About the Gallery

"Footsteps East" presents Anne's and Edward's art journey through eastern Canada, particularly in the Maritimes.

In 2022-2023, we embarked on our first long trek -- a 6,000 km tenting and plein air adventure, from Nova Scotia to Lake Superior (and back). In 2024, we spent a month tenting and painting in Newfoundland and Labrador, to Twillingate, Fogo Island and Gros Morne National Park. 2025 took us to Wellington and North Rustico on Prince Edward Island. 2026 saw us back in Prince Edward Island (Souris) for a second year. Our journeys have taken us through landscapes like those that inspired artist's Tom Thomson and members of Canada’s Group of Seven. We are carving our own journey and artistic interpretation of this wonderful land.

Our plein air map tinyurl.com/PleinAirMap has now been viewed by art-lovers over 45,200+ times. Our Footsteps East Map, tinyurl.com/FootstepsEast has been now viewed about 9,300+ times. These maps record many of our paint-out locations. Our YouTube Channel youtube.com/@WedlerFineArt gives a video peek at some of our paint-outs.

Anne Wedler, BFA, BEd

SHORT BIO
Anne was born in Toronto, earned an Hon. BFA from York U, BEd from UofT and moved to Nova Scotia in 1983. After a career in teaching, and bookselling, Anne took up painting in earnest in 2016. Anne has participated in a solo show and various group exhibits, and her works are represented in Halifax Art Galleries. Predominantly a Plein Air Oil Painter, Anne continues to attend workshops with professional artists in Canada and the US. Anne currently is a co-founder of the Plein Air Artists of the Annapolis Valley, and The Plein Air Artists of HRM, and is a member of three Plein Air painting groups in Florida -- Peace River Painters, The Light Chasers, and Plein Air Artists of Sarasota. She has been juried into the Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival, is a recipient of several painting awards, and has her paintings held in private collections in Canada, US, Europe, and Australia.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
The bold shapes of islands, rocks and trees of the Canadian Shield were imprinted on my brain from a very young age. I love being outdoors and  the drama of landscapes.  Plein Air painting allows me to be closely "at one" with my environment.  My main influences have been Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven as well as Impressionist and Plein Air painters from around the world. My goal in painting is to express the excitement I feel from a landscape, using bold brushstrokes and vivid colours. I am interested in the play of light across the land and sea.Each painting is like solving a puzzle to try and capture the essence of the landscape in it's ever changing moods.
LINK
instagram: @annewedlerart

Edward Wedler, MASc, DTM, ACWA
Plein Air Watercolour Painter
_______________________________________________________________


SHORT BIO
The Teichert and Fisherman’s Cove Galleries in Halifax, Nova Scotia, exhibit Edward's work. He currently belongs to seven plein air art groups -- three in Florida and four in Nova Scotia (founding Plein Air Artists Annapolis Valley and Plein Air Artists HRM). Edward initiated an annual collaboration between the Urban Sketchers of Halifax and the Nova Scotia Association of Architects. He has been fortunate to participate in several Plein Air Competitions and winning awards, including a coveted "Best Use of Light" at the Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival.

In addition to the joint monthly newsletters, Edward invites you to check out his sketches and experiments in his occasional MailChimp Newsletter. Here, you will gain insights to the way he works and thinks. You will see how hard work and hard play makes him tick. His Substack, ENCRIRE, posts his cartoon observations of humans (and non-humans).

ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My “passion”
is to paint urban and rural motifs in watercolours -- en plein air.

Once, as a research engineer and applied scientist, I studied the Earth and Oceans from space. Now, as an artist, I explore the nooks and crannies of our geography on foot. I depict our landscapes in watercolours, with a splash of ink and a dash of mixed media.

Like jazz, watercolours can feel unpredictable and spontaneous. That’s its challenge, its strength, and its beauty. I approach my art as an explorer charting new lands. Aside from traditional brushes, nothing beats trying out collage, sticks, stones, crumpled paper and other unorthodox tools and techniques. I invite you to see the world through my eyes and heart, whether impressionistic or abstracted, serious or off-beat.

In the footsteps and spirit of Canada’s Group of Seven and Australia’s Heidelberg School, I aim to connect with fellow artists, art lovers, and adventurers worldwide. Where possible, I actively seek gallery partnerships, artist residencies, and collaborative opportunities to bring my journey to life.

My “dream”
is to paint my way across Canada (my home) and Australia (my birthplace).