Ship out on the Sea.

There's rockets in the meadow, and ships out on the sea,
The answer's in the forest, it's carved upon a tree:
"John loves Mary--does anyone love me?"
--Gordon Lightfoot

"Freighter 2" 14 X 18" Oil on canvas, as always.

If you recall the freighter I did last year... . Well this is meant to be a kind of continuation of that theme. The other one was a "Handymax bulker" but I have no clue what this is. Some sort of floating brick, I guess. It may be loaded with something lighter, since when they sit lower in the water, they are even more brick-like. Hard to tell stem from stern... .

I slathered on the mountains, and scuffed on the sky. A good little piece, and painted in 1 1/2 sittings. I'm very happy with the simplicity of the image, the paint quality, and the tones. It seems that working this size really helps me nail it on the first shot, for whatever reason. Maybe all those years, being broke, I learned to paint small to save materials, and now the habit is formed... .

(Further online investigation reveals that this is an "Ace" class vehicle carrier, and is high in the water after having delivered its cargo to Vancouver.)

A Matisse Tribute

"Girl in Brown" 18 X 24"

Most of you know know that I love Uncle Henri, but rarely paint like him. He's not really an influence, it's true, but I admire his preoccupation with design, structure and pictorial harmony, sharing as I do a quite Gallic concern for formal pictorial problems.

I took this from the drawing below, which my friend M.H. was kind enough to sit for. I may not be able to capture all her earthy Persian beauty on canvas (yet), but it's fun to try. I made her look kinda Japanese here, and, as she has a deep affinity for Japanese culture and art, it's appropriate. (M.H. is a pretty incredible and versatile artist in her own right, and if she ever gets her own website up, I'll be posting a link to it here... .)

The colours are not as daring as Matisse, and the textures are all me as well, but I tried to get at his line a bit. I almost wish I had to correct a little more--to make it more like his style during the '20s. but I was happy with the under drawing from the get-go. I did have to re-harmonize the background yellow and a few other bits, and I admit the colour is not one of the strengths of this piece--but I like it a lot.

I'd like to continue to explore the theme of tribute paintings to artists I admire. Seems to be a productive thing for me.

Have been doing a few good figure drawings lately. Life drawing certainly helps. I want to be one of those painters who actually can draw.

At Last - Water Colours!

"Bill and Joanne's Place" I met them--Bill is an artist--and they gave me a tour. This house was actually ordered as a kit from Sears Roebuck in about 1918. One of my best pictures, period!

"Group of Oaks, Ryan St." One block from here. The trick with water colour is to not put on too much. This one gives the feeling of glaring sunlight. Kinda fauvist.

"House with Red Door, Fernwood" The door and the yellow cedar in front are particularly satisfying bits. I may touch this one up a bit--but not finish it more than it is.

"Peppers and Tomato" Love the loose touches that create the impression of tight form. Nice, eh? I'm really happy with this one.

All small water colours are $180.00, which includes a custom frame. $120 if you just want the artwork as-is.

Some New Drawings

"Arbutus" Done in the woods behind UVic. Minimalist and abstract.

"Can of Asters" Because the can's bottom is busted, it is leaning toward the window a bit. I was getting all cubist on the stemmy bits, which is cool. Drawn while sitting in Collective Works Gallery.

"Espresso Machine" Delightfully abstract little study, done in a Cafe across from the Vancouver Art Gallery.

"Mike Reading" My tall blond Dutch cousin Mike, I dig his gaunt cheeks and Jesus Christ Superstar haircut. Sketched on the Ferry to Tswassen on the way to Vanhangover for the weekend. thanks to Mike and Simmi for putting me up for the night.


"Mt. Doug seen from Mt. Tolmie" A bit heavier treatment than what I am used to, but a good sketch.


All small drawings are $125 framed. If you want them as-is, it's $65.00.

Or make me a good offer.

Diversifying My Portfolio

When I get my flatbed scanner sitch sorted, I have a butt-load of drawings (and maybe a few water colours) to post here. Haven't been painting much in oil, but really stoked with the new water colours. I bought the Winsor & Newton Cotman pocket box, removed the cakes that came with it--standard, boring colours--and squeezed my own choices into the pans. I only use the Artists' Quality of course. Same as with the oils. No sense messing about.

I hit a few of the studios on the Art Stroll on Saturday. Some great stuff, and well worth showing up for. One of the main organizers of the event was Deryk Houston, a founding members of Collective Works Gallery. He's a hardworking guy, and very diverse as an artist. I also admire his sense of social and political justice.

Which reminds me that I have a meeting tonight, so I had better get cracking on some stuff.

N

A Weekend of Art

Fernwood is where it is happening this weekend!

On Friday evening at 7:00pm. Collective Works Gallery is hosting the opening reception of our new group show “Towards the Sun” in celebration of the summer solstice and Fern Fest. Julian and Blair Mulhall will be providing live entertainment throughout the event. Those of you who enjoyed Julian and Blair so much at my birthday celebration will want to hear them play again

I would like to extend an invitation--to Fernwood’s first annual studio tour. There are 21 artists involved who will be opening up their studios to the public on June 21^st and 22^nd (Sat and Sun) 11-4pm. Many members of Collective Works are involved in this. Now is your chance to meet them personally in their studios!

Join us for a glass of wine at Fernwood’s exciting weekend celebrations. Brochures available at the Gallery. More info on www.fernwoodvic.ca

Artist's Statement

Uniting the Post-Impressionist European tradition with the motifs and sensations of my immediate surroundings, my city and province, I craft unashamedly delightful images full of structure, poetry, and light using only the three primary colours of blue, red, and yellow.
I believe in the vocation of painting; it is something one is called to. Art has been the one joyous golden thread running through my life.

Although self-taught, I believe a strong technical foundation is necessary to communicate emotion effectively. Oil on canvas is and always will be my preferred medium, although the humble graphite pencil drawing will also have a place in my oeuvre. I also work with coloured pencil and watercolour.

My enthusiasm for art history occasionally finds expression in cubism, surrealism, or lyrical abstract expressionism, but no matter what the genre, my style may universally be described as “painterly” since all my work demonstrates a preoccupation with the physical surface.
I believe that art should have a strong and active role in society as a positive, transformative force, discovering, fixing, and preserving beauty and meaning, and inspiring and renewing the human spirit.

Under this fine rain I breathe in the innocence of the world. I feel coloured by the nuances of infinity. At this moment I am one with my picture. We are an iridescent chaos... (Paul Cézanne)

nicholaspaints@shaw.ca + http://paintingblind.blogspot.com + 250.886.6480

And Now For Something Completely Different.....

"Sea Music" Oil on Canvas, 20 X 24" Thirty-two hundred bux, yup.

Thought I didn't have it in me eh? And that I would never get tired of painting rocks and sky and trees? HA! comin' atcha with a Varley/, Macke/ Gris/ Matisse tribute sorta synthetic cubist nude thing.

Composition on this one is really complex. I actually tried to paint in a few bass and treble clefts. They were both supposed to coil into her left breast, but my intention went sideways there. Too much going on in that area as it is. The musical elements are not too obvious, and I did not take the faceting of the planes too far. It's synthetic cubism, after all.... My favourite local model, Ava, was the model for this, and yes, she does play the ukulele--quite well, too.

I did try to pack in some symbolism--but not all of it erotic ;) The face turned out quite well, and a few of the other bits, really giving the impression of simultaneous viewpoints. The figure came out non-white looking (all hail the dark Goddess), which is satisfying, and is literal enough to be pleasing. The colour has a Macke-esque density and richness. I suppose all those years of looking at and admiring Macke finally trickled out through my brush....

I had to make a few corrections to keep the lines from "running out" on the left side, but I think it holds the wall now, with a good dose of rhythm and visual cohesion.

I pride myself on being able to understand and work within most of the major ISMs of the last 150 years. Maybe one of these days I'll really step out of character and do some surrealism. You never know. I do also have a rather expressionistic self-portrait I should put up here sometime.

No matter what, though, I'll always put out images in bright colours.

Rooflines in Oaklands

"Rooflines in Oaklands" 18 X 24"
I might rename this one, since "Oaklands" is a somewhat arbitrary designation, basically the strip of neighbourhood between Hillside and Bay, Cook and Shelbourne Streets. Upper Fernwood, if you like. The houses are smaller, less ornate, and 30-40 years newer in some spots--small, interwar houses, unpretentious, homey, contented.

I've lived in this neighbourhood since I moved here 4 years ago, and walked and cycled these streets many times. I guess I feel at home here--it's where I live. The sky has an almost prairie-wide feel to it, tucking right into the trees and snugging down behind the houses. The chimney styles are incredibly diverse and interesting--it's the little details which have slowly taken ahold of my imagination. Friend (and fellow artist) Paul sez I should do a coffee table book on local chimney styles! Hmm. (Scratches stubble.) Maybe I could get some sorta grant to document chimneys in paint....?

I'm fascinated by the interface of earth and sky, the way the light of the sky bleeds around objects, bending contours. the way the blue of the sky pours itself into the shadows. I believe one of the functions of art is to make people stop and look at things they might not notice otherwise.

My gesso,
My last call,
My life is yours, in your gifted hands.
Confetti rainfall and the quite streets,
The beauty is in what you make it,
So get up on your feet,
Because tonight the world turned in me,
Because tonight I don't dare breath.
Oh babe I know, it's alive, and somewhere for us to find tonight,
Chase this light with me.
--Jimmy Eat World.
(Burrowing itself into my head every time I walk or ride through Fernwood, and no-one to sing it to, even though I can hit most of the notes.)

I'm desparately trying to finish a painting of a big Italianate heritage house in Fernwood proper, but it is slow going. I'm a little out of my depth on it and it is a bit out of character for me generally. I know by now not to throw paintings such as that one away so quickly. I'll give it some more time and post it here if it turns out at all.

I'm on a cityscape kick, and will probably be sticking with it for a bit.

Increase the Peace,
Nicholas

"Fernwood & Around" by Al Williams

Y'all come out to Uncle Al's show, y'hear?

I've really come to appreciate Al's art over the few months I've known him. I would describe his work as clean, fresh, hard-edged and linear. His sense of composition, structure and balance is impeccable, which I deeply admire. He's a contemporary West Coast Artist, and a cool guy to hang out with, too.

Opening this Friday, 7:00 pm at Collective Works, 1311 Gladstone.

You can check his website here.

Iconography!

I just can't resist posting this, it being Sunday and all:


"We are the Knights of the Lost Queen, Companions to the Beloved: She of red egg and alabaster jar. The Alchemists and Kabalists, the Witches and Magicians are of us. We are the keepers of a Flame far older than the world and we seek it out where we may find it, and breathe it to life with our wit, our humility, our art, and our joy."
- Anthem of the Exiled Princes

"Yet among the mature we do speak of Sophia, though it is not the Sophia of this Aeon or of the Archons, who are doomed to perish. But we speak of the Holy Sophia, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the Aeons for our glory. None of the Archons understood this."
- 1 Corinthians 2:6-8

I wish the above image better reflected the gravity of those words. But that is the way it came out. Was cleaning up the studio/ office/ flat the other day and came across this old project, started many months ago. A cute girl I used to know modelled for it. It came out kinda Japanese-looking face, and as solid as a matryoshka doll. Not very Byzantine, anyway ;) It's all good. So, gonna get me a big old gnarly gilt frame for this one and hang it in the hall.

Brown House, Fernwood

And now, one of the finest paintings I have done to date:

Brown House, Fernwood 16 X 20" 2008
Yes, it really is brown, but all the blues and violets make it look yellow or orange. OK, I guess it is kinda yellowish. I did, though, muddy the tube yellow with considerable amounts of violet to dull it down.

Extremely gratified with this piece, especially the strict composition with it's rigid framework of horizontals, verticals and diagonals, subtle colour harmonies and sensitive modulations, and overall dry, gritty, matte paint quality.

Because the camera loses so much, I took the trouble of scanning the thing in so I could present the painted surface--and the colours-- a little more accurately.

Here, I think I successfully represented the "twiggy-ness" of overgrown and leafless bushes without having to paint every twig, and the glare of the winter sky with some wet-into-wet paint application. I was heavily inspired by both Cezanne and Pissarro in the handling of the bush/ wall interface, as you can see.

Mmmm, candy! Love those coppery/ mauvey modulations.

All the planes in this piece--maybe even the roof planes--have been aligned with the picture plane (that is, the 2-D actual painted surface). This gives the painting a monumentality and static gravity, in spite of its relatively small size. It holds the wall.

More of the same, please!!

N

Posting Some New Work, Finally

Road To The Sky 16X 20" 2008
Another painting from my jaunt down the Douglas Lake Road 10 years ago. Not sure about this one.... Maybe a better photo that a painting? The only challenging part was beating the bank at the left into some semblance of order. It always amazes me that the simplest things are the most difficult--like in life, I guess.

Farm in Delta 16 X 20" 2008
I took this shot on the back way to Tsawwassen, riding along the dike--feeling very Dutch! The sun had just started to break through after a morning of rain. I had spent the weekend with Dan and Erin at their cabin on Harrison Lake (see posts from last fall), and had stayed the night with Cousin Nancy and her family. Nancy has a great sense of navigation, and it was she who tipped me off to the possibility of a bike trail around the Hwy 91/ Hwy 10 interchange. So I saved myself some stress and got some cool pix in, thanks to her!

I'm pretty happy with this little piece, especially because I painted the sky in one straight go, the tones are true, and the colour is subtly creative. There is a lot more to the composition than meets the eye at first glance, too. I had to make very few corrections overall, and had some really nifty things take place, just by letting them happen. Notice the two shallow diagonals on the left (one in the sky and one in the field). Also notice the compression formed by the curves in the bottom of the clouds and the curves of the brambles.... It seems to have the sense of depth I was looking for, while still respecting the flatness of the picture plane. Depth is created here by overlapping planes and by diagonal lines once again. The pale blues of the barns push them back into space, but the warm, strong adjacent touches bring them back into plane again. So there is a tension between depth and flatness, although maybe depth finally wins out.

Also, some psychology going on, almost behind my back. Hint: I've always wanted to own land. Forever out of reach, I guess.

Birthday Potluck at the Cafe

Best birthday ever. The big treat was to have all my core group in one room, all talking to each other!! Love you guys. The music was awesome!! The food was too--and only one of my pies got eaten, so I had the other whole one to take home for myself :)


Cousin Nancy came over with her two daughters--and grand-daughter--from Langley, which was really nice. Mike and Ray were there as well, so there was 4 of us cousins. How cool is that!?


Some of my friends have already posted photos on their Facebook pages, but here are a few great shots taken my Miriam Mulhall, wife and mother of the musicians.

Extra special thanks must go to Julian and Blair for the tunes which held us spellbound, Howie for all the very kind logistical support, extra dishes and flat out good vibes. Also to Tammy and Joji for the help with setup, and of course, Miriam for the photos!


And thanks to all who came, brought food, hung out helped with the cleanup and celebrated with me. And thank you all for the kind words on my art.

I can't imagine my life without my friends, and luckily, I don't have to. I sometimes think that my freinds are my greatest asset. They probably are.

I will be posting some new paintings here when I get the chance, which hopefully will be before I leave on a hike of the Juan de Fuca Trail with a friend.


And (huge sigh of relief) the day-job may be sorting itself out in a way that is very suitable to me and my career in art. This is a blessing as well.

What More in the Name of Love?

Remember the good Doctor, and all those who fight for justice.