Studio Reflections

Milk River

2012-01-26T10:19:00.003-05:00

Milk River Islands, 2012, oil/panel, 20" x 60", (click to enlarge)

More experiments with the ideas of rivers, islands, lakes, and sky. I'm working out both the technical processes and methods for presenting these subjects. I find the idea of water calming. It's completely different from my use of solid ground and fields as a support for trees. These bodies of water and the islands bring in other feelings about mind-states than my "tree shape against sky" work.

My own reason for making paintings is to reflect mind-states using visual metaphors. So in these recent pieces I'm interested in the idea of isolation, yet each island is loaded with trees and vegetation exploding out and to the edges of the water. Water is mysterious. Water connects the islands and riverbanks. There is something about that "connection" that I want to consider.

Osprey Island

2011-12-18T18:27:00.002-05:00

Osprey Island, oil/panel, 20" x 60", (click to enlarge)

I am continuing to refine my approach to painting landscapes with water. I've been observing lakes and rivers a lot this year; watching how the water reflects light and shimmers. I've found that water doesn't remain still - so it's hard to treat it photographically, frozen in time. I've been trying out ways to present water that echos my own experience of watching it. This painting is part of that ongoing series of works that attempts to represent in paint what I experience in nature.

Water is mystical. There is something about it that suggests much more than we see.

Mohawk, 24"x48", oil/panel

Tedona, oil/panel, 24" x 48"

Charutta

2011-12-09T17:16:00.001-05:00

Charutta, 2011, oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

This is the final painting for my Bau-Xi Galleries Vancouver show that opens on March 3rd 2012. The blue in this sky was really hard to mix, but ultimately I found the right combination of hues and got it so that the blue was late afternoon. That allowed me to set up the tree and hazy background so that the afternoon light raked the tree and brought out the shape and three - D forms.

Just got a call from Concordia U Alumni Magazine. Looks like they will do a little feature about my recent show in Tennessee at Tanner Hill Gallery.

Aiello

2011-12-02T12:07:00.001-05:00

Sirritoo, 30"x60", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

Aiello, 40"x46", oi/panel

These are recent pieces that I've just completed at the beginning of December. I continue to explore rich colour and a play of contrasts. The light of day and the way it interacts with the landscape remains a subject in my work and I experiment with some very interesting colour mixes to get that sense. I feel I have got a firm grip on my layering techniques, these paintings are solid. Both works are headed to Bau-Xi Galleries in Vancouver for a show that opens on March 3rd. There will be a preview article in Galleries West Magazine that will highlight the show. Janet Nichol called to interview me last week.

New 2011 Catalog

2011-11-16T15:20:00.001-05:00

A new 2011 catalog is now available for preview and sale at Blurb.com. You can flip through the pages online at this link: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2654358 (opens in a new tab).

The 20 page booklet shows a selection of paintings completed this year. Many of the illustrated works will be shown at Bau-Xi Galleries in Vancouver during my March 2012 exhibition.

Summer Gone

2011-11-12T12:10:00.001-05:00

Oak Lake: November, 30"x60", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

Grassy Narrows, 36"x48", oil/panel

It's feeling a lot like winter is coming here in Ontario. The painting Grassy Narrows was begun in the summer when it was hot hazy and humid. Many layers later the painting is done and the image harkens back to a beautiful summer gone by.

The top and bottom paintings are more in tune with the season. The lakes are quiet now with the cottagers having packed it in for another season. I like the stillness and calm, with only the distant cawing of crows to break the silence.

Robeson Lake, oil/canvas, 16"x20"

In Turkey

2011-10-28T14:39:00.001-04:00

Walking at sunrise in the olive trees, Izmir Province.

View from my apartment window in Sultanahmet, Istanbul.

New Mosque, Istanbul.

I've been visiting Turkey this October. Staying in an apartment in Sultanahmet Istanbul, visiting amazing places, seeing wonderful things, getting new ideas for my work.

Now visiting Izmir Province and Anatolyia.

Can't wait to try out some ideas in my studio when I return.

2011-10-12T19:36:00.002-04:00

Sunset, 48"x60", 2011, oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

Ever since my trip to New York during the summer I've been looking at marches and wetlands. The drive from Toronto to NYC is through central NY State where I grew up. The Erie Canal and the Finger Lakes were part of my childhood explorations. Many bicycle hikes were made in those areas. These left an impact because now when I travel in those areas I seem to find inspiration where ever I look.

Jarrat Red, 36"x48", oil/panel

Island

2011-10-05T10:26:00.003-04:00

Island, 40"x40", oil/panel (click to enlarge)

This lonely crescent shaped island is located near to me. I like the way, on calm mornings, it seems to mysteriously emerge from the mist. The early sun reflects lazily on the calm surface of the lake. I imagine exploring the small landmass. What's under the trees, hiding there, looking out at me?

Rainbow Days

2011-09-30T19:50:00.002-04:00

September Rainbow - Over Marchessault Studio

Evening showers passed over my studio and left me with a beautiful rainbow. It lasted for about 10 minutes and changed slowly from bright at one end to the other.

I continue to work. The two paintings below have been completed. I am still very interested in working with both color and the sense of light in a painting.

Garshen Beedi, 38"x30", oil/panel (click to enlarge)

Aerces, 22"x18", oil/panel

Hidden Forces: Dust

2011-09-23T15:41:00.000-04:00

Hidden Forces: Dust, 48"x48", oil/panel (click to enlarge)

Water and dusty winds have been elements in two new paintings I've just completed. Technically both paintings have been demanding of time and patience. They are composed of many layers, each having to dry before the next can go on. This means the paintings are hanging around in the studio in strange states for weeks at a time.

By "strange states" I mean that the under layers are often strong colours that by themselves really look awful in the painting. I know that the next layer will combine with the underlayer to create the impression I want. But I have trust my knowledge and experience to keep me from tossing them out while they are in intermediate stages.

Georgina, 40x40 oil/panel

Pinon Creek

2011-09-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

Pinon Creek, 30"x60", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

This is a memory painting. Based on a stream I walked along in NM a few years back. The sun was low and coming through a break in the mesa. It gently illuminated the sole pinon pine I could see along the stream bank.

Lac Kama, 36"x48", oil/panel

Another memory piece. Summers in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.

Ombra Monti, 16"x16", oil/panel

Memory of the way light rakes over the top of a cluster of trees.

Cayuga

2011-08-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

Cayuga, 30"x60", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

River Island, 30"x40", oil/panel

Summer travels to New York City took me via the Finger Lakes and then the Hudson River. I enjoy visiting New York State, especially because I lived there for seven or eight years when I was growing up. These two paintings are responses to things I saw during my trip. I've been working on including water elements in my recent work.

Still Lake

2011-08-12T08:48:00.002-04:00

I'm preparing for an exhibition at Bau-Xi Galleries in Vancouver for early March 2012. This summer I have been expanding my subject range. The influence of water interests me. I have been looking at it in many landscape situations, trying to figure out how I can include this mysterious substance in my work. Below are some new pieces that show some of the ways I'm playing with it right now. I think all these paintings will go to Vancouver for the show.

Still Lake, 48x48", oil, click to enlarge

Oliphant, 12"x36", oi/panel

Blue Lake, 40"x40", oil/panel

Mclarry Show Painting in Progress

2011-07-09T19:47:00.005-04:00

I'm preparing for a show at McLarry Fine Art in Santa Fe that begins Sept. 9th. In addition to my treed landscapes I will be presenting some large water landscapes. These will include rivers and estuaries. The images below show the under painting of the first river landscape piece for the exhibition.

The under painting is the first layer of an oil painting and is based on a sketch/drawing that lays out the composition and tones. Under painting is fairly monochromatic but is essential to the subsequent layers that introduce color and some details. It must dry before the next layers are added. The painting is finished with several layers of glazing.

Click any image to enlarge it.

The under painting completed, next layers added after it has dried (about 1 week). Below is the finished work.

Below: Another painting with some water in it. For the McLarry Fine Art exhibition. "Bottom Land and Stream" 20x60in.

Dorval

2011-07-05T14:40:00.000-04:00

Dorval, oil/panel, 16" x 24" (click to enlarge)

We are into the July heat now. My studio is cool in the morning, but by afternoon, it gets pretty warm. So I paint in the mornings.

I'm getting close to completing all the paintings for my upcoming show at McLarry Fine Art in Santa Fe, NM. The show starts on Sept. 9th and I need to have everything shipped out by August 1st.

These two new paintings will be part of my show in New Mexico. I'm continuing to experiment with glazing thin sheets of transparent colour over the under-painting. The results are what I have been hoping for.

In the Gap, oil/panel, 40" x 30"

June Efforts

2011-06-19T15:03:00.001-04:00


Tumble, 48"x36", oil/canvas(click to enlarge)

The Glimpse, 36"x48", oil/panel

Salem, 18"x30", 2011

Avenmore, 24"x24", oil/panel

Strictly speaking, these are not totally June efforts. The pieces have been completed in June, but they were begun a while ago. Some have been worked on for over a year, on and off. But this month I completed them.

Avendale

2011-06-11T20:04:00.003-04:00

Bau-Xi Gallery sold this painting to LA Designs who are doing the marketing for a swank new condo development at the corner of Avenue Road and Lonsdale in Toronto. (The city is in the midst of condo insanity with more new condos being built here than in any other place in North America.)

I also sold LA Designs limited rights to the image for 3 years. I was impressed with what they did with it, kind of an homage to Christo. They wrapped the whole condo presentation centre with the image and close-ups. The actual painting is in the lobby of the sales office and will eventually hang in the lobby of the condo building. These will be multi-million dollar condos, too rich for me to live in, but my painting can.

Avendale Presentation Centre, Toronto (click any image to enlarge)

Jarrat Red

2011-06-07T12:32:00.001-04:00

Jarrat Red, oil/panel, 36" x 48" (click to enlarge)

From Ingram Road, oil/panel, 11" x 14"

I'm getting hooked on red foliage these days. Jarrat Red, is the most recent experiment with the colour. I've discovered you can't just squeeze some cad red out of a tube and go. The reds need a lot of modulation in regards to colour temperature (hot to cool), so I mix a range of added colours to play with the temp. This moves the spacial sense of whether the red is moving forward or back allowing me to present the form as a three dimensional shape.

Jarrat is a tiny hamlet not far from my studio in Oro Township, ON.

D'Avidar

2011-05-24T14:14:00.001-04:00

D'Avidar, 24" x 60", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

I buy Baltic Birch panels for my painting surfaces. They come in sheets 60 x 60 inches. When I cut them to size, I'm often left with long horizontal pieces. These shapes just beg for wide landscape "panoramas". This painting is an example of how I like to treat the subject. Living in Oro Township I often ride my bike along the east west road to Orillia. The land is slightly rolling with a broad horizon and distant hills. I like the way the trees and "shrubage" dot the fields in continuously varying patterns.

Cootes Bay

2011-05-15T13:33:00.004-04:00

Coote's Bay Morning, 16" x 20", oil/panel (click to enlarge)

In these two paintings I was interested in the composition. I like the way Morandi was able to take a small selection of bottles and containers and rearrange them repeatedly as his subject matter...without ever boring us. I can see doing the same with simple landscape motifs - a tree, water, horizon, sky. The critical thing is to get every element just right in terms of proportion, contrast, positioning and colour.

Copeland, 16" x 28", oil/panel

Tajena

2011-04-30T13:38:00.002-04:00

Tajena, 30 x 60", oil/panel

Windswept trees appeal to me. By their nature they survive in harsh environments. Constant wind will shape the trees into wonderful positions. This tree is on open ground by a windy lake. I like the idea that it bends but adapts and does not break.

Amitabha Stupa, Sedona AZ

2011-04-27T10:49:00.002-04:00

Amitabha Stupa, Sedona Arizona

The trip to Sedona and northern Arizona is over. Along with exploring the magnificent landscape, we were able to photograph Buddhist stupas in two places. The Garchen Institute in Chino Valley and the Amitabha Stupa , both have two stupas each. So we return home with four new stupa photos for our book project. This leaves us with only a few more places to visit until we complete the photography portion of the book and get into the layout and design.

Garchen Institute, Chino Valley

Resin Resin Everywhere!

2011-04-22T12:13:00.003-04:00

I've dropped by a lot of art galleries here in Arizona (Scottsdale, Sedona, etc.) and I'm amazed at the sudden rush to coat art work with resin epoxy pour-on surfaces up to a quarter inch thick. Art galleries are displaying, in some cases, up to 90% of their 2 dimensional works coated with these shiny surfaces. I spoke with a few dealers who told me they have a hard time selling art without the coatings. They explained that much of the market in this state is dominated by tourists and unsophisticated collectors buying art for vacation homes. These folks respond to the thick shiny surfaces and see anything without the smooth finish as "poor quality". Their criteria for determining quality parallels their appreciations of furniture, car finishes, granite counter tops, etc.

Example of resin coated painting from Etsy, on sale now for $300.

I first encountered this surface treatment about 10 years ago when I met Peter Hoffer who jokingly called himself, "the plastic counter top guy". We laughed together at the famous quote by JM Turner who said, you need to put enough varnish on a finished painting so that the collector can see his own image in the mirror surface.

The original intent for varnish was to revive the dulled colours that result from oil paint drying. As well, the varnish protects art from the dirty environment. It was designed to be removable so that paintings could be cleaned. These were good ideas and made sense.

In ten years the mad rush to coat so much art with a thick shiny surface is less about colour enrichment and protection, and more about the sensual feeling of smooth surfaces. But what is beneath the surface? Here in Arizona I find a lot of rather poor, second rate, weak paintings being dressed up with a shiny surface. I think serious contemporary artists should worry that application of resin coatings over their artworks will soon associate them with "tourist art" or "flea market art". This resin trend is being taken over by unremarkable low end crap. Serious painters beware, you may be tagged with guilt by association!

Addendum (May 6, 2011). I spoke with an engineering professor (Wayne Reddit) from Georgian College who is an expert on epoxy resins. He explained that these resins will yellow under normal lighting conditions over a span of a few years. Over longer time spans the yellow will become quite pronounced.

Hopi Lands

2011-04-21T12:25:00.004-04:00

Sitting on the second mesa in Hopi Land.

I'm taking some time away from the studio to recharge my artistic batteries. I am visiting the Hopi Indian reserve in the central part of the Big Rez - the Navajo reservation in Arizona. This harsh, arid and visually stunning landscape is composed of three large mesas. The villages are small and traditional. One of them that I visited yesterday, Old Oraibi (photo below) is the oldest continually inhabited village in North America, going back over a thousand years. I was invited into a resident's house which required I climb a ladder to get in his front door. The Hopi man, Bradford was his English name, is an artist who does fine abstract designs on wood using colours and burn in. He explained the traditional meaning of each visual element and how these signs relate to his world.

Old Oraibi, Hopi Reservation, as close as I could get before I had to put my camera away (no photos allowed), click to enlarge.

Very old juniper on mountain side.

I am inspired by the pinon pines and junipers that dot the landscape with an infinite variety of shapes. I'm sure these shapes will show up in new paintings I'll make this year.

Ardea

2011-04-13T16:28:00.002-04:00

Ardea, 2011, oil/panel, 36"x48", (click to enlarge)

Shapes like this one excite me. Getting the form just right is a challenge, but I really enjoy the fine tuning while the paint is still wet.

Just heard that a number of my recent paintings from 2010 - 2011 sold at the Tanner Hill Gallery booth at the Dallas Art Fair. This is wonderful news for me since the whole southern USA experiment is just that, an experiment. I'm trying to find out if the art market there will be responsive to my efforts. Next stop for Tanner Hill is Art Chicago, then back south. I hope things continue to go well for them with my work.

I leave for Arizona on Friday for a bit of a vacation in the Sedona area. I'm pretty pooped from all the painting and working at Georgian College too. A lingering cold isn't much fun, but I think it is because I'm run down. Time to re-charge my batteries for a while.

Mojave Verde

2011-04-03T14:32:00.001-04:00

Mojave Verde, 2011, oil/panel, 60x40" (click to enlarge)

I am continuing to experiment with colour and how it suggests space. This painting has a very simple spacial background. I used the white hills of the Mojave desert in the distance to set out a simple horizontal division. I kept details to a minimum, just enough to lay out the idea of "far away". I mixed a manganese violet with white and blue to create the colour in the sky. I wanted to see if this unusual colour suggests both light and air so that the central tree form is defined. It worked!

La Plamenza

2011-03-28T20:10:00.001-04:00

La Plamenza, 20" x 36", oil/panel

This smaller painting is an attempt to get the feeling of a diffused morning light. Not dawn, but about an hour after sunrise. I have experimented with the colour layers. The under coats are subtle and influence the overall sense of delicate light.

This painting will dry in my studio for a month or more before being prepared for shipping to McLarry Fine Art in Santa Fe. I have a solo exhibition scheduled there for September of this year.

Prima Rosa

2011-03-19T15:16:00.002-04:00

Prima Rosa, oil/panel, 60" x 40", click to enlarge

I'm continuing my exploration of contrasting colours in the foliage of my central tree forms. Instead of green leaves I'm painting them red. Going into the reds adds a whole new colour dynamic to the paintings. It's also a hard colour to control and get to behave. I've come up with blends that modify the warmth and coolness in the reds. This allows me to shape the mass and prevents the red tones from becoming garish.

I have also adjusted the blue tones in the sky by adding violet. This also helps with the contrast and balances the play of light on the central mass.

The whole composition was begun as a fast wash of monochromatic browns. I like to connect with my creative energy stream and work rapidly and spontaneously in the first hour of a new painting. By being loose and open to possibilities; I can often find my way to a compositional form that I like. The proportions are essential for a painting to work. So in that first hour you'll find me ragging away and adjusting those proportions again and again.

I'll repeat it again for those who email me; no, I have no photographic references or photo transfers or photo anything. The paintings are based on direct observation and memory only.

Serenessi

2011-03-13T15:22:00.001-04:00

Serenessi, 40 x 40, oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

I wanted to make the foliage red on this composition. But I didn't want the colour to heighten the energy of the painting. So I worked on th colour mixing to get reds that were rich but not too buzzy. There are four colours in the red mix in various combinations to go from light to dark. I titled the piece Serenessi to suggest the mood I wanted to achieve.

Earlier That Day

2011-02-18T12:55:00.004-05:00

Wyo, 20x20 in. oil/panel (click to enlarge)

Earlier That Day, 48 x 48, oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

Two paintings posted in this blog entry. They show two sides of my recent compositional efforts.

The first piece, Wyo, is about organizing the horizontal planes. Here the clumps of trees are minimized and used to interact with the horizon and create contrast. Careful thought and control go into the textures in the planes to suggest grasses, hills, and sky.

The second painting, Earlier That Day, uses the composition to set up the main character of the piece, a maple tree. Here everything is designed to support the central tree. This allows me to sculpt the masses of foliage into mounds and shapes that excite me.

Delta Oak

2011-02-12T18:11:00.004-05:00

Delta Oak, 2011, oil/panel, 20" x 60" (click to enlarge)

Palita, 2011, oil/panel, 60" x 40"

I had an interesting discussion with painter Gary Evans today. He was telling me about his students in his drawing class at Georgian College. Not much has changed since I use to teach drawing many years ago. He told me that most students struggle to understand and draw mass and form. He explained that most of them fall into the trap of drawing a flat shape to represent an object and then "fill it in" with "expressive" scribbles. They are unable to sense or reproduce the weight of objects.

It's not easy to do this any more. We agreed that in the past, one hundred to one hundred and fifty years ago even a modest amateur could draw form showing mass and weight. It could be that human visual perception has been changed by photography / video as the primary method of conveying information about the visual world. Photography's ability to render minuet detail has dulled the visual cortex's sensitivity to mass.

It's not that people aren't aware of mass; it seems that they have lost the ability to describe it as sensed with binocular vision. Cameras (excepting 3D) have a single lens. This flattens images into a single plane. We have two eyes that provide us with two images that the brain interprets, presenting us with visual knowledge of mass. A good artist can draw this on a 2 dimensional sheet and still present enough information to trick our brains into sensing mass. But it seems fewer and fewer young artists are willing or able to master this challenging skill.

After reflecting on our discussion it occurred to me that my own interest in mass (trees and foliage) contrasted against space (the landscape) relate to these ideas. Is it possible that people who enjoy my works are responding to the sense of form and mass? These are often what impress a person who is standing before a tree. But to actually get a real feeling for the massiveness of a tree presented as a painting is possibly quite rare these days.

Summerland

2011-02-01T12:49:00.000-05:00


Summerland, oil/panel, 60" x 40" (click to enlarge)

Tomorrow we are expecting the "Ground Hog Day" snowstorm here in southern Ontario. So in this bitter winter I feel it is appropriate to be painting images of summer. (Ha, a true Canadian, some might say.) Trying to remember the light of a mid summer day when it is cold and grey and snowing outside my window is an interesting and absorbing challenge for me.

Since I do not work from photos as a reference, I must rely on my recollection of what I saw and experienced in summer. Then I must employ my drawing and painting skills.

The light of the sky, the variations in billowing clouds, the contrast of the foliage against the ground and sky, haze, textures... all of these elements are important. Plus, there are the non-visual experiences: smell, wind, heat, sounds, the sweat on my back as I ride my bike along the country road. I try to remember all of these sensations while I paint.

There is nothing else in my painting. No grand statements. No manifesto. No raging against something, someone or some group, idea, political stance. I just want to be quiet. And still.

Rhagabir

2011-01-14T17:12:00.002-05:00

Rhagabir, 2011, 30" x 60" oil/panel (click img to enlarge)

It's a new year and I'm focusing on a new group of tree shapes. This piece places the centre mass up front. I chose reds for the foliage. I like the way they play against the blue sky. Each time I painting this subject (I do it often) I find new ways to refine the technical details. So all of these variations are also a process of small new discoveries. These might include new color combinations or mixes, new contrasting techniques, new tools, new relationships in proportions, and so on. I have no idea when I will stop learning new things with this series.

Makes it fun to go into the studio.

Della Norta

2010-12-27T16:36:00.004-05:00

Della Norta, 36x48", oil/panel (click to enlarge)

These works will be shown in Nashville in a two person show at the Cumberland Gallery beginning Feb. 25th 2011. The show is being organized by Tanner Hill Galleries.

This painting above (Della Norta) is one in a long series that makes use of large clouds as a spacial device to contrast against the massive clump of trees and foliage. I like to contrast of heavy grounded form against air and space. The composition is formal and centred. The piece has been completed slowly over the last six months with layers added and allowed weeks to dry.

Crimson, 10x12", oil/panel

Serafini

2010-12-16T09:42:00.003-05:00

Serafini, oil/panel, 24" x 60", 2010

Sage Heart II, 18x22, oil/panel

Jassano, 2010, oil/panel, 24" 24"


Sage Heart I, 2010, 0il/panel, 18" x 22"

It's turning into a tough winter here in the snow belt of Ontario. Shoveling snow most days has a way of turning me grumpy. However, next week I leave for Arizona for a 10 day visit to the desert. I've been looking forward to this return to one of my favorite places. In anticipation I've been painting images based on previous visits there. Often the idea for a painting is based on months or years of digesting an experience. It is not unusual for me to produce images that have gestated for a long time.

Repaintintgs

2010-11-22T09:16:00.003-05:00

Over the past 6 months I have taken on a new project in the studio. It has been occupying about half of my time. I'm looking at older paintings on hand and re-conceptualizing them. In many cases I find that the challenge of working with the existing image can be very engaging. Changing the shapes of trees, the colours, atmosphere, horizon, and so on can produce entirely new works. Paradoxically, these re-workings of older pieces take longer to complete than something entirely new. Below is a sampling of these paintings, click on the images to enlarge.

Red Vega, 24x48", oil/panel

Onandagan, 24x24", oil/panel

Quillica, 16x24", oil/panel

Kensington Ravine, 16x16", oil/panel

Chino, 14x44", oil/panel

Mugo Stands, 14x44, oil/panel

Long Point, 20x20", oil/panel


Pony Shade, 20x20", oil/canvas

On Tour 2011

2010-11-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

The Tanner Hill Galleries will be presenting my work in a series of traveling exhibitions in 2011. First up will be February 25th at Cumberland Galleries in Nashville, TN. Following that in early April, I'll be showing at the Tanner Hill Booths at the Dallas Art Fair, TX. Later in April, the works will be on display at Tanner Hill Galleries in Chattanooga TN. Then in May the paintings will move to Boise ID for a show at Stewart Galleries.

Tour My Santa Fe Show

2010-11-08T08:50:00.002-05:00

You can link to an online video of my show in Santa Fe. http://www.mclarryfineart.com/robertmarchessault.html

Or just watch it here:

Toronto International Art Fair

2010-10-29T12:04:00.001-04:00

I attended the Special Gala Preview of the Toronto International Art Fair 2010, held the evening of Oct. 28th. The folks who attend this event pay $300 for a ticket that gets them into the fair 2 hours before everyone else. This is an opportunity to buy the best pieces on offer at the various gallery booths. I used a little Flip video camera and shot various items that caught my eye. This 3:21m video is just an impression of my wandering around.

The Gala evening was good for me. Looks like a number of my paintings now have new owners!

Chanson Rouge

2010-10-10T17:44:00.002-04:00

Chanson Rouge, 48x48 in., oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

It's autumn, so I just had to try and get that glorious colour of a turning maple. It beautiful and melancholy at the same time. We're having a fantastic colour season this year in southern Ontario. I'm out in it everyday, either riding my bike or walking. It's so gorgeous it almost hurts.

Group Show in Seattle

2010-10-08T08:46:00.000-04:00

Foster White Galleries is featuring some of my work in a current group show in Seattle at Pioneer Square. In December the gallery will present "Olive Branch" another group show that I will participate in. The two paintings you can see here are: "Sylvania Mysteriosa" 36x48, oil/panel, and "Softly" 24x40, oil/panel. Sales inquiries should be directed to the gallery.

Little Dolen Lake

2010-09-26T14:24:00.004-04:00

Little Dolen Lake, oil/panel, 48"x 56" (click to enlarge)

If you watched the YouTube video in my last post, you will have noticed these 2 painting on my painting wall in my studio. They were in the monochromatic phase. The glazed colour layers have now been added and the works are finished. Here's a chance to see the changes to a work in progress.

The paintings will be at the Bau-Xi Gallery booth next month at the 2010 Toronto International Art Fair.

Oritaba II, 2010, oil/panel, 60" x 48"

YouTube - studio visit

2010-09-22T13:30:00.000-04:00

Santa Fe Exhibition

2010-09-09T12:50:00.001-04:00

Reverie in Royal Greens, 2010, oil/panel, 40" x 40". (click to enlarge)

All summer long I have been painting works for my October 8th exhibition in Santa Fe, New Mexico at McLarry Fine Art. This blog post presents the final four paintings for the show. These will be shipped from my studio next week.

I began increasing the number of layers of paint and glaze at the end of 2009. This is a more time consuming process, but yields a richer visual depth for viewers. By the time of my Montreal show at mid-summer this year I had perfected the technique. I was reward by the number of my 2010 paintings that sold quickly to Montreal collectors (almost everything sold).

My challenge now is to manage the longer time periods required to finish a painting. Planning shows means considering smaller numbers of paintings on the walls. It also requires me to have more pieces in progress at the same time in my studio. Since I also work at a Canadian College, budgeting my quality time towards studio work is not easy.

But the works are going well. In "Reverie" above I composed a simple single tree. This kind of composition can sometimes result in a "lame" boring painting. But if the proportions among all the elements, colours, textures, light, and detail are "just right", the piece can really have presence.

Hidden Springs, 2010, oil/panel, 24" x 24".

This painting explores a recurring dream. I often dream of water coming out of the ground. The imagery can take many forms, from pastoral to scary (floods). Springs seem to suggest a creative source in my life. In this work I have added the play of light and dark, suggesting mystery and a hidden source for the flowing water that comes out of a shaded gully.

Buckthorn at Desert Flats (Morning Moon), 2010, oil/panel, 16" x 26".

My travels in the desert represent some of the most inspirational vistas for me. It seems that the experience of vast open space, with a huge sky, detaches me from everyday reality. I go into a "mental zone" of being without boundaries. But I also take great interest in how this huge natural canvas frames the bits of living plants that survive in the harsh climate. In order to live, these brushy plants spread out vast root systems that help to keep them separate from each other - again, emphasizing their unique properties. Thus, for me, these desert plants take on a sculptural form that is aesthetic. I always get down on my hands and knees to view these from "coyote height". This POV increases my perception of the plant's mass and shape. Finally, there is a metaphor that has meaning for me. The idea of a tiny scrap of living shelter situated in a vast harsh deadly open eternity of sandy gravel. I imagine myself, small, running under the plant's shade, looking out at the "big scary" and feeling a bit of safety.

Gamlino, 2010, oil/panel, 40" x 40".

The painting plays with how hazy skies can provide a lovely environment for presenting shapes and forms. I've contrasted the detailed tree shapes / surfaces against the soft distance. It's hard to see the subtle plays on a computer screen over the Internet, but if you get a chance to see this painting in person you will sense a kind of magic in the place.

Dallas Art Fair

2010-08-31T14:57:00.002-04:00

A large group of my recent paintings will be on show next spring (2011) at the Dallas Art Fair in Texas. The works will presented by Tanner Hill Galleries. The fair runs from April 8th - 10th. The preview gala is on April 7th.

"Located at the Fashion Industry Gallery – adjacent to the Dallas Museum of Art in the revitalized downtown Arts District – the 2011 Dallas Art Fair will feature over 50 prominent national and international art dealers and galleries exhibiting paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, and photographs by modern and contemporary artists.The exhibition space comprises approximately 55,000 square feet within a mid-century modern building in the heart of downtown Dallas. It includes an adjacent promenade next to a private park located across from the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center. "

It's still very hot and humid here in southern Ontario. My studio is uncomfortably warm. Nonetheless, the autumn season approaches and that means I need to buckle down and create some new works for the Toronto International Art Fair (Oct. 28th - Nov. 1, 2010) where I will have paintings displayed in the Bau-Xi Galleries and Gallerie de Bellefeuille booths.

Buttonball Tree

2010-08-18T08:41:00.001-04:00

Yes, this is the "widest tree east of the Mississippi River". I had to get out of the car and hug this monster. We were on our way to photograph the New England Peace Pagoda in MA. As we drove through the town of Sunderland, this enormous tree stopped us dead in our tracks. Turns out it is pretty famous. There is even a Wikipedia entry about it.

"The Buttonball Tree is an American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) located in Sunderland, Massachusetts. Though the nickname "buttonball" has been used for all like trees, this tree retained the name, mainly because of its pure size and popularity. The tree is over 113' high, with a girth of 24'7" and a spread of 140'. It is a remnant of Sunderland's forests. Because of their longevity, during the 17th and 18th century sycamores were sometimes planted at the door of new house for newlyweds as "bride and groom" trees. Though the age of the tree is unknown, it is estimated to be well over 350 years old, many estimates say that the tree is closer to 400.^[1] The tree is well known and is one of the larger tourist attractions of the town. The tree is believed to be the largest tree of its kind on the East Coast, or as locals put it, "The widest tree this side of the Mississippi.""

Van Ruysdael

2010-08-09T09:21:00.003-04:00

While in Boston I visited the Museum of Fine Arts and discovered a painting by the Dutch painter Salomon van Ruydael. I was so engaged by his painting of trees and foliage that I spent half an hour studying and analyzing how he was able to so masterfully make the trees come alive.

View of Beverwijk

1646

Salomon van Ruysdael, Dutch, 1600/1603–1670

75.2 x 65.7 cm (29 5/8 x 25 7/8 in.)

Oil on panel

The museum visit was actually a wonderful day spent wandering around the collections in a very open mind state. This allowed me some great opportunities to synthesize ideas for my own paintings based on hundreds of "wow" moments in front of such great works.

While driving, (actually while my wife is driving), I love to look at the landscape slide by, especially the trees. I think it is during these times of creative passivity that I find my own visions.

I just learned that my exhibition on now at Gallerie de Bellefeuille in Montreal has just about sold out of the new 2010 paintings I sent there. Must be something I'm doing this year that collectors like. There are a number of older pieces from 2008 still at the gallery that seem to not be destined for sales. I may have them returned to my studio where I can re-work them with some of my new vision and techniques.

Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies - Boston

2010-08-09T08:49:00.001-04:00

(click to enlarge)

We're in Boston to view the nearly completed Kalachakra stupa being built at the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies. The structure is nearly done and when we arrive we found a swirl of activity as about a dozen sanga members rushed to bring the project to completion for the August 28th consecration ceremony. I took about 50 pictures and will need to get one of the finished stupa next month.

Tomorrow we'll travel to Leverett MA to photograph the Peace Pagoda located in the country side near the town.

Lokachantha Pagoda

2010-08-05T20:44:00.002-04:00

Robert Marchessault and Ven. Pyinnyathiha (photo Teresa Cullen)

We are continuing to work on our stupa project. Today we visited the Lokachantha Pagoda in New Jersey. The weather was perfect, though on the hot and humid side (to say the least). This Burmese style structure was a treasure to visit and photograph. It's beauty and elegance captivated us. We were met by Ven. Pyinnyathiha who kindly received us in the meditation hall and told us about the building of the pagoda which is a part of the The America Burma Buddhist Association . Without a doubt we will include this pagoda in the book we are developing about stupas of North America.

Cumberland

2010-08-03T20:14:00.001-04:00

Cumberland, oil/panel, 48" x 48" (click to enlarge)

Galena, oil/panel, 30" x 60"

Two new paintings for upcoming shows. In "Cumberland" I was striving for the classic maple tree shape that I see so often. The work was painted in a very gestural manner with a lot of adding and rubbing out until I had the shape that said "maple" to me.

I'm off to New Jersey and Massachusetts tomorrow to continue work on the stupa photography project. There are three Buddhist stupas on the one week drive. The weather here is very hot and humid. That's OK, hopefully there will be no rain to wash out the photo shoots.

Summer work

2010-07-14T15:53:00.004-04:00

The Knoll, 30" x 30", oil/panel (click to enlarge)

It's full summer, it's really hot and humid here in Ontario. I'm working in the studio, there's no air conditioning, so I've got the ceiling fans going full blast. However, I never complain about the heat. Our winter's are too cold and snowy for me to ever get bitchy about warm weather.

I've been getting paintings ready for various shows and art fairs. Some of these will go to Santa Fe (McLarry Fine Art) for my October show. The painting "Windswept Akka" will be sent to Montreal for my July 31 show at Gallerie de Bellfeuille (where pre-sales are going great guns with more than half the show already sold before the invitations have been sent out!)

I had a wonderful email exchange with an actress/screenwriter in California. Her comments about my work seemed to pick up something that I often try to make happen in paint. She said, "I find that I attach your work with an inner sadness... There is something very spiritual about your pieces for me." In the painting above, "The Knoll", I think I expressed her perception. Thanks Amy!

Windswept Akka, 46" x 40", oil/panel

Colony Farm Virginia, 30" x 30", oil/panel

Galestta, 12" x 15", oil/panel

Harvest of Light

2010-06-19T15:15:00.003-04:00

Harvest of Light by Paintings 2007 - 2008

This book is available for sale at Blurb.com or you can preview it right here.

Gently Into The Bright Land

2010-06-07T19:23:00.001-04:00

Gently Into The Bright Land, 20" x 60", oil/panel

Light is important for me. This painting uses a simple landscape and brook motif, but "simple" can be used to emphasize a strong sense of bright mid-day light. The light in this work is almost omnipresent, emanating not just from the sky, but from within the plants, fields and water too.

Merillo Revisited

2010-05-28T21:31:00.004-04:00

Merillo Revisited, oil/panel, 60" x 40"

Well the original "Merillo" painting sold before it could get to the Montreal exhibition (July 31 at Gallerie de Bellefeuille). I'm pleased that the collector was so excited by the piece, that it had to go to their home ASAP. But that left a bit of a visual hole in the grouping of works I've imagined for the Montreal show. This meant Merillo needed to be revisited as a subject. I narrowed the shape of the surface slightly, forty inches wide instead of 48 inches. This permitted me to "squeeze" the composition. As a result I needed to simplify the distant cloud and bring the horizon in closer a bit. A horizontal shadow band sets off the rule of thirds.

While this version of Merillo shares much with the previous one, it is unique and presented me with a pleasurable challenge nonetheless. Now the Montreal show will feel like it has the right mix of works. Below is a smaller piece that will also go to the exhibition. Extra layers in the sky, deepen the sense of light and space.

Johbana, oil/panel, 24" x 24"

Vertu

2010-05-09T17:03:00.003-04:00

Vertu, 2010, oil/panel, 54" x 48", (click to enlarge)

Spring is presenting me with some interesting atmospheric conditions. The air is more humid and hazes out differently. This painting uses that effect to inform and set off the dark masses of foliage.

I like the challenge this presents me. So I'm working on a few other pieces where the air is rather saturated with water. Vertu will be in a small exhibition of 10 new works at Galerie de Bellefeuille in Montreal, opening July 31.

Last night I watched a movie, Georgia O'Keeffe (Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen star). I liked the film a lot. The scenes from New Mexico made me want to jump on a plane and rush back there. I do so miss the place. However, one line really made me smile. Alfred Stieglitz says to Georgia, "what we do is work, when a rich person buys it, then it becomes art." Right on! Well said.

New Book

2010-05-06T09:23:00.002-04:00

The Hidden Gates Paintings from 2009 - 2010 | BOOK INFO

The new book about my recent work from 2009 to 2010 is now available. The book may be ordered online.

Albero di Massima

2010-04-29T16:28:00.001-04:00

Albero di Massima, 2010, oil/panel, 30" x 60" (click to enlarge)

Form and structure using trees as subject continues to absorb my efforts in the studio. When travelling in what some might describe as very boring country (flat fields) I often discover gorgeous trees set in the open. The "boring" fields act as a perfect foil for the complex shape and mass of the tree.

In this piece, I worked carefully at the shades of the sky against the tree foliage. It doesn't show as well as I'd like online but the close range upper key description of the clouds plays with the eye as one bounces between reading foliage and sky, foliage and sky.

Cedars, 2010, oil/panel, 11" x 14"

There are lots of beautiful eastern white cedars in this region. They make lovely subjects. I return to them time after time.

Shaputaan

2010-04-21T17:50:00.001-04:00

Shaputaan, 24 " x 48", oil/panel (click to enlarge).

Arkat, 48" x 48", oil/panel.

These two new works are technically, still in progress. That's because I leave them against the wall in the studio where I can "sneak up on them". My evolving technique in oil allows for a lot of continued adjustments, sometimes minor and hard to see, sometimes major. I am enjoying the opportunity to live with the work for longer periods as a way of thinking through what it is that I want to happen on the surface.

Some artists use a mirror to view their pieces (in reverse), this is useful, thought I don't do it. I find that while painting on one piece, I may glimpse out of the corner of my eye a drying work against the wall - ...and all of a sudden something about it will "itch" me. Then I get a sense of what needs to change. I get these insights when I'm not thinking about the work in question. It's like getting a set of fresh eyes!

Allegeny

2010-04-16T15:22:00.001-04:00

Allegeny, oil/panel, 30" x 60" (click to enlarge).

On return from the recent driving trip to photograph stupas, I had time to reflect on some of the things I saw while travelling. The mountains in Virginia near Charlottesville impressed me. This prompted a new composition based on a variety of views.

The weather was beautiful and summery. Temps in the mid 80s and rather humid. I was interested in the clumps of trees that form sculptural mounds of foliage in the foreground. These can be arranged like chess pieces on a board with overlapping. Then these elements are played off against aerial perspective, and distant sky/clouds. The key to making these paintings work is the relationship of contrasting areas and levels of detail.

Stupa Book

2010-04-04T10:18:00.001-04:00

The Kalachakra Stupa at The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, IN

We're on the road again continuing with the stupa book project. We'll swing around from Indiana to Virginia and New Jersey to photograph 2 more over the coming week or so. In June we'll visit a stupa in Vermont and the stupa at Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton Nova Scotia. Later in the year we'll fly out west to finish the project by covering stupas in Arizona and California, maybe Oregon.

Stupa at Samchen Choling Retreat Center, Charlottesville, Virginia

Merillo

2010-03-22T16:25:00.000-04:00

Merillo, 60" x 40", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

This posting shows three new paintings that will be exhibited in Montreal on July 31, 2010 at Gallerie de Bellefeuille. I will have a small exhibition there consisting of seven new works. My new techniques have made smaller exhibitions the norm. The time to complete each painting has more than tripled in the last two years. That's OK, because the extra layers and drying time are worth the effort. I have been able to achieve a richer luminosity.

Where Redwings Sing, 2010, oil/panel, 24" x 24".

There is a wetlands area a few miles from my studio. I like to ride my bike over there and stop on a small bridge over the stream. I get off my bicycle and stand very still for a while; just being there, soaking it in. Often the sound-track for this experience is the sound of redwing blackbirds declaring their nesting territory.

High Valley Near Chama: Pond, 2010, oil/panel, 24" x 48"

Last summer we drove from Taos to Pagossa Springs in Colorado. The trip was over a mountain range with a high valley. Stopping for a picnic lunch, I had time to look at a small pond under a clump of trees. This painting is based on my memories of that day.

Anahata

2010-03-12T19:09:00.005-05:00

Anahata, 24" x 24", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

These two new paintings will be shown at the upcoming Art Chicago 2010 fair on April 30th - May 3 in the Tanner Hill Galleries booth.

Many thanks to Washington State artist Kent Lovelace for his kind appreciative words about my art in the latest edition of Southwest Art Magazine (April 2010). The magazine printed an article about him based on a studio visit. The writer asked about artists whose work he admires. Kent remarked on his admiration for my sense of light and mastery of surface.

Mohawk River, 24" x 24", oil/panel

Gerald Roach

2010-03-05T15:33:00.002-05:00

I'm so pleased to have been able to acquire a painting by Gerald Roach. He was my first painting teacher at Dawson College in Montreal for the 1974-76 years. I was pretty new to serious art making then and Gerry was kind enough to take me under his wing. The struggle to learn the fundamentals was fraught with difficulty and frustration for me. Where other students seemed to have little trouble, I struggled. But Gerry kindly spent lots of extra time going over my efforts and correcting many bad habits. The best day of my studies at Dawson College occurred when he told me I was "becoming a top flight drawer and painter". His encouragement and patience made all the difference.

Gerald Roach suffered a stroke a few years ago. He passed away last year.

September Mountain, 1968, oil/panel, 24" x 36" (Gerald Roach)

Roger H. Boulet wrote the following for the Art Gallery of Pentiction's Survey Show for Roach in 1993. "Gerald Roach emerged as an artist in the early 1960's. Upon his graduation from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Roach produced some non-figurative works which were highly praised by critics and colleagues alike. While these works were inspired by nature, as was much of the 1950's and 1960's abstraction, figuration returned to his work, a development that was greeted with dismay. These works, which Roach describes as the products of his 'scabrous' period, share some of the characteristics of figurative artists working in Eastern Canada at that time... Phillip Surrey, Goodridge Roberts, John Snow and John Little among others. What these artists shared in common was an interest in humanity and the city, typical of the Regionalism which prevailed in North American art during the 1930's and 1940's.

When Roach moved to Montreal to work for the National Film Board in 1968, after a number of years working at the restoration of Louisbourg fortress on Cape Breton, he changed his style again. Whatever influence nature had had on his work vanished in this urban environment. The great figurative tradition in European art history became his principal source of inspiration and led to a series of works on apparently religious subjects. A closer examination of these works reveals that it is the artistic tradition that is being quoted and the spirituality in the works belongs far more to a humanistic tradition than to a religious one. The figures come from Cape Breton, harsh peasants familiar with pain and suffering that has hardened them.

Roach left Montreal in 1980 where he had been teaching drawing and painting at the Montreal Museum School of Art and Design and at Dawson College. He returned to Cape Breton. Quite wilfully, he isolated himself in the harsh Cape Breton highlands, without amenities, and turned to painting full time. This could not have been a more emphatic return to nature. Now landscapes became the principal focus of his work. Roach responded to nature in much the same way that the Romantic painters had done more than a century before. The powerful emotion generated by the contemplation of nature is transformed in the ecstatic representation of landscape."

Tucumtara Plains

2010-03-05T15:00:00.000-05:00

TucumTara Plains, 36" x 48", oil/panel (click to enlarge)

This painting extends my investigation of single trees in a very spare landscape. I have formalized the presentation of these tree paintings by simplifying the environment down to sky, clouds and distance. I like to do this in order to emphasize the presence of the tree form. Eliminating all other distractions encourages the viewer to perceive the tree as a living presence.

Lavender Hills

2010-02-28T17:42:00.003-05:00

Lavender Hills, 25" x 24" oil/panel

I will be showing recent work at Art Chicago beginning April 29th, 2010 in the Tanner Hill Galleries booth. This means that I've been working hard in the studio to create some new pieces. I already need to supply Gallerie de Bellefeuille (Montreal) with about 7 new works for a small show on July 31. And then there is my Santa Fe show on October 8th. Thankfully my Toronto show (June 5th) is now complete and drying.

This means no slacking off if I want to ensure that all venues will have new pieces. It's quite exciting actually!

Morning Moon, 36" x 48", oil/panel

Wye-Yo-Ming, 36" x 48, oil/panel

Yes, those are little red berries! First time I decided to include these fruits. I like the red accents against the cool greens.

High Valley Near Chama, 24" x 48", oil/panel

Four paintings

2010-02-18T20:16:00.004-05:00

Desert Juniper, 24 x 60", oil/panel (click to enlarge)

This horizontal is another in my series of desert plants as seen from a coyote's point of view. I get inspired for these by getting down on my hands and knees for a low angle view. In fact most of my desert scrub paintings are of plants that are no higher than your waist.

Abercorn, 24 x 24", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

This is a memory piece. As a young man I would spend summers on the Vermont / Quebec border near the Abercorn border crossing. In the valley north of the town were a number of streams where we'd swim or raft along using old inner tubes. The summers seemed to last forever. In fact, they went by in a flash.

Attan, 48 x 60", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

This large painting (for me) is based on the iconographic tree against the sun image I continue to work with.

Last Tree Fifty Mile, 24 x 24", oil/panel, (click to enlarge)

Whitbergen

2010-02-16T20:27:00.001-05:00

Whitbergen, oil/panel, 11 x 14. (Click to enlarge)

The paintings seem to be oscillating between long views and tighter looks at trees and bushes. This little work is one of the former. I'm enjoing playing off the middle ground against aerial perspective.

Studio visit

2010-02-16T20:22:00.000-05:00

I've had some emails asking about where I work. Here's a little tour to show you the studios. There are two. One is mine and the other belongs to my partner, Teresa Cullen. She does many things including painting.

We built the studios behind the house on an acre located north of Toronto in Oro Township near Barrie. Costs being what they are we built the studios in 2 stages. They are under one roof but each is separate with it's own door to a common studio patio.

The following pictures should give you an idea of the studios.

Looking at the studios from the back of the house.

The studios' common patio.

The studio patio.

Teresa's entrance door.

Letting the cat in her studio.

Teresa Cullen.

In Robert Marchessault's studio.

Thanks for visiting!

New work

2010-02-11T18:30:00.005-05:00

Jin, oil/panel, 36" x 48" (click image to enlarge)

The winter is passing quickly. Here in this part of Ontario we've missed all the big snowstorms (so far). So with little to shovel, I've been working hard in the studio. There has been a lot of over-painting since I began my sabbatical from the College at the beginning of the year. That's good because it means the extra time now is paying off with the opportunity to reflect on the pieces in progress. I'm often unsatisfied with a day of effort and finish the day by wiping out everything I've done; or over-painting something against the wall that is beginning to "itch" me.

Chippewa, oil/panel, 24" x 60" (click image to enlarge)

This painting is not quite completed. But there is enough done to place it in the blog. The work has been extensively re-composed several times. The shapes, light and mood have been radically re-worked. But I think it's getting close now. I measure it against the place I'm thinking off, part of my bicycle route. It has to resonate with my memories. I do not paint from photographs, so I measure everything I do against an internal vision that distills over time inside me.

Century, oil/panel, 25" x 24" (click image to enlarge)

These big maples are ubiquitous around where I live. They are iconic. I keep having a go at this subject because these strong trees are always in my line of sight. I keep thinking, strength, endurance, massiveness, form, vitality...

Benchlands, oil/panel, 24" x 60" (click image to enlarge)

Ylla

2010-02-03T10:53:00.007-05:00

Ylla, oil/panel, 36" x 48" (click to enlarge)

Twisted tree forms are for me what a really cool "chop" is to a jazz musician. The melodic line needs to be inventive and somewhat unpredictable within the structure of the tune. The soloist's sequence of notes needs to have some ornamentation and richness of tone in order to both stand out from the other players and remain harmonious with the major or minor key. These paintings begin with a rapid gestural application of paint that sets out the movement, twists and turns. I try to be like a sax player who winds up and plays a great riff.

Yearwoods

2010-01-29T16:36:00.009-05:00

Yearwoods, 2010, oil/panel, 48" x 48", (click to enlarge)

My interest in form and light continues with recent studio work. I've been working hard. I know it, because I'm doing a lot of revisions on each painting. Sometimes I'll spend the day wiping out more than I paint. I'm trying out things in order to discover ways of presenting form and light to viewers that get closer to my sensibilities. This winter I'm enjoying the sustained effort of day after day in the studio. Nonetheless, at end of each day there is a feeling of uncertainty; I can just as easily feel that the day's work was a waste as opposed to being excellent.

Venti

2010-01-25T15:51:00.005-05:00

Venti, 2010, oil/panel, 48" x 48" (click to enlarge)

It's interesting how something I have looked at in the past, can keep coming back as part of my image making process. My 2007 trip to Italy was a great opportunity to study the trees, especially the tall cypresses and poplars. I love the shapes, ...so sculptural. The color of the sky against the form seemed to set it off in a beautiful way. Looking across farm fields at these stately trees was something that put love in my heart. This painting, created in cold January, is a warm echo of those visions.

Tuju Bella & East Vaudrin

2010-01-17T13:57:00.014-05:00

Tuju Bella, 2010, oil/panel, 64" x 42" (click to enlarge)

I will be showing some new paintings at my Bau-Xi Gallery exhibition in June 2010 (Toronto). These two will be in the exhibition. I'm going to try out a few new ideas in this upcoming show. The ideas will relate to composition and the definition of form against space. I'm playing around with contrast and the way my eye sees shape/form/mass against mostly empty space.

I've discovered a new paint application tool that is quite exciting. I won't tell you what it is (trade secret, ha ha) but you'll see the effect in the new works to come.

East Vaudrin, 2010, oil/panel, 20" x 50" (click to enlarge)

Dreams So Real

2010-01-04T15:37:00.007-05:00

"Fields of Indiana", oil/panel, 17.5" x 50" Click to enlarge

Happy New Year Everybody! It's hard to believe, but this blog is now one year old. I began it as a way of presenting new work and my comments to readers. Thanks for your feedback and encouragement. I really enjoy hearing about what you think, so keep the emails coming.

Over the Christmas vacation I completed some new pieces. Here are two of them. Both are off to Montreal (Gallerie de Bellefeuille) where one has already sold based on an emailed image to a collector, (can you guess which one?)

This year, I plan to introduce some new elements in my paintings. I want to continue working with form and light (all kinds of light). I also want to develop more paintings that include water. I dream about water all the time. It makes sense to bring this element into my visual art.

I've also refined my technical approach to painting. The new techniques allow me to create richer depths and subtle light variations (requires more layers and time to dry but worth the wait).

"Dreams So Real", oil/panel, 30" x 38" click to enlarge

Matin

2009-12-10T08:36:00.005-05:00

Matin, 2009, oil/canvas, 16" x 22". (click on image to enlarge)

I'm just beginning a new series of paintings that will include water as a key visual element in the compositions. Matin is and early example. I have been excited by the idea of water for years. Often, I will stop when traveling and just stand still before streams, marshes, rivers, lakes and the ocean; absorbed in the light and reflections of water in all its forms. Water is a recurring theme in my dreams. I think it represents the flow and spirit of creativity for me.

Avalon, 2009, oil/panel, 42" x 64". (click on image to enlarge)

Another "muscular tree", as my partner Teresa Cullen, refers to these paintings with full foliage. This one is based on apple trees I saw at the Avalon Organic Apple Orchard in Innisfil. Needless to say, I have synthesized this particular tree from many that I looked at.

Artemisia, 2009, oil/panel, 16" x 21.5" (click on image to enlarge)

This a a new piece in the dusty sage brush series. I am excited by the loose brush work in the woody base of the plant and how it plays off against the defined masses of the foliage. The low point of view is based on my interest in how smaller animals see sage plants as trees, whereas we humans see them as bushes. The idea of these things being "wind whipped" for years is still a driving force behind the composition. As I design the painting I imagine how the wind might shape the plant.

Chakopaki, 2009, oil/panel, 36" x 48". (click on image to enlarge)

This new work is really about mass presented in light. I love bushy trees and the sculptural forms they can take. Nature presents endless variations and I am inspired to make paintings that celebrate this. The golden evening light warmly caresses the form and sets up an envelop that surrounds it.

Esperanza, 2009, oil/panel, 16" x 24". (click on image to enlarge)

The title of this painting speaks to my feelings when creating it. The formal shape and the high key colors work that end of the emotional spectrum.

Yermo

2009-11-30T11:11:00.005-05:00

Yermo, 2008, oil/canvas, 30" x 60". (click image for larger view)

Last day of November and winter has continued to hold off (so far). This might be a good time to post a photo of "Yermo", with its sunny dry feeling. The piece was recently sold to the collection of the Toronto B&R Club after being shown at a members' cocktail and banquet. It was fun to meet the folks at the event, many who have been collecting my work for years, and put faces to names I only see written on gallery statements.

The painting now has a home; and knowing how these clubs work, it may live on the wall there for much longer than I live on this earth. The painting is one of many "desert pieces" that I continue to create based on my travels in the drier parts of the world. This one draws it's components from the Mojave Desert in the area near the California Arizona border. I just love the scrubby brush peppering the desert gravel - surviving the hot arid conditions. The metaphor is about endurance and beauty rolled into each other.

Morgan Forest

2009-11-17T13:36:00.004-05:00

Morgan Forest, oil/panel, 24" x 24"

I'm interested in form as mass. But I'm also interested in light. Often the light in my landscapes is both from an external source and an internal glow. There are times when haze in the air allows me to get a handle on daylight. I kept working on this smaller painting with rapid over-washes until the blues, greys and yellow-greens met at the right value and felt like the kind of light you get on a summer morning. ....A summer morning in Morgan Forest.

Rivers

2009-11-11T10:34:00.006-05:00

28" x 72" oil SOLD (Click any image to enlarge)

All the paintings in this post are variations on an imaginary river that I've called the Tara River. The paintings are large, so these little thumbnail pics should be clicked on to see a bigger version.

48" x 72" SOLD

The idea is to create an image that draws the viewer into a vast plane that recedes into a very long distance. The river metaphor is strong and suggest passage through life's years.

24" x 72" SOLD

The playing of billowing clouds against the land with river presents my version of yin and yang inter-relationships.

48" x 48" SOLD

There are no people and only a hint that they may have been here in the form of patterned crop fields. The glowing ribbon of river pulls us, dream-like, into a hazy unknown. There is uncertainty, but no fear.

48" x 48" SOLD

The viewpoint is from above. The viewer has no idea if they are standing on a cliff looking out over the river or if they are floating, like a deceased ghost, pushed by gentle winds, never cold.

More stupas

2009-11-10T09:49:00.005-05:00

Grafton Peace Pagoda 2009. (Grafton NY)

The book project continued this fall as Chado and I swung down to the eastern part of New York State to photograph three stupas. The fall weather was perfect, sunny and cool, very fresh. The stops we made were at the Grafton Peace Pagoda, The Enlightenment Stupa at Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery, Wappingers Falls, and the Stupa at Orgyen Cho Dzong, Greenville.

We are delighted to be able to photograph these sacred sites. Over the next 6 months we'll try to get to stupas in Cape Breton (Gampo Abbey) and as far west as Arizona and California. There is an ongoing effort among many sangas to build stupas; so it looks like we'll have to make our book a "selection" of North American Buddhist stupas rather than a comprehensive compilation. It's nice to see that the sangas are building them faster than we can keep up.

Orgyen Cho Dzong, Greenville

Enlightenment Stupa at Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery

Toojiskeha

2009-11-10T09:26:00.005-05:00

Toojiskeha, 2009, oil/panel, 48" x 36". (click on image for enlargement)

You might call this a Marchessault "Unframed". It's my first try at publicly dispensing with a picture frame. I actually painted right around the edges. This is nothing new in the world of fine art painting where many artists do not frame their work. However, in the commercial world of selling art in galleries and the like; once you've started to present your work with a frame it's hard for the sales teams to wean collectors off of them.

In fact, some of the galleries that represent my work actually photograph them in the frame and show the image with the frame included on their web sites. They know that their clients are attracted to nicely crafted picture frames. I sometimes joking refer to this as buying nice "furniture" with a free painting inside :-) But joking aside, the dealers are dead serious in their desire to present art in a package that is expected by the types of clients they serve.

I honestly find this discouraging. I work hard on the pieces in my studio. No frame is involved in the creation of the art. When the painting is completed, that decision is made without the influence of a hand rubbed picture frame. I would love for people to engage with the work as it is. But for many, collecting art is about decorating the home or office. People who can afford high priced art have beautiful homes and for many of them there is a need to maintain conventions - art is housed in frames period. It's how things are supposed to look.

So how to cope with the pressure to sell art (and stay alive financially) yet present my work as I'd like to? Here's a first attempt. Hopefully, it will work out well.

Toronto International Art Fair 2009

2009-10-28T14:01:00.003-04:00

Three Marchessault's at the Bau-Xi Gallery booth, Toronto International Art Fair 2009.

The annual art fair in Toronto was a success. My paintings were shown at two booths (Bau-Xi Galleries & Gallerie de Bellefeuille). The visitors were numerous and appreciative. Sales were concentrated in the mid-size range. I'm looking forward to TIAF 2010!

The Hidden Gates

2009-10-26T15:46:00.003-04:00

There is a new book available of selected paintings from 2009. The hardcover book is 13 x 13 inches and presents over 20 images in color. You can preview the entire book online in hi-resolution full screen format. Just go to: http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/919877

Included in the book is an artist's essay in which I explain what I mean by "the hidden gates".

Tierra Sacra

2009-10-05T14:33:00.005-04:00

Tierra Sacra, 2009, oil/panel, 32" x 42". (click image for larger view)

On my last trip to New Mexico, I spent a lot of time visiting various places in the north of the state. In the driest parts of the landscape, the only trees that survive are stunted piñon pines and junipers. These trees pepper the bleached land with a poka-dot pattern.

On one walk, I paused to look around and catch my breath. Before me was something like the image in this painting. In this work I tried to convey the special sense of a moment out of time. I can't explain it really, except to say that for a period I just stood there in silence and was in the presence of this beauty. The quality of the experience was sublime. It was like a glimpse into something very wonderful.

NB* This painting will be presented at the Toronto International Art Fair - 2009, in the Bau-Xi Gallery booth.

Choktaw

2009-09-15T15:27:00.004-04:00

Choktaw, 2009, oil/panel, 54" x 48".

I had this vision for a swaying tree. It was lush and fully foliated against a spacious sky. The shape needed to suggest a caressing wind. Distant fields and low hills were visible on the horizon.

In the studio I was able to map out the general theme fairly quickly, but it took many weeks before I could back away and see it as complete. I'm learning to know where to add detail and where to keep things only suggestive. This guides the viewer's perception to the important elements.

This painting will be presented at the Toronto International Art Fair - 2009, in the Gallerie de Bellefeuille booth.

Witchitawan

2009-08-31T08:14:00.003-04:00

Witchitawan, 2009, oil/panel, 42" x 48".

The last day of August is here! Hard to believe we're about to enter September. The summer has just whipped by. The trips, painting and gardening have filled my time wonderfully.

All the paintings for my up coming show in Vancouver (Bau-Xi Gallery) are completed, framed and delivered to the gallery. I think it is a pretty good exhibition and hope the collectors agree.

Witchitawan is the first piece that I've made for the upcoming Toronto International Art Fair TIAF . The fair runs from Oct. 22-26 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The gallery booths are located in the North Building. The entrance is located at 255 Front Street West, two blocks west of York Street. The floor plan is viewable here. My paintings will be displayed at two booths, Bau-Xi Gallery and Gallerie de Bellefeuille.

Stupa Project Continues

2009-08-25T09:56:00.010-04:00

This summer has been busy with driving trips to North American stupas. We travelled to New Mexico and Colorado in June and July (see my blog post from earlier this year). This month we went to Poolsville Maryland, New Jersy and Niagara Falls. Where we photographed some beaututiful stupas. In October our travels will continue with a trip to New York State. In the winter we'll visit Virginia, Arizona and California.

The project is flowing smoothly. At every stupa we meet sanga members who are welcoming and provide both access and a wealth of factual information. Our hope is to begin work on the book itself around Spring time 2010.

Maryland

New Jersy

Niagara Falls

Tierra Amarilla

2009-08-12T19:41:00.005-04:00

"Tierra Amarilla", 2009, oil/panel, 40" x 46".

This summer has been exciting; including two trips south into the USA. In June and July I was in New Mexico and Colorado. I saw some very nice bushy plants in that dry region that inspired this painting. The light in that part of the world is different from Ontario. The contrast is more intense. I've been working on developing a way to represent that light in paint. The two small studies below are examples.

All of these works will be in my upcoming show in Vancouver begining October 3, 2009 at Bau-Xi Galleries.

"Chama", 2009, oil/panel, 11" x 14".

"Sand Bar", 2009, oil/panel, 11" x 14".

Back from NM

2009-07-31T12:40:00.005-04:00

I spent a great 3 weeks in Taos NM in June and July. Chado Cullen and I began work on our project to photograph many of the Buddhist stupas now located in North America. We were able to shoot 13 sites in NM and Colorado this visit.

The photo shoots involved a lot of research to locate the sites and get permission to make the images. getting to some of the sites required a lot of driving and some luck!

The book project continues later this summer and fall with trips to stupas in Maryland and New York State.

New work for Vancouver

2009-07-31T12:29:00.007-04:00

The paintings below are on their way the Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver for my exhibition there that begins on October 3, 2009. These will accompany another group of works currently underway in the studio. Hopefully the show will have about 20 new paintings for collectors to consider.

These four paintings are inspired by my recent stay in New Mexico (Taos) and visits to Colorado.

South Platte, 2009, oil/panel, 24" x 40"

Pagossa, 2009, oil/panel, 36" x 36"

Kalkassa, 2009, oil/panel, 36" x 36"

Jacarilla, 2009, oil/panel, 40" x 48"

Near Epping

2009-07-17T20:16:00.004-04:00

Near Epping, 2009, 11" x 14", oil/panel.

You would think that small paintings are easier to do than larger ones. Wrong. Every time I start a small panel thinking, "this won't take too long to finish", it ends up that many weeks pass before the piece is done. I'm not sure why this is.

In the case of "Near Epping", I think I painted 10 layers (variations) before I got the painting to present what I had in mind. I am now content with the work. The hardest part was getting the contrast right. The dark of the shadows against the lighted foliage is the trick to making this little painting sing.

L'Arida

2009-06-21T11:57:00.003-04:00

L'Arida, 2009, oil/panel, 42" x 64". This painting is a commission for a client who lives in the Santa Fe area of NM. It is a variation on a theme and is based on an earlier piece titled "Dusty Chaco".

It is interesting for me to watch certain paintings that I make. They enter the market place and sell quickly. Often there is something about the work that strikes a cord with many folks who ask for something "like it". Since I do not have giclee prints made of my art, the best I can do is oblige with variations on a theme. There is a long history of this among artists and musicians who often compose and play variations on established motifs that they have originated.

Arbouri Mura / Tajoulii

2009-06-08T14:47:00.005-04:00

Arbouri Mura, 2009, oil/canvas, 28" x 48".

I've been blessed with some extra time and a lot less pressure to paint quickly. The poor art market does have some advantages. The slower pace in the studio means I have time to build more layers into the surface of my paintings. This gives me the ability to get some "aerial perspective" going. Living in a region (north of Toronto) where summers get pretty humid, it's common to see a haze of warm air when looking at the landscape. These two paintings are playing around with the effect.

The above painting is based on a wall of trees I often pass when riding my bike around Oro Township. I like it when the sun is low and the haze picks up a shadow.

The painting below (inspired by the Eastern Townships of Quebec) is based on a really wide tree that sits alone in a field. I've brought that tree close to the picture plane, so the hazing is set farther behind it.

Tajoulii, 2099, oil/panel, 30" x 68".

Oritaba

2009-06-02T11:01:00.003-04:00

Oritaba, 2008, oil/panel, 54" x 48".

This painting was on exhibition in Montreal at Gallerie de Bellefeuille. I've had it shipped onto Toronto where it is currently on show at Bau-Xi Gallery. The painting is for sale. The current slump in the art market means that the inventory of unsold work is greater than anytime since early 2000. It's tough to see one's paintings not finding buyers in spite of the fact that the pieces are good. However, I know most artists are in the same situation.

On the positive side, the extra time I have in the studio is allowing me to work slowly on each new piece. The time for added reflection means I can revise and reconsider each element in a painting. Recent work is now composed of additional layers of paint that enhance colours and tones. The hectic art market of the last 7 years did provide good income for self-employed artists, and that is missed. But the quieter period we are now in provides breathing room and a chance to slip deeper into the world of landscape, art and expression.

Chado Flowers - Night Blossoms

2009-05-29T15:18:00.003-04:00

Chado Flowers, oil/panels, 10" x 24".

I love to garden. At the house and studio in Oro Township there are both flower gardens and veggie gardens (organic, of course). Flower painting is not something I do often, However, there are times when I want to try and make something a little different. These two paintings are examples of multi panels works where I partly create the painting on individual panels and then attach them together and continue painting until the three panels work together as a whole.

I enjoy the darks and contrast with deep rich colours. The images are not copied from real flowers or from any kind of photographic source. They are spontaneously brought out using a rag, paper towel and daubing. Several layers of over painting and re-composing means that the surfaces are rather painterly.

Night Blossoms, oil/panels, 10" x 24"

Summer Project

2009-05-27T09:22:00.007-04:00

This is the Tibetan stupa located north of Taos, NM, in El Rito. "The Kagyu Mila Guru Stupa is a memorial to Herman Rednick. It was completed in 1995 and in June of that year was consecrated by the V.V. Bokar Rinpoche, accompanying six year old Yangsi Rinpoche, tulku of H.E. Kalu Rinpoche.

The 35 foot high stupa contains a small shrine room which has traditionally elaborate images of Chenrezig, Tara, and the Masters of the Kagyu lineage painted on its walls, primarily by Cynthia Moku." (from: http://www.stupa.org.nz/)

This June and July, my partner Teresa Cullen and I will begin a project to photograph the chortens of New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. We will document them, the lineages that they support and the people who have built them. The project will probably be presented in book form as well as online in various formats.

Over the years we have enjoyed visiting these Buddhist stupas along the Rio Grande Valley and in the mountains of the southwestern USA. We have decided to formalize our interest and document the structures and their purposes.

Gamba

2009-04-22T14:13:00.005-04:00

Gamba, 2009, oil/panel, 40" x 48", (click on image to enlarge).

I will be visiting New Mexico this summer. My wife, Teresa Cullen, and I keep returning. There is some special energy there that we both respond to. The air, mountains and desert all combine to create a wonderful place for us.

I love the brushy plants that grow on the plains. There's plenty of sage and many other scrubby things to interest me. The way these plants grow presents me with a unique subject. In my paintings based on these plants I try to mimic the unpredictable twists and turns of the many branches and twigs. Below is an evening photo taken from the front of the house we rented last time we were in Taos NM.

(Below) The artist observing sage brush :-)

Ardistri

2009-04-22T13:46:00.005-04:00

Ardistri, 2009, oil/panel, 40" x 48" (to be shown at Vancouver Bau-Xi Gallery exhition November '09, click on image to enlarge).

Over the years, I keep returning to this subject. The single tree in a field holds a special place for me in terms of iconography. It is said that ancient north European farmers always left a tree standing in the middle of a grain field to honor the god Wōden, (from where we get the day - Wednesday).

In my travels I still see many fields where the farmer has deliberatly left a single tree standing. Perhaps this was for cattle shade, perhaps some vague memories about good harvests and luck. Nonetheless, I love the spacious feeling of the upthrusting tree set off by a field of grain or hay. The two elements work together to create a spiritual sense, better felt than explained.

Getting a painting to communicate this special feeling is harder than one might think. There is a matter of proportions, spacial devisions, atmosphere, color and texture. These all have to work, and then you need a little magic.

Balta

2009-04-20T12:28:00.008-04:00

Balta, 2004, oil/panel, 48" x 48", private collection. (click image to enlarge)

It's interesting and useful for artists to record their paintings and save the images. I was encouraged to do this by my painting teacher (John Fox) when I was a student at Concordia University in Montreal. One of my first purchases after graduating was a decent 35mm camera.

I shot slides for years and had binders of carefully labeled slide sets. In about 2002 I got my first digital camera. For a couple of years I shot in both film and digitally. But since 2004/05 I've gone exclusively with digital. Storing and organizing the images is hugely more efficient and useful. For example, looking back at earlier work is a snap, no slide projector needed, no thumbing through binders. The currently quality of my digital camera (Nikon D300 with a Sigma 17-70 lens) is better than any slide I ever took and I can use Photoshop to correct colors.

Today I was reviewing paintings from 2004 and came to "Balta". I think this was one of the first big majestic sweeping tree forms to come out of my studio. I still like it a lot and would be happy to painting something like it on any day.

The trees prior to this work were more integrated into the land element of the painting. Below is an example from the previous year (Orionosus, 2003, oil/panel, 24" x 48"). The ease of backwards reviewing of my own work helps me understand how I am changing as a painter and what remains important. For example, in 2003 my palette was muted and mono-chromatic. With the painting "Balta" a year later, I see color taking on a key role in defining the roundness of the tree shapes.

Keshtua

2009-04-16T10:47:00.004-04:00

Keshtua, 2009, oil/panel, 40" x 48". This is an ad placed in Seattle's "Where" Magazine (click on the image to enlarge). It's to announce my exhibition in that city. The show opens on June 4th.

This painting is an example of a blended approach to foreground and distance. I am enjoying the use of aerial perspective with the foreground iconic shape. I have set the view point as though you are sitting in a field of cut straw.

The bent tree trunk is a symbol I often use. I like the curving support structure. (I love bonsai trees too.) Curving trunks are both aesthetic and suggest the ability to bend without breaking.