"Same Song, Hundreth Verse" - Beaverbrook Style

How does that old song go?   Same song, second verse, a little bit louder and a little bit worse. This is the third blog entry on the ongoing Beaverbrook saga. To see the other articles please click here.  The ongoing struggle is assuming almost pathetic overtones. On one hand, the English descendants of the east coast financial magnate Max Aitken, are struggling to regain possession of an extremely expensive collection of paintings and in the other corner the Canadian Beaverbrook Gallery is struggling to hang onto a collection which they believe was permanently bequeathed to them to as an art legacy.

Who isn't surprised that the big winners are the lawyers whose legal costs have eaten up 2.8 million Foundation dollars.

CBC News (online): 

CBC News has obtained details of a proposed settlement that would have ended the eight-year-old legal dispute between the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and the Beaverbrook Canadian at Foundation. 

The two sides would have split the 78 paintings roughly evenly, based on whether they came to the gallery before or after its opening in September 1959, according to foundation documents. 

But the settlement was rejected by the Canadian foundation board, even though it was negotiated by Timothy Aitken, the foundation’s chairman and one of Lord Beaverbrook’s grandsons.

The rejection prompted Aitken to resign from the foundation, the documents show. Aitken confirmed the events in an interview with CBC News, his first on the subject. 

To view the complete news article, please click here.

Early art from Niagara and the Battle of Queenston Heights

source: Flint and Tomahawk, Queenston Heights website.

please click here
source: Upper Canada History.ca
. 

The Death of Sir Isaac Brock - 200 years ago today.

Death of Sir Isaac Brock. Battle of Queenston Heights. October 13, 2013.

Battle of Queenston Heights. artist unknown.

above: Push on Brave York Volunteers, by John David Kelly

unidentified artist


It can be argued that successful military battles play a significant role in helping nations define their identity. Canada is no exception, for our history was defined by such campaigns as were staged on the  Plains of Abraham, Queenston Heights, Batoche, and Vimy Ridge. The Battle of Queenston Heights was significant for several reasons, the foremost being that it represented a successful defense of our country  against a foreign invader.

These three depictions of the battle of Queenston Heights focused on the creation of a Canadian Icon - Sir Isaac Brock. Putting aside, the fact that the battle took place in British North America, and Brock was an Englishman leading English troops. While there are certain commonalities in the 3 works, i.e the battle, and the death of Brock, there are notable artistic differences in the way the scene is represented.

C.W. Jeffries, in the upper painting is hero focused.  Brock is the  prominent figure, and he is seen in dramatic posture, taking the bullet. Jeffries has him standing beside a native warrior to the right,  and a defending non military combatant. Its an artistic statement of  Brock, as a representative of the crown standing in the middle between a citizen and a native. The citizen represents the Canadian populace rising alongside the English to defend their country and the native warrior represents the Native Alliance, which was signed several months before with Tecumseh.

In the second painting we see a fallen Brock shouting encouragement to his troops.  But the painting was done long after the battle, and the words, "Push on Brave York Volunteers," became part of a national myth of Canada as a small nation, rising like David to defend itself against an American Goliath.

The third painting  by artist J.D.Kelly,  'Push on Brave York Volunteers,' is interesting in another way. The most likely truth is that Brock is said by a witness to have been shot on his breast, and that he reached up and put his hand where he was shot and then slid silently down to the ground.  If those words were shouted, it would have been most likely made by Brock before he was hit. This painting contrasts vividly with painting two. Painting two shows a well organized battle on a level field.  The reality is that Brock's troops were hurriedly thrown into battle and  they were small in number and were at a major disadvantage with the Americans being well positioned on the heights above them.

Interestingly, all three artists omit the small company of blacks who fought for the Crown. They seem to have been lost in the consciousness of most Canadians, except for the descendants of the early black community. The blacks were either the descendants of American slaves or were slaves who had escaped to Canada via the underground railway. There was a lot at stake for them in maintaining the independence of British North America.

 Its pretty clear from looking at the paintings that CW Jeffries was the better artist of the three. His picture is the most artfully composed. His Brock is the foremost person on the line of English troops and he  stands a the apex of an inverted triangle - the base being the line American militiamen. The soft mid painting violet tonalities dramatizes the red British uniforms.  Notice how Brock appears captured by a beam of sunlight. The grass around him is painted in the lightest of values and a vertical formation of white clouds rise above him.

The second painting presents the entire battlefield as a stage and it comes complete with boats on the Niagara River (top left) and soldiers from both sides locked in conflict. There is lots of action, cannon  and rifle smoke and men fighting, pressing and dying. It looks like the battle of Waterloo being waged in British North America.

The last picture, has a sort of inverted heroism about it.  The English are outnumbered, out positioned and the few we see have taken their share of hits.  The artist, gives us a leader who overcomes all odds. His actions inspire his soldiers to rise above themselves in spite of the formidable odds against them.

Each of the three pictures portray Brock wearing a sash around his waist.  The sash was a gift from Chief Tecumseh, who presented it to Brock after Fort Detroit was turned over to Britain in August 1812.
Brock presented Tecumseh with his sash and pistols andTecumseh in return gave Brock his sash. Brock wore it until the end of his life.

Written in collaboration with editor, Maureen Bayliss.

Another Work from the Portrait's Name the Artwork Series

                                           Name the Artwork Series.

                                                 2

This sculptured work, is conspicuous for its lack of identification.  Two clues: Its in a public place, and its in Canada.

Name the subject.

Name the sculptor. (I would appreciate knowing this...a public work without artist identification is profoundly                     disrespectful to the artist)

Name its location.

The winner gets absolutely nothing, other then  'Portrait' bragging rights.

If you have a piece of publicly seen art that you would like to present, send us  a letter via the 'Contact Us' page. And, if you are in the art business and would like to provide a sponsored T shirt (with your business name on it, of course) for the winner give us a shout.

Notes from, Paul Peel's 'After the Bath', by Bill Tomlinson

I saw this painting about 45 years ago when I was walking down a staircase in Parkwood estate, in Oshawa On, the home of the late Samuel McLaughlin, whose company merged with 2 other automobile manufacturers to create General Motors. 
I was stunned to find myself looking directly towards it.  Its warmth, and tenderness were powerful statements made by a great artist./fw

Notes on Paul Peel's 'After the Bath', by Bill Tomlinson

Peel developed his style in Paris, where he studied. His work was much admired for its sensual warmth; he once declared, “Flesh is never flesh until you feel you can pinch it with your fingers.” 

After the Bath, probably his most famous work, is typical, exhibiting not only sensual warmth, achieved through colouration and texture– see how he contrasts the light of the fire with the cool of the shadows on the children's skin, and the texture of the skin with its surroundings – but more generally a warmth of subject matter, intimate and engaging. Peel enjoyed an empathy with young children, and often painted his own, as here.

Peel was awarded the bronze medal at the Paris salon of 1890 and became a favourite of European collectors. “After the Bath” was bought by the Hungarian government, and later by a Canadian collector.

Peel died of tuberculosis when he was only 31.

Church Art by Ozias Leduc

La Gloire Divine (1944-1947), église Notre-Dame-de-la-Présentation, Shawinigan, Quebec.

To read the Wikipedia article on Ozias Leduc, please click here.

In Memory of Glenn Gould

October 4th commemorates the 30th anniversary of the death of  Canada's  most celebrated pianist, Glenn Gould.

This wonderful sculpted tribute by Ruth Abernathy sits just outside the CBC Studios on Front Street in Toronto.  You can read about the creation of the works by clicking here.

To read more about Gould's life, accolades, achievements and eccentricities click here.

contributor: Maureen Bayliss

The Quest for Heroes in Art - Jeff Molloy

I was gobsmacked when I found my way onto Jeff Molloy's website.  I gasped, "What is going on here?"

Louis Riel, looking through the bars of an open cell door - which when open reveals the man himself wearing a Montreal Canadiens hockey sweater?  (Not a jersey please and thank you....this is Canspeak).

This is clearly the work of a super nationalist who uses his art to make some pretty big statements. I think Shelagh Rogers was onto something when she called him "one of the most original artists at work in Canada today."

This work is not just original, but its underscored with a deep sense of social and historical commentary, with a light touch of iconoclastic humour thrown into the mix.

Not just that - but its extremely relevant to Canadian life. I was listening to the CBC this evening, and someone turned up recently with some strands of the rope that was used to hang Riel.  So his presence is very much alive in Canada today. And, in case you should think me wrong, ask any member of the Metis community.

And while I am at it I will throw Gabriel Dumont into Jeff's entry.  I don't think I have ever added two works to a single artist critique before, but this one is worth it, for the the Riel equation isn't complete without Gabriel Dumont - and possibly General Middleton?

Hat's off to Jeff.  One thing for sure - this is one artist who makes no bones about standing up for his country, but all the same, I wonder if he sleeps in his old blue Toronto Maple Leaf sweater.

To view this picture and others by Jeff, please click here.

Artist's Comments

“My people will sleep for 100 years and when they awake it will be the artists that give them their spirit back.” This Louis Riel quote has greatly inspired my artistic vision over the past few years. I'm a painter and a sculptor working predominantly in assemblage. My work focuses on culture and cultural traits. I take objects, reassemble them and invoke new ways of seeing by shattering existing associations and giving new meaning to those objects. Art has the power to reach people at a primordial level. I want my audience to be moved by the power and the energy in these pieces and to leave with a different sense of themselves and their place in the world. 

Our education system is designed to produce good workers not critical thinkers. History provides a perspective written from a single viewpoint while art can raise questions and encourage critical thought.

I have long been fascinated with Canadian history and culture. This thread can be traced  back to my 1999 solo show in Toronto titled FIBRE OF A NATION that featured point blankets and hockey sweaters. After more than thirty years on the prairies and on the westcoast my work has embraced a strong First Nations and Metis influence. Mia Johnson of Preview Magazine aptly describes me as a Canadian artist whose work “focuses on the cultural symbols of Canada.” 

I want to create work that tells our story, our history. And I think it's important to speak the truth, as I see it.

Below is the text that accompanied the Louis Riel inspired piece featured in this blog.

The mixed media cabinet is titled “Two Minutes for Interference, Five Minutes for Fighting and Death for Unsporsmanlike Conduct”

In 1885 the Dominion of Canada had a railway to build and land to give away, even if it wasn't theirs. Gloating  Louis Riel into rebellion gave Sir John A Macdonald the grounds for military action. Macdonalds response was the creation of the Northwest Mounted Police and  he promptly dispatched the force to deal with Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont and their pack of half breeds. 

"These impulsive half-breeds have got spoiled by this emeute (uprising) and must be kept down by a strong hand until they are swamped by the influx of settlers." 

Sir John A. MacDonald Feb. 23, 1870 

Enclosed within this work is soil retrieved from Batochè Saskatchewan where the Metis made their last stand. This is the earth that cost Louis Riel his life.

Out numbered and running out of amunition, the Metis fought to protect their land.

"You tell Middleton... that I am in the woods and that I still have 90 cartridges to use on his men." 

 Gabriel Dumont, 1885

Greatly outnumbered and short on supplies it was just a matter of time before the inevidable. On May 16th 1885 Louis Riel wandered into the Northwest Mounted Police camp and gave himself up. One hundred and eighty four days later in Regina, on  November 16th, 1885, after a lopsided trial, Louis David Riel  wore his moccasins to the gallows. Below is the written account of the hanging in the Regina newspaper. 

“The hangman's work had been well done; the neck was broken; and in the short space of two minutes the heart had ceased to beat. The legs were drawn upward two or three times in this space of time, and then the body was still. After hanging half an hour the body was cut down and placed in a coffin beneath the scaffold.” 

Shortly before his execution Riel stated  “In a little while it will be over. We may fail. But the rights for which we contend will never die.“ 

Was Riel a mad man or a prophet? We may never know for sure but the rights that Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont and the Metis people fought to preserve are alive and well and as Louis predicted it is the artists that are bringing back his sprit.

A word on my process.

In 1995 encouraged by a photograph of Jasper Johns’ famous encaustic work, Flag, I  began to experiment with encaustic. I recognized in Johns’ piece a number of aspects that have become paramount in my own work. The impact, power and inherent meaning of cultural artifacts such as flags and how they can be used to evoke emotion and memory...I wanted my work to mimic the real thing but, as an art piece, be more interesting than the motif itself. I  achieve this by tapping into these emotions and memories and presenting them as highly articulated works of art. 

I employ a wide variety of distinctive techniques, tools, and personal processes that result in truly unique, instantly recognizable work. I am driven by curiosity as my creativity shifts and twists in response to the materials. Beeswax, tar, pigments, remnants of human civilization – all react differently to the tools and techniques I employ.  Carving, painting, sculpting, applying heat and blunt force all contribute to objects that may resemble paintings, yet may just as easily be mechanical and functional in nature. 

To me line is a physical thing, something that is cut and gouged. My surfaces are built up and scraped away. Using homemade tools I draw, paint, carve and burnish my surfaces of wax and tar until they reflect their own history. 

“I've always believed that experimentation, not technical skill, is at the core of creativity. Artists eshould be explorers, and the world of art should remain a place without rules or boundaries.” 

Jeff welcomes you to visit his website. Please click here.

Jeff Molloy - Speaking Out For Canada

Jeff Molloy is an artist whose work focuses on Canadian culture, history and tradition. . He is a farmer of art. He likes to get his hands dirty, using humble and ordinary materials to create multi-dimensional, multi-sensory works that elicit an emotional response from the people who experience them, and bring energy to the spaces they inhabit.

That being said, its important to roll back the clock to Jeff's roots for we are products of our life experiences and our environment. Jeff's journey into art began as a young boy, where he grew up in a middle class working family home off the Danforth in Toronto in 1957 . As a young boy, Jeff took to art using it as an emotional and expressive outlet in an age when children were spoken to but seldom heard. Jeff already had a strong interest in art when he had the good fortune to meet celebrated artist, A.Y. Jackson, who was then the artist in residence at the Mc Michael Art Gallery in Kleinberg.

“We sat in the shade and chatted about art and life,” Molloy remembers. “At the time, I didn’t really know who he was, but I liked his kindness and generosity as he shared his stories about art. This made an indelible impression on me.”

Other early artistic influences were Vassily Kandinsky and Henry Moore, both of which he encountered at the Ontario Art Gallery. Molloy particularly loved the naturally lit Henry Moore wing and spent countless hours admiring Moores plaster maquettes. Jeff also remembers walking past
a doorway catching a glimpse of his first Vassily Kandinsky painting, an experience he describes as “ feeling a wind ”. These early encounters set Molloy on a path from which he would never return.

At points in his life Jeff suppressed his creativity, wrestled with addictions and depression, his marriage suffered with Jeff always on the road working in the construction industry. Molloy refers to this time as the dark ages. In 1995 the Molloys moved to Victoria BC. This was a pivotal time for the entire family.

Jeff went on to study art at the Victoria College of Art where he graduated in 1999. Until attending Art College Molloy had never considered himself an artist or exhibiting his artwork publicly. Since graduating Jeff has won numerous awards, mounted many solo and group exhibitions as both an artist and a curator. Molloy, on occasion has teamed up with other artists to produce award winning collaborations while maintaining his solo practice. For nine years Jeff mentored countless upcoming artists through their first solo shows as the curator from 2000 to 2009 for the Gallery at the Mac in Victoria BC.

In 2007, Jeff and his solemate Kathryn. seeking a quieter life, moved to Gabriola Island where Jeff maintains a studio a stones throw away from a field of sheep. On the solstice, June 2009, a seven hour surgery saved Molloy from a rare form of Cancer. August of the same year, not able to stand on his feet for more then a few minutes at a time, Molloy mounted a solo exhibition, titled
In Search of Ritual at the Campbell River Art Gallery.

Other important exhibitions for Jeff were Fibre of a Nation (Toronto,ON -1999), Human Residue (Victoria/Nelson, BC - 2000), The Mattress Project (Vancouver/ Ft St John,BC - 2001), Venetian Vignettes (Victoria - 2006),  Wax & Wool  (Gabriola/Edmonton2008), A Canadian Portrait (Victoria/Gabriola - 2010) Fachada Cubana (Victoria – 2011)Due North (Toronto/Victoria - 2012)

Canadian history and culture has been a recurring theme in Molloy's work.  CBC announcer, Shelagh Rogers who hosts, 'The Next Chapter', said this of Jeff:

"Jeff Molloy’s work has been capturing the spirit of Canada long before the rest of the world caught on during the Olympics. He is one of this country’s leading editorial artists and one of the most original artists at work in Canada today."

Jeff's work is iconically Canadian. At a recent showing, appropriately called "Due North, held at Toronto's Artscape Gallery and at the Winchester Gallery in Victoria,  Jeff's art features old canoe paddles, hockey sweaters, and life sized-encaustic blankets.

There can be no doubt - that Jeff uses his art to present the culture and history of our country.

After more than thirty years on the prairies and on the westcoast Molloy's recent work embraces a strong First Nations and Metis influence. Mia Johnson of Preview Magazine describes Molloy as a Canadian artist whose work “focuses on the cultural symbols of Canada.”

To visit Jeff's website please click here.

What? An Art Book with No Pictures?

Can this really be so? Students being asked to buy a book such as the one pictured above?


From: boingboing.net

Students enrolled in the Ontario College of Art and Design's Global Visual and Material Culture: Prehistory to 1800 are required to buy a $180 "custom textbook." Despite exclusively covering material that is, by definition, in the public domain, and despite a Canadian Supreme Court ruling that establishes a broad "fair dealing" exemption for educational materials, this year's textbook contains no pictures, because the school and the copyright holders (whatever that means in the context of material from "prehistory to 1800") can't agree on licensing.
In other words, this is a blisteringly expensive art book with no art in it. It will not serve as any kind of lasting visual reference. It's hard to see how it will serve any use at all. And it's mandatory.
Students have taken up a petition to protest the "preposterous" situation.

To see the article at source, please click here.

Addend

Canadian University, Publisher Promises To Fix Problems With Art History Book That Has No Photos
Source: Techdirt.com.  Please click here.

Richard Pepin - Contemporary Canadian Artist.

Kelly's Farm by Bruce Newman

Kelly's Farm is  pastoral and painterly in style.  There's a certain sense of nostalgia about it for we are living in the era of the end of the barns.

Bruce takes us on a visual journey along a country road to an unknowable place in the upper right quadrant. This is the darkest area of his painting and its a place of  mystery where the road disappears and imagination begins.

I like how Bruce boxes this area in with of a  suggestion of a grey sloping roof and a larger building.
Notice how the horizontally placed barns, point strategically in that direction.

The painting is divided into horizontal thirds. There is an atmospheric zone with its blue sky and blue-green background hills. There are lightly colour fields and road and there is a middle zone with buildings and a windmill. 

We find within it a  progressive gradation of tone from the top and bottom and from the left towards the right,  where we find the the darkest area.  The movement of vision from right to left is blocked by the vertical windmill.

Bruce's work  is loaded with atmosphere. The blue sky gives way to blue green hills which move horizontally across the panorama and downward into the line of undulating hills. The long flow of landscape across the painting creates a beautiful feeling of peace and serenity. The softness Romantically supports the overall mystery of Kelly's Farm..

 Bruce's red barn is appropriately weather aged and the hue is perfect for it doesn't drawn unnecessary attention.

The brushwork and application of paint suits the mood and when all the pieces fit so perfectly together as they are in Kelly's Farm, you have a beautifully painted work. 

If you would like to see Bruce's other works, please click here to visit his site.

Bruce Newman - Perfecting a Swing with a Brush

Born in Yonkers, New York in 1948, Bruce spent most of his life in professional golf, construction management and real estate development before discovering art. Bruce taught drawing at the University of New Brunswick for three years and currently gives private drawing lessons in his studio and conducts occasional workshops. Most of his time, however, goes to painting, usually en plein air.

Bruce's primary influence has been Richard Schmid and he has studied his work thoroughly. In October, 2007, Bruce attended a week-long workshop with Albert Handell in Putney, VT. Handell is a world-renowned pastellist and oil painter and also a close friend of Schmid. In this intensive workshop, Bruce developed a deep fondness and respect for Albert and spent another week painting with him in Maine under a special mentorship program in September, 2008 and again in 2009.

In 2010, Bruce studied for a week with Marc Hanson in Taylors Falls, MN and in 2011, he was invited by Plein Air Magazine’s publisher, Eric Rhoads, to a private painting retreat in the Adirondack Mountains of New York where, along with 87 plein air painters from every corner of the US, he--the only Canadian--participated in producing approximately 700 plein air paintings over five days. This special group was named the Adirondack Mountain School Painters and has been featured in major US art publications. Bruce was again invited and attended in 2012 and is planning on taking part again in 2013.

"I regard plein air painting as the most demanding and rewarding painting approach because quick decisions and solid drawing skills are necessary to capture the fleeting moments of light and color. I also feel it is the most authentic method for me because I am capturing a real experience as it is happening. It is this experiential discovery that I love about painting directly from life."

Since 2003, most of Bruce’s work has been done en plein air or, literally, outside in the open air as shown in the photo above, and usually in one session. While still preferring to paint from life, he plans on balancing his schedule with more studio work in the future.

Although primarily a landscape painter, Bruce is also a former golf professional and amateur champion and paints memorable golf holes of Atlantic Canada. He offers framed, signed and numbered limited-edition Giclée reproductions which can be found on his website.

Bruce is a juried member of Oil Painters of America, Landscape Artists International, Gallery Connexion, Plein Air Painters of the Bay of Fundy, The Fredericton Society of Artists and The Fredericton Arts Alliance. He is represented by Harrison House Gallery, Saint John, NB. He has had five solo and numerous group exhibitions and his work is held in private collections across North America and Europe.

You are invited to visit Bruce's website to see his work. Please click here.

Crimson Fog by Gord Jones

This painting by Gord Jones captured my attention after it appeared on The Portrait's Facebook page.

Gord takes us to a day when nature hangs in a balance.

Follow me and you will see what I mean.  There is a soft fog which hangs in the background.. The white cerulean blue sky, softly melds into the background hills and with the line of  line of forest which horizontally reaches  into the middle of the work. The tonal mid values of the crimson forest then drops down to what appears to be a broad expanse of reeds and the slightly blurred background  gives way to the more clearly defined woods and pine tree on the left.

As we move towards the foreground we find some strong contrasting values. The darkness of the tree and the dark blue ice contrasts strikingly with the white snow, and the soft edges contrast with the hard edges and sharp angles of the snow banks.

There is also a delightful sense of motion as the viewer takes a playful, meandering journey which is punctuated by snowbanks and drifts.

This is a good example of how a minimal palette of what appears to be muted sap green, raw sienna, possibly yellow ochre, variant blue hues and a touch of crimson is enough to do the job. Anything more would be distractive.

Notice how Gord uses a vertical drift of wind borne snow which points towards the middle of his painting to create a sense of distance and direction.

Its all so perfectly done.  This is one of a winter series of paintings found on Gord's website. Please click here.

Artist's Comments

My source for all my work is either a photo I took myself, or a plein air session. This painting was from a photo. I'm attracted to the natural landscapes of the Haliburton area where I've cottaged for many years. Winter, is probably my most inspirational season.  I like contrast, and the quiet solitude of winter is attractive to me in comparison to the busy summer vacation time.

I  don't really know what else to add except that I am pleased to know that this painting seems to have connected with another artist (you). I appreciate that.

Gord Jones Captures the Beauty of Haliburton in Waters

I was looking at Gord Jones’ works online, and was stirred by his mastery of watercolour, and by his love of landscape painting. Gord divides his time between his two residences: one in Stoney Creek, Ontario and the other in beautiful Haliburton, Ontario.

While Gord brings to his craft more than 30 years of experience - he confesses to being somewhat inconsistent over the years and painting more "off than on".

Gord is employed by the Hamilton Separate School Board, and he's been married for 25 years and has one son in university.

Gord remembers enjoying drawing pictures and comic book characters during his childhood. That was when he first recognized his artistic skills.

Gord calls himself a workshop junkie, but there's much more to it than that. Gord is a lifelong student of the craft. He's studied at the Dundas Valley School of Art and he's taken dozens of workshops. Like many other artists, he's an avid reader of art books and magazines. His love of studying art has given him a profound recognition of those who have contributed to his development. People such William Biddle with his remarkable “ability to "set up" a composition as well as draw anything, in any perspective, from any angle, all out of his head." Not to mention artists such as Gordon Perrier, Katherine MacDonald, Stan Hughes, John Wilkinson, Bonnie Steinberg, and Barry Coombs.

"Early on I took a workshop with Brian Atyeo who painted watercolour more expressively than I had experienced before. I met and painted in the beautiful Killarney Provincial Park with a wonderful plein air painter Jane Champagne. More recently, well known and respected artists and instructors, Doug Mays and Art Cunanan have been instrumental in recharging me and encouraging more individual expressiveness in my efforts."

I am impressed with how Gord has reciprocated this love, by giving back to the community. He's a member of the Haliburton Arts Council and his paintings hang in the ‘Made in Haliburton’ Gallery, in downtown Minden.'

When Gord looks towards the future, his wish is to spend less time behind the wheel driving between Haliburton and Stoney Creek and more time behind his brush.

Gord is rather philosophical when he says that art sharpens his senses to what is visually out there in the natural world and his interest allows him to appreciate other’s work in a more informed way. Gord sums it up by saying that “it’s all about communication, whether it be in music, literature, theatre or the visual arts." Gordon's paintings speak eloquently for themselves.

To view Gord's paintings on his website, please click here.

Phillip Gevik's Galleries get Knocked Off Again.

So, how about that? The boys of the night, who wear black masks and sleuth around the art districts have been at it again. This time, Gallery Gevik in Toronto's Yorkville district got knocked off and the thieves made off with two Group of Seven works; Beach Litter by Arthur Lismer and a Tom Thompson work. I wish they could have driven to my place and ripped me off at the same time. I could use all the publicity I can get.

The Gallery owner Phillip Gevik, must be wondering what else he can do for a living. His Quebec Gallery got knocked off a couple of years back.

If you click here, you can read the complete story, in Toronto's Globe and Mail. It was written by Timothy Appleby.

Acclaimed Nigerian/Canadian Visual Artist Praised for New Painting Techn...

Arabella Magazine - a Visual Art Success Story

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Brian Usher, the Publisher and CEO of Arabella magazine. I am not sure which cabbage leaf I have been living under, for I hadn't even heard of Arabella. Brian was very gracious and let me off the hook by telling me that Arabella is most frequently found in the Homes section of magazine stands (an area which I tread warily around when I am in the hunt for painting magazines).

We explored together, in a couple of conversations, our perspectives on our respective media productions.

Arabella has been around now for about 5 years; distributed across Canada and the US. As a result of early distribution in the Muskoka area, it attracted the attention of the president of Barnes and Noble magazine who opened the door for Arabella to appear on the stands of some 1200 outlets across the States.  It also appears on bookshelves across Canada at Chapters & Indigo and is available from many of Arabella’s gallery partners, as well as many libraries. With both print and digital publication, it is truly a national magazine with an international arm.

While visual arts have a prominent place in the magazine, it also comfortably embraces architecture and design.  In the recent harvest issue, Arabella serves up a diverse menu covering such things as wooden tree hangings, galleries and the works of some outstanding visual artists. Tucked between it all is an article about the Island of Nevis where some nice properties were shaped by Canadian architects.  (A lot of Canadians are drawn to the Caribbean for winter retreats).

I had no qualms about paying around $15.00 for my copy of the  magazine, since it is loaded with content and runs to 404 pages. It’s so thick, that Brian admits the binding won't support a larger publication.  It will take a long time for me to work my way through this issue, just in time for the next quarterly creation.

Arabella has spared no expense in production using heavy, glossy paper and the pages are loaded with large, coloured photos of paintings.

Artist profiles are written by the magazine’s Founder and Editor in Chief, Debra Usher, in an easy first person style and the articles are lengthy,casual, explorative reads.

Brian writes in his recent Harvest 2012 editorial that a few older, “established” gallery owners were critical, suggesting it wasn’t a “serious” magazine. Like, so what?  We're talking business reality here. Arabella is out to present to Canadians and others, an image of the Canadian visual art milieu – they’re not into analyzing the life out of it. In developing the editorial, Debra and her team of writers let the reader look at the artists and their works and form their own judgements. At least that's how I see it. If I wanted a university focus I wouldn't be buying an off-rack magazine in Chapters.

The magazine is eclectic and universal while maintaining a Canadian identity. The feedback both Debra and Brian receive by email and phone calls from right across Canada and the States indicates a high degree of reader appreciation.

Debra calls the current issue, the 'Artists' Issue'.  The visual arts are very well represented in this issue, for this is the time of year when art appears in parks and on the streets and is displayed in studio tours across the country.

Both of the Ushers are justifiably proud of the impact of Arabella on the Canadian art scene.  “We’re truly demonstrating the impact of the magazine in supporting and promoting Canadian artistic and creative talent,” says Brian. A recent ARABELLA article on Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis resulted in the value of her works rising from between $2,000 and $4,000 into the $7,000 plus range. That sounds like a serious impact on the arts to me, and one which has a peripheral ripple effect which every gallery owner and artist can benefit from.

Arabella is a business. Let's face it, they're not in the publishing business to go broke, but at the same time, they do their best to carefully blend professionalism with art. They seek out artists to profile and at the same time they sell space in their magazine to galleries and artists to elevate their images onto the national stage.  To ensure the best store placement and grow their reader base they invest a substantial amount with Chapters for presenting their magazine front and foremost in the entrance areas as you walk through the main door. That's where the rubber hits the road – where business and art sing in harmony together.

Arabella is in the position of building the infrastructure to take them to the next level. They are represented in the print and digital media and their goal is to be represented at, and to even host, a number of select art events and feature art development workshops and to present future art shows.

A lot of artists are eyeing their national art competition, The Arabella Great Canadian Landscape Contest, which is presently inviting registrations from artists across the country. Registration for entry closes January 1, 2013 and there will be a 2 month window between April and June of 2013 for artists to submit their works.  Using social media, an Artists’ on-line community presents many great works of artists in the contest, and in 2013 there will even be an opportunity for art lovers to check out the paintings they like best and vote to determine a people's choice winner.

It was an exciting experience for me to discover Arabella and to learn of their contribution to Canadian visual arts.

Frank Panabaker's Georgian Bay

I'm a sucker for ragged pine paintings. This delightful one is by the late Frank Panabaker. I like it for several reasons.  It doesn't impressionistically blur the edges of reality but on the other hand, it's charged with a sort of sublime, natural emotion.  You can almost feel the bite of the autumn wind and hear the pounding of the waves upon the shore. Don't you like it when a painting, pulls your experiences out like that?

The above picture is posted on HistoricalCanadianart.com,  I did an internet search and found a number of works by Panabaker and it seems that he painted a number of variations on the Georgian Bay, ragged pine theme - which isn't uncommon. Artists frequently get off on the process of exploring a single subject.

The Panabaker biographer on historicalcanadianart.com, writes:

"His work embraced a wide range of subjects, and his output was large, two or three paintings per week for most of his productive years. Most of them were landscapes, although he also executed many portraits. While many of his landscapes were repetitive, produced for a clientele who wished similar types of work, his genius lay in the outdoor sketches made in all weathers and across the country, which inspired and were the foundation of the paintings. As we recognise the skills required of the pleinair artist--of colour balance, tonal control, mixed with knowledge of paint behaviour and sensitivity to every mood of the landscape even under the most severe conditions--Panabaker's special abilities will be more widely appreciated.

Frank Panabaker lived between 1904 - 1992.

Please click here to see the Historical Canadian Art article.

Boy with Bread by Ozias Leduc

Boy with Bread, by Ozias Leduc, is disarmingly simple. Its painted with a pretty restricted palette and its subject matter is quite basic.  We see a chair, a boy, a table, a bowl, a spoon and some broken bread.  It's so basic that its easy to assume that it presents a cameo from an externally, simple world.  The boy is barefooted and his clothing is unfashionable  and this suggests that he may be a country boy.  It seems that the more simple a painting is, the more we are invited to paint our conclusions into it to fill the void.

There's an interesting geometric arrangement of lines and angles firing off each other here and the line of sight works its way up the boy's leg to his elbow and up his arm to his hand. And beyond that the geometric patterns are picked up in the boy's shirt.

Asceticism makes a lifestyle statement. The world within this painting is stripped of material distractions. Taking it a step further, there's a monastic quality about it.  If the camera's lens were to be moved upward, I could easily imagine a Catholic Cross fixed to the wall.

 Is Leduc making a philosophical life statement? Is he saying that this boy's life and surrounding world  is carefully and tightly organized?  Are the straight lines and angles representative of a system of human thought and organization? Possibly. Is he saying  that this simple controlled environment is in harmony with rural Catholic life?  Its your call, but it seems that way to me.

The work is no. 15793, in the National Gallery of Canada collection.
Please click here.


Canadian, 1864 - 1955
oil on canvas
50.7 x 55.7 cm
Purchased 1969
National Gallery of Canada (no. 15793)