OIL IN OIL

I have been working on a series of unsolicited portraits for a little show at Latitude 53, as part of the Incubator series the Gallery hosts each week. The show, entitled "Oil in Oil" is now on view,  and will be up until July 28 2012. Please come take a look!

Please visit the Latitude 53 Blog for additional information.

Below is the Artist Statement that will accompany my show at Latitude 53; it provides good context and summary for what these images are about:

At a recent Latitude 53 Fundraiser event, I had a conversation with a man working “up North”. We didn’t have this conversation face to face, as this man was still in Fort McMurray at the time of our chat. His friends were in attendance and were sharing his texts with me. Through these texts he informed me that he would like to commission a portrait of himself, in the grand style of ‘old school’ paintings, and that he wanted himself pictured with a wolf and a bottle of vodka as props.

Price didn’t seem to be an object, but time was. Turns out he wanted a mural, painted on the wall of his mobile home and he thought it shouldn’t take too long.

I have not painted this mural yet, but I did get to thinking…

Are there others who work ‘up North’ who would want their portrait painted? And if so, what kind of objects/props would they want to include in these pictures?  How would they want to be immortalized? I was starting to form an entire project in my head that revolved around the concepts of identity, industry and the interdependency we all share in Alberta with the ‘bubbling crude’ that comes out of the ground.

My thoughts on this subject were also bubbling, so I thought I would start with simple portraits for now.

The paintings in this “Incubator” exhibit are studies - a chance to engage with those who work ‘up North’. Through these unsolicited portraits I had a chance to visit remote work sites where every day, 24/7, oil and gas is extracted from the ground by men and women. I have never been to an actual rig, and was humbled to find out that it’s not easy to gain access to these sites. I also visited a training workshop, where tech operators were learning to use specific equipment that pumps oil out of the ground.

I quickly noticed that most people I met seldom let the top of their head show. Whether hardhat, or baseball hat, heads were covered.

The faces seen on these walls are just some of the people I met. Everyone was incredibly open and willing to participate in these ‘unsolicited’ portraits, and I am very grateful to them.

Eventually, I would like to take this series further – to arrange time for those who work ‘up North’ to sit for a portrait. My hope is to have each person tell me how they want to be portrayed, what ‘props’ they would want to have in the portrait with them and let the painting process unfold as a conversation between us. The human face is magic, and tells a story. As an artist I feel it is a true honour to be in communion with that magic, and the responsibility that comes with such story telling is a privilege. 

The story of oil, Earth’s ancient resource is a global story. However, brining it home I hope to explore the impact ‘oil’ has on present-day Alberta; I would like to tell this story through the faces of those people whose livelihood depends on what the Great White North has coursing through its earthly veins.

Ultimately, I hope to create a moment of dialogue between the face looking at a portrait and the portrayed face looking back, pausing to think about the legacy we all leave behind.

Here's a sneak peak at the work that's on view:

 "Harley Davidson", 9 x 12" oil on linen

 "I've Been Doing This For A Long Time", 20x30" oil on birch panel 

 "Let Me Get My Welding Helmet", 20x30", oil on birch panel

 

Father's Day in Review

A large-scale construction project is going on in Edmonton - the City is expanding its Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines. In order to protect some of the vegetation that neighbors the construction sites, the City has built plywood boxes around the trees. These boxes are functional, but sadly look coffin-like.  

So, a group of friends in Edmonton decided to get together and make art that would amp up the aesthetics of these function-over-form structures. I was honored to be included in this group.

The theme was Father's Day (#poppaart), and this is what I came up with:

acrylic on wood, 27"x48", Dad c.1975

The adventure of putting up unsolicited art was quite fun, and the look on my Dad's face when he saw his portrait hanging on a tree on Father's Day, was priceless.

Hopefully, nobody walks off with the picture... But it is the public domain, so I guess 'art getting jacked' is all part of the process.

 If someone does appropriate this portrait, I just hope they're nice to my Papa.

Dad on tree

Twenty Twelve!

After such a long absence, it feels a little strange to be back, but the calendar now reads 2012, and it's high time to dust off the old blog.

Although life has been full, busy and time has not been on my side, I have managed to complete a few pieces that I would like to share.

Here is one, of a beautiful girl named Ramona (8 x 10", oil on wood).



I will post others before it is 2013.

Reading the New Yorker

Last night, or I should say very early this morning, in a bout of sleeplessness I reached for the New Yorker by my bed. The title of a particular article peaked my interest: What I Learned When I Learned How to Draw

In the first paragraph, a scene is set at a dinner party, where the author of the article, Adam Gopnik, is seated across the table from another guest, who after a brief conversation reluctantly agrees to teach Gopnik how to draw; this guest is none other than the man who taught ME how to draw at the Grand Central Academy - Jacob Collins.

There is now just one degree of separation between Adam Gopnik and me;)

Written from the perspective of an art critic (and one who commonly writes on the activities of the contemporary art scene, not on learning how to draw representationally) this article sheds a curious perspective on all things 'Traditional Realism Revival".

Jacob Collins tries to teach Gopnik how to draw, and many of the lessons Jacob teaches him are eerily familiar. I thought back to my own Drawing Intensive class (taken in the summer of '09), and realized just how often I draw (pun intended) on the lessons I took away from that experience. Some of these lessons are practical in application, but most just propel me further into the world of the impractical, impossible, 'old fashioned' and overlooked.

And I am endlessly thankful for these lessons...

Here's a quick video of Jacob Collins in his studio discussing his work:

And this is just a quick snapshot I took of Jacob, during my Drawing class in the summer of 2009 at the Grand Central Academy.

Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Thanks!

A

Banner Year!!

This year I had the great pleasure of being involved in a cool project with Edmonton's talented poet laureate, Rollie Pemberton and 3 other visual artists: Nikelas Johnson, Tim Rechner and Pearl Rachinsky.

Poetry meets imagery meets the streets of the city of Edmonton.

Please check out some of the Press coverage, and learn a little bit more about the project!

You can also visit Latitude's 53 Blog, where a quick post appears on my involvement with the project. This will give you a chance to catch up on some of the other art action taking place in Edmonton.

And if you are in Edmonton, and find yourself itching for a stroll through the city's Downtown core please look up at the light posts on Jasper Ave, 104th Street and Rice Howard Way and you will see some of my work, as well as the work of the other artists who collaborated with words and light posts!

Happy summer,

A

Summer Workshop Review

I just got back from Toronto and NYC, where I had the pleasure of taking two painting workshops.

First was the Portrait Painting Workshop with Juan Martinez at the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto. We worked on two portraits over 7 days. In the mornings Theresa sat for a couple hours, and in the afternoons Evgeny sat for 3 hours. Below, I have included a video progression of Evgeny's portrait (Day 1 - Day 5).

Painting from life was a huge treat - there is nothing like having your subject right before you, so you can obsess over creating a three-dimensional illusion on a flat surface.

Evgeny, 18x24", oil on linen

Evgeny Portrait Progression (Day 1 - Day 5)

Theresa (aka Left Eye Undone), 18x24", oil on linen

After Toronto I went on to NYC, where the world of the "gray scale" was revealed to me. This was a true academic exercise in understanding how Value creates a successful realist painting. Under the patient tutelage of Tony Curanaj at the Grand Central Academy, we first worked on meticulous mixing of the Gray Scale, according to the Munsell Colour System. Premixing our grays (please see image below), we made our own tubed paints and proceeded to paint gray cubes against the gray background, surrounded by gray shadows. I must admit that I started to go a little cross-eyed... Leaving the classroom and stepping out into the colourful bustling world of Midtown Manhattan after hours of painting nothing but grays, blew my mind nearly every time.

Mixing our 'gray mixtures', which we then put into empty paint tubes, and sealed.

Tony Curanaj demo, directly on our glass palette - showing us how to use the gray scale to model a sphere.

I am confident that all the 'cross-eyed' exactness of painting Value still-lifes of gray cubes will be worth it. I cannot wait to continue the practice of not just painting what my eye sees, but to use my mind to train the eye in actually seeing the subtleties of the world around me.

With time, I hope to persevere and be able to apply the painstaking lessons of the 'gray cubes' to the beauty of human form.

Baby steps... once again.

Thanks for looking!

To Toronto!

I am happy to report from Toronto, where I am taking a portrait painting workshop. I hope to hone my craft, and get to know this city of trams, CN towers and old trees. Here's a snapshot of my workshop 'home' at the Academy of Realist Art on the corner of Dundas West and Pacific Avenue:

In the meantime, here are few samples of the recent portraits I've completed.

Ethan, 6x8, oil on wood

Sophie, 6x8, oil on wood

Marcus, 6x8" oil on wood

Elizabeth, 6x8, oil on wood

Juliette, 8x10" oil on wood

Jack, 8x10 oil on wood

Marcus, 8x10 oil on wood