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The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (TOAE) pulled into Nathan Philips Square yesterday (until Sunday, July 12) and while the show may be the largest of its kind in Canada, it won’t be the only opportunity to enjoy and buy art outdoors in the city this summer (see below).

This is the 48th installment of the juried, not-for-profit TOAE and the 2009 edition profiles approximately 500 visual artists and craftspeople. Many of the artists are not represented by a gallery so this is an ideal venue for promoting their talent. And yes, the show goes on despite the city workers strike since the TOAE is an independently run operation.

I spent an enjoyable Friday evening strolling through the stalls in the square, admiring the varied selections in both subject matter and media. Exhibiting artists are by no means rank amateurs — many of them are established and are showing works that most of us would regard as investment pieces. Yet there are a number of affordable options to be found . . .

If you get there early enough in the weekend (read today) you might be able to snag one of a limited number of Art Squares, above left. Each artist was invited to offer an original work of art measuring 6” x 6” with a price of only $30 each (on sale at the TOAE Merchandise booth). Yaohua Yan’s 11” x 15” original watercolours are priced from $350 to $450 but he also offers a number of 5” x 7” prints of his pieces, above right, priced at $25-$28 framed.

Art and design students are also part of the show and these talented newbies are offering some wonderful works at prices that reflect their burgeoning status. Chari Cohen studied ceramics, and her vessels, vases, and wall relief pieces in slipcast porcelain reflect her identification with nature – sticks and stones – and start at an affordable $18 for a shot glass and $22 for a short vase.

Home stager/artist Elena Henderson, second image above, started painting when she realized that she could paint the art herself for the rooms she was staging. Although her large pieces range from $1,100 to $2,000 each, at TOAE she’s offering a selection of small pieces priced as low as $175 framed.

I’m often drawn to architectural subject matter and Virginia May’s watercolours of Toronto neighbourhoods, such as this Fairview Avenue back alley (above left, $475), caught my eye. She is presently working on a series of 20 paintings based on Toronto’s historical buildings. Jennifer Harrison’s textural, simplified, street scenes (above right, $575 for a 10” x 12”) are also charming. And Elizabeth Elkin’s use of colour and texture in her piece titled Manhattan (above centre, in shadow), although pricier at $1,900, captures the chaos of the city.

If you can’t make it to TOAE this weekend, be sure to mark your calendar for a couple of other outdoor art events later in the season: the Junction Arts Festival along Dundas Street West runs September 9-13 and the Queen West Art Crawl’s outdoor show, held in Toronto’s Trinity-Bellwoods park, is on September 18-20.