Press Coverage and Show Opening

The Seymour Art Gallery was packed to the brim on January 10th for the opening of "Water", the 2012 Discovery show.  It was wonderful to see so many people come out to the show, including some wonderful friends.  The show got some coverage in the North Shore Outlook, online and in print.

Here I am with my piece, Solitude, which is kind of a love letter to the ocean, reflecting human resilience and the feelings elicited by being near water.

I've got the city surrounded!

It seems I'm busy all of a sudden.

As I was about to depart for my recent vacation, I was contacted by the Semiahmoo Arts Council and invited to show a new piece in their "Best of 2011" show which is on now until November 17 at the White Rock Community Centre. 

Wave is an encaustic piece that was so new i didn't have time to photograph it before running it down to White Rock the morning after i arrived home from my holiday.  It can be seen sitting sideways on the floor in this post.


I will also have work in 2 more upcoming shows:


Seymour Art Gallery, Deep Cove, BC.  "Discovery 2012", January 2012.  I will post the details closer to the show dates.

Maple Ridge ACT Gallery, Maple Ridge, B.C. "Ensemble", November 19 to December 19, 2011.
This show includes "ensembles" of work from various artists in the Lower Mainland.  Works from two of my recent series will be on display.
The "Resilience" series explores the qualities of beeswax encaustic medium and the objects i fuse into the wax, and the relationships formed by the fusion of the materials.

 Collapse, 2011, Encaustic, found objects, dirt, 14 x 14 inches

 Dis/Continuity, 2011, Encaustic, guitar strings, dirt, 14 x 14 inches

  Root, 2011, Encaustic, guitar strings, dirt, 14 x 14 inches

The "Faro" series explores, through a series of small paintings (over 30 were done in total), the destruction and transformation of a large expanse of land in the Yukon that served as the site of several different types of mine from 1969 to the late 1990s.  The series reflects the destruction of the natural area through unnatural colour, using the translucency and fragility of the encaustic wax medium to portray the strangeness of this area.

Clockwise from top left: Dehisce, Elemental, Perception, Fragment.  

All Encaustic, 2010, 3 x 4 inches.

  

 

 

Inspiration and Busy in The Studio.

Whew!  It's been a busy few months in and out of the studio, and I managed to throw in a late but inspiring "Summer Vacation" (yes, at the end of October!) to the Oregon Coast.  Around every corner I found myself utterly astounded by the ever-changing coastal landscapes.  I also have this thing that I do whenever I am near water - I HAVE to take off my shoes and go into the water, no matter how cold it is.  I have been swimming in Alaska in August!  You can imagine that this could slow the driving progress when there was a spectacular beach around every corner...

 

This drive was partially inspiration for a piece I submitted for the Seymour Art Gallery's "water" - themed Discover 2012 show, shown below in progress in the studio.

Solitude was basically me trying to process the feelings associated with being near the water, especially in an environment (i.e. the coastal highway) that changed so suddenly and completely.  I want my work to serve as witness for spaces that i have visited, however that can be a challenge when working non-representationally (or am I?).

Good News!

A new encaustic piece entitled Lurk was selected to be displayed in the "Marine" show at the White Rock Community Centre from March 12 to April 11.


I finally got around to editing this post to add the photo, as well as the even better news that the painting placed 2nd in the show!
Lurk is encaustic with found objects and a new charcoal transfer process that i developed through trial and error, and inspired by my frequent visits to the Vancouver Aquarium.

Finally!

I've been quiet. In the post-graduation haze i've traveled across Canada, worked a bunch of Nursing shifts and scrambled to look for that mythical art-related job. In the midst of exploring "what's next" i almost forgot why i did this all in the first place: TO MAKE ART. So, I set up a space in my house that, while not ideal (i live in a studio apartment and as i type this i'm wearing a respirator because the wax pot is heating up), seems like the perfect little spot to get creating. So here's what i'm working on currently.


I'm exploring themes of resilience, continuity and chance. In this piece i'm working with guitar strings (man, sometimes they just do what they want!), dirt and clear encaustic medium. You can't see it in this photo, but some of the strings give up a little halo of colour when heated up in the wax, so i haven't added any colour to this piece, i'm going to see what transpires.

Oh, and it feels good to be making art again.