Heart of Steveston

Going up for the busy Salmon Festival Weekend at Steveston - but actually staying up through to October 12, is a show called "Heart of Steveston". It takes place, appropriately enough, in the heart of Steveston - corner of #1 and Moncton- in Rocanini Coffee shop. I am showing paintings - of Steveston, of course, along with three other artists - Jeanette Jarville, Karen Parker and Rita McArthur. 10% of any painting sale will go to Richmond Hospital Foundation. I'm including a few of areas not right in Steveston, but nearby, such as Britannia and Finn Slough. It is a great opportunity in a great location so I hope it all goes well. I won't be able to manage the opening reception as I am recovering from hip surgery but I will be in and out of there in the future. This one is "Winter Sunset, Finn Slough"

Bridge at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden

June is speeding along and the "Nooch" show is now down. A new show on Steveston Themed Paintings will be going up in Rocanini coffee shop- corner of #1 and Moncton- for July, August, September. I'm showing, along with Jeanette Jarville, Karen Parker and Rita McArthur. Next week is the Cocktail pARTy at Gateway Theatre. Attendees pay $350 per couple for a fabulous evening and the guarantee of a painting worth at least $300. I have donated this painting of the bridge at Dr.Sun Yat-Sen Gardens so I wish it a happy new home. I picked this because it is peaceful and would fit into a lot of homes. As anyone who reads this blog will know, I love reflections - and here I have the magic to enjoy again. This garden is one that mingles nature with art and has made this piece of land a better place. For this, I did work from a photograph as there was simply not enough time to do a painting of this size on the spot with changing light conditions. However, the scene has to be interpreted and edited in order for it to be a painting and not a photographic enlargement. I also worked to get a feeling into this piece so that feeling would be there for the viewer. I definitely wanted the painting to be serene. I usually don't frame my paintings, but I felt for this event where it would be with a number of framed paintings, it would "show" better framed. So, it does have a simple frame and I think it does set it off and give it a classic look.

Venice Canal

One feeling you get when visiting Europe is an appreciation of how the architecture fits the setting. It would be impossible to visualize a Prague without red tile roofs or a Venice where the old buildings had been razed and all replaced with glass and chrome. In our part of the world - and probably a lot of other parts too!- we seem to be losing our relationship to our landscape. Buildings become "one size fits all" and could exist almost anywhere- just like the blue vinyl in the last blog. Once houses looked more like they fitted the subdivision and all settled in in a neighbourly fashion. Now they loom large on their lots and glitter with lights under the eaves and false-stone tiles that will mildew in our west coast weather. When will we learn to adapt to where we live and not try to impose other ideas? In this canal painting, I've tried to capture the "rightness"of the buildings showing their age and adaptations to time. The colours and reflections in the water...it could only be Venice and that is as it should be.

Waiting Gondolas

This is another of the paintings currently at Nooch. I liked the contrast of the gondolas in the shade and the buildings across the canal in sunlight. When I was in Venice before, the gondolas were then covered in black oilcloth for protection. Alas! Now it is ubiquitous blue vinyl

- we can't get away from it. Another thing that is everywhere is the white plastic chair. Those chairs are like a virus that spread and crowd out other types of chairs. And I will admit to one painting that has those chairs in it. The way they are everywhere, I don't guarantee that they won't appear again. Sometimes it seems as if the world is too homogenized. We need to try to preserve the differences. At least the gondolas themselves are still very evident and definitely part of the charm of Venice.

Orvieto - "Rendezvous"

...continuing the "stories" that go with the paintings currently at Nooch. This one is an Italian hill-top town. It was about 2 hours out of Rome - and three hours back , due to traffic! Since it is an old town with narrow streets unsuited to much vehicle traffic, cars are parked at the bottom of the hill and people take a funicular railway up to the hilltop. There were nice restaurants, nice gelato spots, interesting shops and a very old cathedral with a mosaic front. However, I must report that I was shocked to find some graffiti **inside** the cathedral - and found myself wishing that a bolt of lightening had come down to strike the perpetrator! It was shocking to see no respect for this centuries old cathedral. I find the old buildings that are connected across a street or pathway of special fascination, so the one in the painting caught my eye. Some people paint empty streets but I like to show some life so an attractive woman gives interest to this painting. I think it also add a story element - is she meeting someone in that restaurant or hurrying someplace else? I used a palette knife when I was painting the building's walls to work on that aged plaster effect. The painting brings memories of that nice day in Italy.

Towers at Cesky Krumlov

I took brochures for DoorsOpen over to Nooch today and was told that people were enjoying the paintings. So I'm continuing the "stories" that go with them. This one is also in the Czech Republic - in Cesky Krumlov. In some ways, it is like a miniature Prague - castle on the hill, town square, same river curling around the town, red-tile roofs and interesting old buildings. However, it is medieval style buildings where Prague is baroque. One thing that made me smile was that a lot of older buildings were "updated" a way back when - with false fronts just like towns you see in the old Western movies. Well, not the same style, of course - but the same idea. Another interesting thing was the doors on the shops - when opened, many had display cabinets that then became street-front displays. Our pension had a breakfast at 9 am - which was too late if you wanted to be at the castle at 9am - so we got a discount and then found a great cafeteria on the town square - where the locals ate. Regular food was in one part and the coffee was in a separate Art-Nouveau style area that also had incredible pastries - and so, we created a special-to-Cesky-Krumlov tradition of "breakfast dessert". The two towers in this painting are the clock tower from the Castle - which is big enough to go up and walk around - and the church tower in front. The turquoise roof is oxidized copper- such a beautiful complement to the red tile roofs.

Top of the Stairs

This is another of the paintings currently on display at Nooch (#3 and Anderson,Richmond)
This one is from the route up to Prague Castle and the cathedral. I took one photo and then a man dashed by and I snapped him as he reached the top of the stairs. I liked the energy of having someone in action - and I liked the way his leg echoed the leg of the cherub statue on the wall. And, of course, more of those red tile roofs that I like! Needless to say, this was painted from the photo but I think, when you have done enough actual work from life, it is a painting, not a mere photographic reproduction. I wanted to emphasize the contrast between shadow and sunlight. I like paintings with a bit of a story and I like to imagine where he might be going and what is around the corner.