"Sammy, Lumsden"

"Art is the proper task of life". ~Friedrich Nietzsche 

Sometimes you encounter individuals who truly stand out. Sam is one such person. I was driving along the little road that led through the village of Lumsden in northeastern Newfoundland and had to pull the car over to examine a property that had been blanketed with lawn ornaments from end to end. That was how I stumbled upon Sammy Land.

"Sammy, Lumsden", 14"x30", oil on panel, is another idea for a painting that wouldn't leave me alone. Over the course of my 16 days in Newfoundland I met a wide variety of people. From Newtown to Rocky Harbour to Tilting, wonderfully humble and quirky folk were more than willing to stop, let me take their picture, chat, and every one welcomed me into their sphere for a brief time. The first day when I passed Sammy Land Sam was not home. I left a note indicating that I would like to talk to him, perhaps take his picture, that I was a painter from Ontario, and if he wouldn't mind meeting me I would be very appreciative. I was elated when the phone at the studio rang that evening. It was Sam. We arranged to meet on his property the next day.

At the appointed hour Sam and I met, had a great talk and he shared with me how much he loved the little world he had created on his property. He said that it is his passion, his love, something to occupy him since his retirement, and that working on it gives him much enjoyment. Sam is a bona fide artist in his own right. He is motivated by a desire to create something, to arrange the elements just so, to please the eye, to satisfy the mind's eye, and to witness his art unfold. Each section had been carefully planned: a road with a fire engine here, a small tableau of fishermen and seagulls on rocks there, deer, raccoons, cats, dogs and squirrels, all cohabitating in harmony. The variety of creatures seemed endless. Each section had been designed and had its own narrative. I signed the guestbook that was on a small table atop a hill encircled by gnomes and deer who looked on. 

I shot Sam in different sections of his property but in my mind I saw the painting as quite heavily cropped, with the animals and his own portrait hopefully creating an interesting interplay. I settled on some reference and went to work.

Painting skin that is in indirect light is very enjoyable. Similar to "Lisa, Kanuti","Sammy, Lumsden" has a lot going on in the shadows. I find the tonal nuances that exist in shadows is far more interesting than painting a subject that is lit directly. Direct sun is a master at washing out all of the fun bits, the subtle hues, the rich pigments that can breathe and express themselves more fully when they lie in an area that has been eclipsed. Now contrast is great, and the staccato effect of direct light and shadow on the sheets of an unmade bed is certainly a lot of fun to paint, but I am challenged more by the the aforementioned scenario. 

Paint is a taskmaster when working with limited tonal variation, with less contrast. It is not tolerant to inaccuracy. If an area that I am painting lies in shadow, mistakes are more easily discernible. It is easy to let your subject flatten onto the canvas unless you carefully delineate the infrastructure beneath, be it skin, wood or rock. Plus, paint has an annoying habit of lightening up a little bit when it dries. I hate that. A lot. However, usually I'll work around the canvas reapplying  the tone a bit darker darker and generally re-examine areas where this has happened. 

I will call Sam soon (he doesn't have email) to let him know about this painting. I will also thank him once again for sharing some of his time with me, and introducing me to his little world on top of the Rock. 

"In art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire"

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Sam on a small section of Sammy Land 

I have two paintings that will be in an upcoming group show at Loch Gallery in Toronto, Ontario. Below are the details. I hope you can make it to the show!

Exploring The Figure

May 23-June 10, 2009

Loch Gallery 

Toronto, Ontario

"Latham", Oil On Linen, 24"x36"

Here again are the details for my solo exhibition about Newfoundland. I hope to see you at the opening!

Take care and have a beautiful weekend,

Heather

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

Visiting Halifax: Pema Chodron, Peggy's Cove and The Order Of The Good Time

"It's also helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that's sitting right here right now... with its aches and it pleasures... is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive." ~Pema Chodron

Recently I visited Halifax, Nova Scotia for the first time. My good friend Corinne had generously enabled me to travel to see her and attend a lecture by Pema Chodron, a buddhist nun and author who lives and teaches at Gampo Abbey on the Cape Breton coast. The weekend was filled with good friends, misty landscapes and the knowledge that I cannot stay away long from such a special place. 

My first impressions of Nova Scotia is how similar in temperament and topography it has to certain areas of Newfoundland. The people are warm and open, laugh and love with their entire being and would give you the shirts off of their backs. They possess a vivaciousness and I found that I shed a bit of my Ontario reserve while I was there. Their enthusiasm is infectious! Corinne and I met up with some of her good friends and en masse we made our way down to Dalhousie University for Pema Chodron's lecture Friday evening. 

Sorry for the blurry quality here but I didn't want to use flash!

The lecture hall was packed. Standing room only. I would guess that there were about 350 people there. Pema rarely lectures and this evening served as a fundraiser for the abbey that is perched at the end of the world on the beautiful cliffs of Cape Breton. There was a great assortment of attendees from ordained monks to lay people.

I have a small collection of books that Pema Chodron has written. They are little touchstones of wisdom that I can easily reach in a time of challenge, anxiety or uncertainty. One does not have to be a buddhist to listen to and practice their tenets. After some words from the abbey director Pema came out and spoke beautifully for over an hour, after which she took questions from the audience. The evenings lecture was on Wakefulness and Fearlessness. Pema explained that often our habitual nature keeps us in ruts, that we need to open our minds and beings to experiencing every moment as it is, being receptive to it, and only then can we show compassion and love for the world and everything in it. To be afraid, to be anxious, is human. However, we can practice courage and walk into that which terrifies us. This will help us through it, will help us accept it for what it is, observe it, and learn from it. I took away a lot from her talk. I know my friends did as well. Pema emitted an energy that was quite palpable throughout the auditorium. Her words are inspirational and comforting too. Her words are tools which we can equip ourselves to deal with the trials and tribulations that happen in our lives. As Thich Nhat Hanh says "the most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers." If you haven't readhis book Peace Is Every Step, I highly recommend it. 

Corinne, myself and her friends had a great weekend visiting vegetarian restaurants socializing, exploring and spending quality time together. Corinne and I went to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning. She mentioned that it has been going since the 1700's! It was a vibrant scene with lots of fiddlers, vendors and people buying local produce and crafts. Below is a picture of the building in which the market takes place. 

We made a trip out to Peggy's Cove after the market and some lunch. Peggy's Cove is one of the more popular spots for visitors to stop at and I can understand why. The day was misty and cool, which cast a slightly melancholic air over the day, but not in a bad way, in an introspective way perhaps. Below you see some of the waves that were hitting the shore. These are small compared to when it is quite windy. We stayed well back as a few unfortunate people have been swept out to sea when they stood too close to the water!

It was misty and I was surprised to see so many umbrellas. This young woman's rainbow umbrella stood out to me in particular as a nice contrast with the weather. 

I love the shape and texture of these rocks along the coats. They were so thoroughly organic and unique, they appeared to be liquid but were the first thing from it. 

There were quite a few people there by the lighthouse, arriving in buses and visiting the gift shop, ambling around the rocks and taking pictures, but it never seemed crowded. We were left with our thoughts for the most part and the smell of the salt in the air was so evocative and resonated with some primeval part of me. I can understand why so many have been hypnotized by the ocean. 

From Peggy's Cove Corinne and I drove a short distance to one of two memorials to  Swissair Flight 111. 

You can see the memorial site off to the far right in this picture

229 people lost their lives in the tragedy that occurred in 1998 and the people of Nova Scotia jumped to help in the wake of the aftermath. We walked around the memorial for some time and gazed out at the ocean. A rather somber moment and we were quite moved by it. The memorial sits almost right on the water, surrounded by a wash of burnt-coloured vegetation, craggy rocks and seabirds skimming the shore. 

Once back in Halifax Corinne had a few friends over in the evening. She had also purchased one of my paintings a few months ago and the "unveiling" happened that night. Usually I am not present when people who buy my work see it for the first time, but "Through The Glass" had come from Toronto and I was so thrilled to participate in the moment when Corinne saw it for the first time in person! It is a particularly poignant painting for her and it was a special moment that we all shared. The house was filled with laughter and merriment, new friends and great connections were made. These are the moments that stand out when we look back on our lives and take an inventory of love given and received. 

"Through The Glass"

During the evening Corinne brought an envelope out for me. Inside was a certificate indicating that I had been formally accepted into the oldest social order in Canada: The Order Of The Good Time. In November of 1606, Samuel De Champlain, in order to maintain the morale of those enduring the hardship of the winters in the north. There are no initiation fees, no annual dues and no formal meetings. The members simply must: have a good time, remember Nova Scotians pleasantly, speak of us kindly and make sure to return. I was so touched by this gesture. I will frame the certificate and endeavor to uphold the responsibilities that have been placed upon me. I will do so enthusiastically! 

The Order Of The Good Time certificate

Sunday was exciting because we were able to visit Point Pleasant Park, a very special park that Corinne has visited all of her life. A few years ago there was a hurricane that did a lot of damage within the park and its effects are still seen and felt all around. I think it was difficult for Corinne to see such beauty destroyed but I pointed out that perhaps we could concentrate on the cycle of renewal that is taking place: new plants are growing, small ones have been given a chance to thrive and more sunlight can reach the ground to nurture another turn of the earth in the park. The mist created another haunting day as runners glided past us and disappeared down winding paths as we explored historic buildings and listened to the silence. 

A view down the main trail through the park

The trees in many places were like beautiful skeletons.

You can see where the hurricane left its mark after it swept through the park

I left Halifax that evening after meeting my new friend Jay from Cape Breton. What a fantastic person, one in a million and the salt of the earth. We have both been moved in a profound way by Chris McCandless' story and wanted to meet. Geography, when faced with passion for a cause, reason, or goal, ceases to be an obstacle! We talked about perhaps taking a journey to many of the places that Chris traveled so that I can shoot reference for paintings that I will be working on later this year and next. 

I am so appreciative of Corinne's generosity that allowed me to see another pocket of this gorgeous country. Halifax and the people there made a great impression upon me. It is only a matter of time before I return!

"We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend". ~Robert Louis Stevenson

"Latham"

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.”~Anne Frank

Latham, oil on linen, 24"x36", is a mystery, and who doesn't love a good puzzle? She is a new and fantastic person who has come into my life and has made a lasting impression. She is extraordinarily intelligent and generous and I wanted to paint her as soon as I met her. The desire to capture someone on canvas is ephemeral, unpredictable and therein lies the fun:  you never know when the pull to paint someone will strike. 

Painting a friend, especially a new one, is wonderful because you get to spend time with that person and get to know them in your studio, away from the din and distraction that can be found in coffeehouses. Here, in the studio, with nothing but some Satie, my paints and my palette, I have this wonderful opportunity for creative interrogation: I am able to study form and colour, familiarize myself with the unique individuality that exists within each person I capture. It feels almost selfish. Now, admittedly, there are limits to the knowledge...I have painted numerous people whom I shall never know or perhaps see again beyond the reference shots taken in a far off land. However, whether through a cursory means or inspired by the tenure of friendship, each person has agreed to let their form and visage be rendered, and I do not take that allowance lightly. I respect it and I try my best to capture their essence, if possible. 

Latham told me, after seeing this painting, that it is more like her than many photographs. I will never forget that comment. Thank-you.

The artwork that hangs behind Latham here is a compilation of work from two of her children.

Relationships with our parents are often paved with a gamut of emotions. This is a part of life as surely as phototropism pulls the sunflower out of the soil, as reliably as the acorn drops to the ground. Parents provide an essential framework around which we learn to interact with the world. It is a dynamic and organic process and there is a symbolism going on in the composition that I found quite compelling. Plus, I wanted to revert back to being a kid by painting like one for a short time(It was harder than I thought it would be). I loved studying their own creative output, their own special marks upon the world. It was really touching and to paint Latham, contemplative perhaps? in front of them made me enjoy wondering what exactly she was thinking about? Diapers? Taxes? Love? Expectation? I enjoy the not knowing. The mystery, the puzzle of what lies within each of us and those we love casts a spell that lasts a lifetime and it one of the greatest gifts of being alive. 

As an interesting side note, Latham will have an opinion piece published in The Globe and Mail this Thurday, May 7th, 2009. It was an essay on the quandary of spending money, a good amount of it, on a painting. She purchased my 72"x48" painting "The Side Door" and her writing about that process is a very interesting read. If you pick up a copy of the newspaper that day it is in the Facts And Arguments section. You can also see Latham's blog here.

I have finished my tenth painting for the Newfoundland show. Time is marching on and I cannot wait for the show to open in November! I have included details on the show below.

Take care and best wishes from my heart to yours,

Heather

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh 

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

I hope to see you at the opening!

"The Berry Picker, Greenspond"

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are paintings that, when looked at months after completion, transport you back to that place and time instantly. "The Berry Picker, Greenspond", oil on panel, 50"x35", is one such painting. When I look at this painting it I feel an invisible thread with the strength of a thousand mountains pulls me back to that remote and windswept hill on the northeast coast of Newfoundland last August. 

The wind was a major player, of course. The wind, the wind in Newfoundland....it is ubiquitous and as reliably next to you, all the time. Greenspond is a tiny town in the Northeastern area of Newfoundland. There is a beautiful hiking trail that wraps around the mass of land that lies at the end of a small causeway. On the crest of the large hill that is contained within the trail network I saw this woman, Milly, collecting partridgeberries in her scarlet sweater. She was wading through tall golden grasses that covered the hillside as I approached her and asked if she would mind if I took her picture. She was humble and sweet, as Newfoundlanders are by nature, and I appreciated her obliging me.  

Sometime when you shoot reference for paintings, you can feel the painting already there, just waiting to be created. This blissful feeling happened while I shot the pictures of Milly filling her bucket with bright red partridgeberries...I envisioned the painting then and there. The little town sloped away on the horizon line and I knew it would be fun to render the buildings off in the distance while keeping the foreground nice and expressive with broad strokes of colour.

Berry pickers are themselves ubiquitous in the latter months of the summer and early autumn. Wherever we drove we saw a car here or there parked by the road, invariably one or two figures in sweaters could be seen about a hundred feet or two hundred feet out, bending over the spongy ground, filling containers with cloudberries, partridgeberries and wild blueberries.You can read a little bit about these commonly found berries here.  Milly was focusing on partridgeberries, and I thanked her profusely after the mini photoshoot as I think she might have been a bit shy. I am so thankful to her for helping me capture a moment of the beauty of Newfoundland, the simple pleasure found in a meditative act such as picking berries to nourish your family and yourself and to simply enjoy the fruits of the land. Beautiful New-Found-Land, a small bit of it hopefully contained within this painting. 

Technically it was a lot of fun doing this piece, and I am sure that also had to do with how much I enjoyed the subject. Painting on larger panels and canvases can be a little intimidating sometimes but I had such a belief in the theme and composition that I simply flung myself into painting it with lots of gusto, and lots of paint. The colours of Newfoundland are so vibrant and immediate, so unfiltered and pure, and I tried focus on rendering them as accurately as possible. 

Time is flying towards the Newfoundland show in November! Although still months away I have to budget time because these paintings take time and patience. We must balancing life, family, travel and time to create within the mind too, to turn over ideas for paintings that might not be fully resolved. There is much to be said for not creating, for distilling and assessing, for contemplating. Only after contemplation and consideration is it prudent to act, however there IS a lot to be said for spontaneity too! I suppose each approach has its own time and place. The important thing is to march to your own creative drummer, for if you are true to yourself you cannot go wrong. 

"Yes. Feet on earth. Touch stone. Knock on wood. Good luck to all."~Edward Abbey 

Here is some information on the exhibition in November of 2009. I hope to see you there!

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

The Quiet Promise of Spring

"Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye.. it also includes the inner pictures of the soul."

~Edvard Munch

This past Friday my good friend Melissa and I went out for a hike in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. This conservation area boasts 40 kms of trails and is home to a wide variety of wildlife. This green swath has some beautiful trails in it and is frequented by all types of people, bikers, hikers, runners, you name it. Melissa and I figured that a hike through this peaceful place would provide more stimulation to the senses than perhaps a brisk walk through the suburbs. 

Melissa and I love to get exercise and explore while we catch up with one another and enjoy each other's company. I know that the ancient philosophers loved to walk while expounding on morals, ethics and the like. I think that when we engage our bodies we engage our minds. Something happens that facilitates ideas and thoughts...it is as though through moving the body we give our minds extra oxygen and stimulate it to knit together ideas and thoughts with greater facility. Have you experienced this too? 

There seems to sometimes, but not always, be a slight mental stagnation if you are sitting in a static way while trying to engage in dynamic conversation or brainstorm. It can be done, but I find it easier when one is on the move, hearing leaves crunch underfoot, watch the sunlight hit the ground in patches below the fir trees...these moments an observations of beauty are noted and perhaps give rise to other thoughts of beauty or understanding that might have been elusive beforehand.

Melissa choosing our route

We  chose a route that had us hiking for just over an hour as I had to be somewhere else afterwards and Melissa had to get home as well. We began our hike along Sulphur Creek Trail and hiked up to Groundhog Hill with a great view of the surrounding area and a bit of the city of Dundas beyond. Although we had only walked 10 minutes to the trails...it was as though we stepped into another world, a world of naked curtains of tree trunks, patches of sun, intermittent mud, tracks made by horses and cyclists..and always the near-far melodies of birds feeling the promise of spring so very close.

The best part of this excursion was simply how near we could find in nature and yet how far away it felt too...that brief window of connection to the subtler nuances of the crack of a branch, the passing breeze, the transformation of the ground into newness and greenery, it serves to help give us balance in a world filled with clocks and deadlines, linear processes and the ennui that can come with a predictability of pace. I enjoyed getting muddy and scrambling down a few slopes, hanging on to branches and focusing on the task ahead, not falling, and the rest of the world dropped away during these moments. 

Plus, talking with Melissa is always wonderful, from grouting to portaging, our talks are always a treat. Melissa can change her own break pads and catalytic converter in her car. She can do any home renovation pretty much and has a great personality in that she loves taking care of the things and people that she holds dear to her. She is a true friend, like a sister that I never had in many ways. She's selfless and she gets things done...period. Nothing stops her when she sets her mind to it, and this resolve is a powerful thing. She is a doer, compassionate and one of a kind!

Heading along Sulphur Creek Trail

The trails were quiet, muddy in parts, but dry on the whole. It is that time of year now where hints of future explosions of fecundity are just around the corner. I like doing paintings when there are few leaves on trees. I find their simple, almost eerie forms devoid of foliage fun to paint. The muted colours form a natural palette with variations of greys and browns that contrast nicely with a splash of colour that a person might be wearing. Compared to the circus of colour that we find in June and July, the spring months, with their gales, rain and cool days serve as a catalyst that brings about the warmth and heat of the later summer. These transitions are quiet sometimes, but they are always happening, every day of every hour, there is a quiet growth of a slow drifting into torpor, the hypnosis of sleep overtaking the small and large creatures of scale and fur who then stretch sleepily months later, these being that call this beautiful place their home are just as cyclical in spirit as the trees that they climb. It is the great concert of life that we can be a part of, revel in and respect. 

As we continued along we encountered a small fleet of deer who eyed us cautiously, blending into the dun coloured backdrop of their home but then scattered in a flurry of white tails. We watched them bound away like things possessed and then continued on to Groundhog Hill. 

Perfectly still and well hidden, this deer is one of many that live in the conservation area

We stood atop the hill for a few minutes, enough to notice flies everywhere, buzzing near the ground in some sort of purpose that only they knew about...We scanned the horizon and noticed the water tower in Dundas off to the right, a familiar landmark on the skyline in the area. We saw that someone had dedicated a bench there to a family member who had valued nature conservancy, a lovely reminder in that place of the vast number of people who cherish the natural world and seek to protect it.

We made our way back to the entrance to the trails and then, seemingly out of nowhere, we were once again in the subdivision where Melissa lives...a strange contrast to be walking almost anonymously through the trees and then you suddenly find yourself walking by driveways and houses, kids playing and traffic rolling by. The fact that these two environments exist very close together there in Dundas helps me to appreciate how quickly one can feel so far away from it all...in a few minutes you can find yourself alone with your thoughts, or sharing them with a good friend. 

I am continuing with my paintings for the Newfoundland show. 5 of 9 pieces have sold already so that is just amazing. I am so grateful that the work moves people so much. Who could ask for more than that? To have your work, your passion, move someone....in a small way or in a profound one, is magical. I am thankful that my work might be able to do this. I cherish that and hope to be able to do this for the rest of my life! 

"We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope." 

- Wallace Stegner

Here is some information on the exhibition in November of 2009. I hope to see you there!

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

A Note On Music

 Flying over The Yukon Territory

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."

~Aldous Huxley

I have fallen in love with music: classical music that is. I have loved it since I was a child (I still have my old copy of Beethoven's Triple Concerto tucked away somewhere) but recently I have found some new pieces that move me very much. 

My friend Brian, a music teacher and brilliant guy, has helped open my eyes to the beauty that exists within classical music. I always knew it was there, but the difference is that now I paint while I listen to it...and that brings forth some wonderful emotions and observations about the nuances of the my painting and the music in the air while I am working.

Please keep in mind I know next to nothing about music, how to create it or how to analyze it...I simply know what I like. I suppose this point of view is similar to many people who look at art- they don't know why they like something, they just like it. And really, that is all that matters isn't it? However, there is something to be said for having an understanding of how a thing of beauty is constructed. To have a knowledge of what goes into a piece of gorgeous music can enhance one's appreciation of it, and thus our enjoyment of it as well. There are three pieces of music in particular that have captured my ear lately. 

The first piece of music is the Prelude to Bach's Cello Suite No 1. You can see a video of it here. Now, keep in mind I have no idea how to play music or read music, other than two years of voice lessons when I was growing up, so excuse any inaccuracies that I might utter here. 

This piece of music, while widely popular, moves me every time I hear it. It reminds me of a soothing voice, a confident voice in the darkness. I also think of it as a breeze that circles around you on the side of a hill, you can feel it there and then it is gone. It is throaty and unrelentingly beautiful, from the first note to the last. 

The second piece of music that has literally hypnotized me is Erik Satie's Trois Gymnopedie. There is a video of it here. I first heard this piece of music as part of the score to the unbelievable documentary Man On Wire. If you have not seen this documentary, about Philippe Petit, go rent it now. Satie's music softly framed the beauty of Petit's unbelievable feats of patience, balance, and sheer courage. Now I paint to it and it transports my mind away from the paint and right back to it. It is sublime, truly. This seemingly simple piece of music, where the notes seem ready to fall to the ground but continue to hang in the air, casts a spell on me ever time I hear it.

The third piece of music is Claude Debussy's Clair De Lune. I remember hearing it over the years but finally tracked down the name of it last year.  There is not much I can say about it other than it is gorgeous. It has an optimistic tone to it, a sense of curiosity and a revelatory feel, as though whomever is listening to it is about to make a profound discovery. 

I think listening to these pieces of music really demonstrates how varied and beautiful music truly is. Music touches all of our lives, no matter where we are or who we are. It is an art that is probably as old or older than the earliest drawings in caves. Music and art have been around for so long I think perhaps because they unite us, they encourage community and create connections, they also take us away to another place and they can alter the way we live our lives. When we are affected by something beautiful or moving, be it Beethoven or Sargent, we catch our breaths sometimes, and try to grasp what it is we are hearing and seeing. Perhaps their beauty is elusive and thus even more attractive because of it. 

Here is some information on my upcoming solo exhibition in November of 2009. I hope to see you there!

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm

"When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest."~Henry David Thoreau

"Wyll, (wisdom)"

"Wisdom is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it." ~Albert Einstein

"Wyll, (wisdom)", oil on panel, 11"x14" is another one of those paintings that came together in an instant. I knew I was going to shoot reference of Wyll, but that little old man just happened to be there, and that spun the feel of the composition around entirely. 

We all know people in our lives that we feel are "old souls"; friends that seem to have a quiet and unquestioned knowledge about the universe that we are just skimming the surface of. Wyll is such a friend, and has always been so. We have known one another for a long time (22 years), longer than half of my life. Yet the accumulated wisdom that she holds within her seems to surpass her years. 

Frequently when I travel to Toronto to meet Wyll we have dinner or lunch at Fresh. I have painted Wyll twice now at different locations of this great vegan restaurant.  I like the warm palette of interior colours, the food, the service and most of all, the chance to spend time with my longtime friend.

On this occasion a little, older gentleman was in the middle of enjoying his meal when I took out my point and shoot to point and shoot, as it were. I liked the obvious juxtaposition of young and old, but there was another connection that went even deeper. This painting challenged me to re-examine what it means to be wise, and that age does not necessarily determine an accumulation of knowledge. Granted, I do not know this gentleman, but here he is symbolic rather than literal. I loved how their posture differed, their mind on different things surely and I was pleased to capture this brief moment in the painting. 

Technically this painting has a lot of little elements to it. I tried to keep the background relatively loosely painted despite its complexity. As you probably know by now I go insane with huge amounts of detail spread over the entirety of a canvas, but prefer to concentrate on smaller, selected areas of higher resolution. Personally, I like to be able to let my eye "breathe" when I look at a painting, and not be aware that every square inch has been rendered to within an inch of its life. This tires the eye, and, while technically very well done, exhausts me...it is good to have movement with broader strokes, a more expressive approach. At least, this is what I strive for within my own work. 

I take pleasure in the knowledge that my friendship with Wyll has been chronicled by about five paintings over the years. It is a little road map of our history as kindred spirits...a pictorial record of a connection that will last the rest of our lives, of that I have no doubt. 

Have a beautiful day, wherever you are..

"The winds of change are always blowing

and every time I try to stay

the winds of change continue blowing

and they just carry me away."

~Willie Nelson

Here is some information on the exhibition in November of 2009. I hope to see you there!

Newfoundland Portraits

November 5-22nd, 2009

Abbozzo Gallery, Oakville, Ontario

Opening Reception November 6th, 7-10pm