Collective Works Gallery is Here

Well dudes and dudettes, was the show a success or what?! For a while there, it was so packed it took a few minutes and quite a few 'Scuse Mes' just to get to the back to get more wine.

And speaking of wine, I vote the bottle of Uncle Al Williams' blackberry wine "Best in Show". I did find my own way home though--just not in a straight line.

At peak time, there must have been about 70 people there--but it felt like 300. It was super-encouraging to see this level of turnout. Huge kudos, props and resounding, hand smarting hi-fives to Anne, Miriam, Sean and all the rest of the unflinchingly dedicated volunteers who pulled this off. We are HERE.

It was huge for me to connect with my peers and collegues. I learnt a lot, talked a lot, and really connected a lot. I hope the freindships I made Friday night will last the rest of my life.

Thanks so much to Joji, Tammy, Cousin Mike, Ruthie, and those cool people Tammy invited (whose names I've forgotten) for coming out to look at the stuff. Love you guys one and all.

An interesting note is that I caught Joji and Tammy looking at my paintings in the photo above. I didn't know they were in the room at the time! And Mike--that was a nice surprise, man.

It was great that there was another piece sold before the show opened, besides my "Beached Logs." Oh, and speaking of selling--"Rising Cloud, Harrison Lake" is now SOLD to my good friend Dan C. I will be very honoured to have one of my canvases hanging in his home.

One of my very best pieces. I am so stoked that Dan has this one, because I know he totally "gets it". What Dr. MacCallum was to Tom Thomson, Dan is to me, in a way. He's the one with the cabin way up on Harrison Lake, and, thanks to his kindness and generosity, I am able to really get out there and look around and feed my creativity with the raw fuel of art--which is Nature.

And now, just for fun a drawing of a Renaissance jam-session. Veronese on fiddle, Titian on bass. I took this drawing from a detail of Paolo Veronese's "Wedding at Cana" from 1563. It is in a book my good freind and sister Roo gave me for Christmas.

The Old Masters rock, eh :) I'm telling you, there is nothing about painting they didn't know. Even abstract artists can learn from them. Mark Rothko did! He made several trips to Itally just to do that.

And, I have another painting of the Douglas Lake area coming down--just slapped on the underdrawing this morning. It will be unique, and I hope, quite eye-catching--although I will not have much time to paint in the next month and a half or so. We'll see.

Very Best to All,
N