, but these would be perfect for a superfan.
Julie M Green is a writer and an artist. Growing up, she could never decide which she loved more - writing or drawing. Fortunately, she didn't have to choose. After studying Creative Writing and English Literature at Concordia University in Montreal, Julie moved to London, England, where she lived for over a decade. After the birth of her son, she returned to Canada and settled in Toronto.
She currently resides in Kingston, Ontario, with her husband, son, and bulldog.

Next up we have Rob Croxford ( @robcroxford ). In his own words: "Rob (who HATES writing in 3rd person) is a full-time PROFESSIONAL artist who is in the midst of a great comeback story! In 2018, he survived a devastating studio fire that destroyed everything!
2021 marks Rob's 17th FULL TIME year as a working artist! (Which is kinda like 30 years in regular-person-career years!) In that 17 years, he has completed over 1700 works of art! (BOO YA!) Rob's acrylic paintings are intentionally upbeat and humourous. His vintage-inspired work is instantly identifiable! It has a clever approach to pop culture that often merges political topics within whimsical compositions. They're great...and he's pretty great too!"

Hey! What do you think of the vintage hi-fi and radios?

Our virtual gallery for our feature artists is fun and easy to use! It’s simple! Just click to enter the gallery, and then look for the menu icon in the top right corner (3 white horizontal lines in a small black square), then click the “Art Works” tab. Select a piece you like, click “Go” & you’re on your way!
See? Easy, peasy!You can visit the virtual online gallery exhibition below.

Happy Easter! You can win this giant Kinder egg. We're giving away two - one at each store. 

We’re giving away two giant kinder eggs: one at each store - Martello Alley and Martello on Brock. To enter the draw, search for the golden egg on each of our virtual shops. When you find it, follow the instructions. It’s that simple! Hurry! Contest closes April 11 2021 at 12:01 pm. Note: winner must pick up prize or pay shipping. Go here  to get to our virtual shops.

https://www.martelloalley.com/pages/virtual-3d-shopping-is-here

I Hated Those Skis!! - Auction of Original Painting starting at $1.00

THIS AUCTION IS OPEN TO EVERYONE WORLDWIDE WHO IS 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. TO BID, PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

1) You must be a subscriber to the newsletter. We require this so that we have your details and can contact you if you have the winning bid. There is no cost to subscribe. The signup can be found at the bottom right-hand corner of the Website at  www.martelloalley.com

2) If you are a new subscriber, there will be an email sent to confirm your request. Please check your spam folder if you do not immediately receive a response.

3) Place your bid by commenting on the blog post with the amount that you wish to bid, plus any other comments that you wish to add. The blog post can be found under the menu heading "Blog" at www.martelloalley.com or at this direct link: https://www.martelloalley.com/blogs/news/i-hated-those-skis-auction-of-original-painting-crylic-on-canvas-8-x10-starting-at-1-00

4) Share and tag your friends on Facebook and Instagram.

5) Auction starts immediately and ends Saturday, February 13th 2021 at 12:01 p.m. 

6) Winning bidder must make arrangements for payment within 48 hours. Failing that, the bidder with the next highest bid shall be declared the new bid winner.

7) Frame and delivery are not included. Winning bidder must pay cost of delivery with insurance, or make arrangements to pick up curbside.

8) Any questions or concerns should be sent via email to david@martelloalley.com

And some background:

With the lockdown, and January being what it is, sales are a little slow. Rent, utilities, and other bills have to be paid. We want to continue to be around when lockdown ends. Sooooo, my bad luck may be your good luck. This is your chance to acquire an original piece of art at a good price. Who knows? You may get it for $10 or $20!
There’s a bit of a story behind this painting. I’m reminiscing about my youth, when my parents would take us skiing in the Laurentians. And sometimes we would stay a little closer to home and go to Sydenham Ski Hill. I’d be there with my hand-me-down SIMPSONS-SEARS brand skis that I hated. My mother wrote my name on them with red nail polish because, God forbid, someone might steal them! Ha! Anyway, I digress...

Good luck to everyone who bids!

Happy Mother's Day!

This is “Wishing And Hoping”, a 12”x12” highly textured, acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas by Yvonne Merton-Fox. This bouquet of colorful flowers is an expression of hope for the world in a time chaos. Tightly packed together, they show their magnificent power to heal and give joy.

Featured in this photo: Paintings by Yvonne Merton-Fox, Woodwork by The Wood Shepherd, and a seagull by Randi Allan.

 This is just a short update to bring you up to speed on what has been going on here at Martello Alley and Martello on Brock. Normally, we would not be doing this as often, but these are unusual times, right? Plus, we wanted to let you know about some of the great contests going on. But first....

 Martello Alley Renovations

Some of you have been wondering what kind of changes are in store for Martello Alley. You may have heard that everything is being renovated. New lights are being installed and walls have been painted. Plus, the interior is undergoing a major facelift. These photos are raw— the dresser needs some work, but this should give you the idea of what I have in mind. I’m working on the concept on a tiny corner of the gallery that is not torn apart. What do you think? I call this Québec-Retro. Stay tuned for more....

What's up with this weather anyway?

 Well, that was a nice spring and summer and fall, wasn't it? Seems like we are back into winter again :(  Just kidding - although it is rather chilly and it did snow last night and this morning. What's up with that anyway?!! 

So, to cheer people up - and to get people looking forward to getting back to normal, there are some contests going on. Our friends at Downtown Kingston! are running a contest twice a week, and the prize is a $100 gift card. 

If you have made a purchase from us during the lockdown, or would like to make a purchase, you could be a lucky winner of a $100 gift card! Wouldn't that be great? 

The contest is called "Swag & Tag," and this is what they say on their post:

Every Tuesday and Friday you have a chance to win a $100 gift card to the downtown business of your choice 🛍 To enter you must take a picture of your recent purchase from a downtown retailer - Tag @downtownkingston and the business 📸 Multiple purchases + multiple posts = multiple entries. All weekly winners will be entered in our grand prize draw at the end of summer for $500.
More information is available on our website: https://www.downtownkingston.ca/features/covid19-update

At Martello Alley and Martello on Brock we are also holding regular contests, with the grand prize of a metal wall art sculpture by C W Metal Design. It is worth over $400! This week's giveaway: we are looking for our biggest fan! See the post on Facebook for details. 

And don't forget - we are here to answer any questions you may have. If you are still on the lookout for a Mother’s Day gift, don't fret. You can message us in Facebook if you have any questions. We are here to help!

Remember - you can continue to support our little artist collective, as well as other locally owned businesses like ours. Here is how you can do it without spending any money at all:

Invite your friends to like us on social media
Give us shout-outs and tag us and your friends
Share our posts, and this update

And please, stay safe. Stay indoors, as much as possible. Help flatten the curve. We want to be able to see you again when all of this is done and we can get back to normal, whatever that normal may be!

Cheers!

David @ Martello Alley and Martello on Brock

Win a Gift Card ($25 redeemable at Martello Alley or Martello on Brock). Plus, you'll have a chance at the grand prize of a beautiful wall metal art piece by C W Metal Design worth over $400 to be awarded when the pandemic is over and our stores reopen! PLUS--- We will award an additional $25 to spend at any downtown Kingston business!

Win a Gift Card ($25 redeemable at Martello Alley or Martello on Brock) - and More!

====Hurry! Contest closes April 14, 2020  at 11:59 PM====

How would you like to win a fantastic Gift Card ($25 redeemable at Martello Alley or Martello on Brock) for free? Plus, you'll have a chance at the grand prize of a beautiful wall metal art piece by C W Metal Design worth over $400 to be awarded when the pandemic is over and our stores reopen! 

There's a local celebrity hiding at Martello Alley. You can't visit our store in person, so tour Martello Alley through our eyes (virtually) and try to find out who it is. Do you have what it takes? Are your eyes sharp enough? And when you have the answer, tell us. So, to enter the contest:

1. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/MCbOeUy3tic
2. Send an email to david@martelloalley.com and in the subject of the email write the name of the celebrity you found.
3. Once you've sent the email, go to the contest entry page here.
4. press the ENTER TO WIN button.
5. Check your email for confirmation. Be sure to check your spam and junk mail folders for your confirmation email!

We are awarding a $25 gift certificate from all entries drawn. Plus, all entries go into a grand prize to win a beautiful wall metal art piece by C W Metal Design worth over $400 to be awarded when the pandemic is over and our stores reopen! See picture below.

No purchase necessary. Full details and rules are available at the contest page (see terms and conditions). Happy hunting! And good luck!!

Go to the contest entry page here.

====Hurry! Contest closes April 14, 2020  at 11:59 PM====