Ready for upcoming show-

     I've got this one, called "Sandpiper Time, Britannia" for the show Richmond Artists Guild will be having May 6 to 10 in the performance hall at the Art Centre. I will also be showing the one - on a previous blog- of the fish-boat with the net being wound onto it as well as the one used on my last newsletter - so a local water scene theme for me this time around. The poppies will be going down to Rocanini for May through June 29.
      Tomorrow, the paintings will come down from the Gulf of Georgia Cannery as the last indoor Farmers market is held. We will, no doubt, be back again at a future date.
     Exhibition space is always a problem for artists, especially when there is not a real community gallery. We used to have biannual shows in Richmond Art Gallery as well as a preview showing for Artists Among Us - which was a precursor to DoorsOpen. Now the Gallery is only interested in so-called "contemporary" art- which is an interesting definition in itself. However, impressionistic and realistic art still lives and is produced and enjoyed by many.
     Ian Roberts in his book "Creative Authenticity" has comments to make about so-called "contemporary art". This is one book I keep returning to even 'though it is not an instruction book. It is a book that makes you think about the path you are taking with your work. Ian states that a work of art has to communicate something. "It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw- "Just because no one understands you, doesn't mean you're an artist" Much contemporary art is very self-absorbed. It may have been fascinating for the artist to create, but it doesn't have the necessary hook to engage the viewer. We're left outside a private loop, perplexed."
      I'm hoping this one leaves no-one perplexed - but then it is not "Contemporary". This painting was the view from the Seine Net loft at Britannia Shipyards near the end of September. I wanted to capture the mood of the place and the feeling of history with all the pilings left from buildings or wharves of the past. I used thick gel to build up the texture of the pilings so they stand out from their reflections in the river. There is something almost magical about the light on the boats and all the reflections. Sandpipers, on their annual visit sit, carefully spaced, along a floating log while one perches on a piling.

Searching for Beauty

     I'm currently re-reading one of my favourite inspirational art books--"Creative Authenticity- 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen your Artistic Vision"- by Ian Roberts. The first principle si Searching for Beauty. Ian says the book is not for those who would like to create but are too timid to get started- it is "a book for people who are in the thick of the creative struggle." He says "interestingly, we have come to the point in the contemporary art world where beauty is suspect as an aim in art." He goes on to explain that he doesn't mean pretty or sweet and that a great, powerful, beautiful painting - Goya's "The Third of May 1808" can also be horrifying. It is moving.
      I love where Ian trashes  "the technology of the media  as the vehicle of art, in which the means of communication alone is considered relevant, even devoid of any content". He talks of videos that go on and on leading nowhere. That reminded me of one I saw recently -  in an art gallery--it was as if it was termed "artistic" because it was lousy photography with no point.
     "Life cannot be lived well without standards . Art, as a part of our life, would obviously seem to benefit from standards as well...... I think new standards of meaningfulness in art are resurfacing. Which is where authenticity comes in. Standards that are transformative, that will last, will have to come from a deep, quiet harbor of spirit if they are to anchor us today."
      This book is one that makes an artist question the process and really think about directions and what the artist is trying to express. We all need to  work on our own growth and our authenticity so that our work will matter.
     The drawing is a pastel of Yui in a casual kimono. I tried to capture her beauty and grace. This was a long pose at Life Drawing and is posted in on Pinterest on my Life Drawing folio. I like life drawing because it is always a challenge to capture the beauty of the human figure - even when not necessarily what modern conventions would call "beauty." There is a beautiful person within  and I want to be "authentic" in showing that. I'm currently trying to move in a slightly different direction in some work. This piece is more conventionally realistic  than some things I am trying -although I elongated her a little bit to stress the quiet elegance.