Mike Parsons, 31 years old. Kensington St.

Canadian artists are always crediting our northern environment as an inspiration for their work. Emily Carr, Margaret Atwood and K.D. Lang have all acknowledged how our climate has lead them to pursue themes of solitude and perseverance.

The weather effects street artist Mike Parsons a direct way; if it's nasty outside no one will walk past his stand on Queen West and buy his work.

I've never reviewed a television program before, and it's rarely done on blogTO, but after seeing an advanced copy of tonight's episode of SNAPSHOT on Bravo! I thought I would spread the word. SNAPSHOT is a six-episode series exploring innovative photographers from Canada. Tonight's show documents Toronto photographer Robyn Cumming.

The shows explores her world not simply through interviews, but by taking the viewer behind the scenes of her work, showing how she interacts with her subject during a photo shoot, shops for props, prints in the darkroom, and mingles with guests at her exhibit. As a photographer, I was compelled. Her images are complex and entirely memorable, so to watch her work, see what and how she uses her equipment, and in general being a fly on the wall in her world was captivating.

The AGO has been getting all the headlines this past week, but that's not to say it has been the only art show in town. Last night the MOCCA was a buzz at the launch of Carte Blanche, Volume 2: Painting - an exhibit organized to compliment the unveiling of the Magenta Foundation's publication of the same name.

For those not familiar, this art book is the highly anticipated follow up to the first volume that showcased some of Canada's most accomplished and up and coming photographers. Now, two years later we get to explore the painting side of things with artists ranging from Tony Scherman to Iain Baxter&.

The new Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is a transformed gallery abounding in organically shaped curvy staircases made of Douglas fir and the extensive use of glass, showing off the talents of architect Frank Gehry and giving the gallery a much-needed face-lift.

On Thursday I got a chance to hear Toronto-raised Gehry speak about his role in the transformation of what's sure to be one of Toronto's most talked about galleries. I also got to capture some of the spaciousness and beauty of the place in the photos that follow....

Frank Gehry's re-imagined AGO officially opens today at 4pm with free admission all weekend, but yesterday hundreds of local and international media were welcomed for a chance to hear the star architect speak as well as tour the new space.

Initial reviews of the AGO have been very positive (the AGO Art Matters blog has a full round up of coverage) and the Toronto Star's Christopher Hume has gone as far as to call the building profoundly brilliant and a magnificent home for art.

With the positive buzz as a prelude it was difficult not to walk through the new front doors on Dundas West yesterday with some high expectations.

I find that buying a fantastic piece of art, for an incredibly low price, is always a satisfying experience. When you throw in an element of mystery, by only learning the identity of the artist after purchasing art, it can be pretty fun as well. Having the proceeds of the sale go to upgrades for the Dorothy H. Hoover Library and a new student Learning Zone at OCAD is simply icing on the cake.

The annual Whodunit? OCAD Mystery Art Sale is just around the corner. From November 19th to 21st, prospective buyers will be able to preview a vast collection of lovely, donated 5.5x7.5 works, each created by a mystery artist (some famous and others soon-to-be) and available for purchase for just $75 on a first-come-first-served basis on November 22nd. Only after the works are sold will the artists be revealed.

The Ontario College of Art & Design is offering BlogTO readers a chance to win one of three gift certificates, each valued at $75, and redeemable for original works of art in its annual Whodunit? Mystery Art Sale. Art in the sale can be previewed online at www.ocad.ca or in person from November 19th to 21st - and the sale itself takes place on Saturday, November 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.