Framemasters Gallery was purchased by local artist Eric Rowe and his wife Julie in 2005. At that time, Framemasters was a custom framing shop with a small gallery space where Eric could showcase some of his paintings, along with some works by other local artists. Frustrated by the lack of quality art supplies in town, Eric converted a small area of the shop into a space where he could bring in all of his favourite art supplies to share with other local creatives. When Eric wasn’t framing, talking art, or helping clients choose their art supplies, he was often found teaching lessons to like-minded creatives. Eric also started building custom canvases under the moniker Blackdog Canvas. The name was a nod to the two black Labrador Retrievers in the family, Duke and Goose.
A few years ago, Eric’s daughter Jennifer and son in law Russel partnered with Eric. The shop was transformed into a fully featured art supply shop. New product lines were added on a weekly basis. Displays were constantly shifting to hold more product. Walls even moved! A studio was even built to host our growing art lessons and workshops. Fast forward to 2020 when the decision was made to re-brand the shop Blackdog Art Supply in honour of the family’s numerous canine companions. This includes Murphy, the shop dog and resident doorman.
Still family owned and operated, Framemasters Custom Framing and Blackdog Art Supply now share a space, and are the perfect compliment to one another. With more big things to come in the near future, we hope you will stop by to see what else we have in store!
Eric Rowe
Owner, Artist, Teacher.
Jenny Rowe
Creative Director, Paint-Maker Extraordinaire.
Russel Clarke
Mission Control.
Murphy
Shop dog, Super Greeter, Carnivore.