Victorian style living by the waterfront for "the common barbarian"... part two of an unlimited series!

We had a glorious 8 days of vacation in New-Brunswick and along the St-Lawrence river. First off, thanks to our friendly neighbours (Marie and Rico) for taking care of the flowers in our absence...

... owing to your help, we are still in business for the rest of the summer!

What a great time we had along the New-Brunswick coastal area...

... and what can I say about New-Brunswick that hasn't been said before. Metaphorically speaking, I could say that the province is like a giant lobster: most impressive on the outside but even more appreciated for what's inside, i.e., its fun-loving and most welcoming people... some of them being downright huggable... they will recognize themselves!

While I was there, I took the opportunity to visit as many galleries as possible and to talk to local artists whenever possible...

... a special thank you to Amber Lounder for taking the time to share with us a few of her stunning works and those of a number of local artists through a "guided" visit at the Heron Bay gallery in Shediac (incidently, I was also most impressed by Skyrie's abstract paintings). All in all, it was more than a "common barbarian" deserved!

While in Fredericton, I was blown away by the Beaverbrook gallery : I didn't expect close encounters with works from Molly Lamb Bobak (a powerhouse in NB), Tony Scherman (his contemporary encaustic paintings have always blown me away), John Singer Sargent (an oil painting that could have been a precursor of his stunning watercolors), William Turner (yes Turner, how possible in this neck of the woods!) and Sisley, a well known impressionist to name a few.

The cherry on top of the sundae: the architecture in Fredericton. There are impressive Victorian homes all over New-Brunswick (as an example, the maison Vienneau where we stayed in Shediac) but what we saw in Fredericton was out of this world. We stayed at the Carriage House Inn...

... a good example of what to expect over there.

In a nutshell, mission accomplished for "our Canadian vacation 2010"...

Vacation time... the usual mixture of nature and art!

For our summer vacation this year, we are hitting the Canadian East coast. The house has presented a few challenges recently (replacement of air condition unit and furnace, some renovations and repairs)...

... but, in compensation, we've had a glorious summer so far... I may even miss the flowers for a week!

Although I expect the ocean side scenery to be stunning, the prospect of meeting with local artists along the way unleashes the kid inside! As usual, I'm packing my watercolors...

Macha I - steps II-III... gone the route of experimentation, again!

The 3rd and 4th color passes led to this final version:

This experiment with metallic paint concludes my series: metallic paint for finishing touches, metallic paint throughout the painting, metallic paint as underpainting (this one). There is a vocation for each. As for my need for more calm in my art... it lasted the time of one painting (Claudel)!

The metallic paint techniques are worth developing further, but working on dark abstract backgrounds seems an easier way to achieve drama for this "Macha" series. Also, I want to part from the model with more of an expressionist style for the rendering, i.e., using thick paint with a painting knife on larger formats. I wouldn't mind re-doing this painting with this paradigm in mind...

Note to self: "In dealing with a copper metallic underpainting, forgetting about the copper seems to be the best avenue for now, i.e., letting nature take care of itself, so to speak. In the end though, the highly reflective angle has to be as interesting and as effective as the non reflective one, a bit of a challenge in itself!"

Subnote to self: "A new look needs some getting used to... but once it's integrated... there's no coming back. I need to catch up to unforeseeable developments... after the fact! I would like the last painting to be the cumulative total of all my key learnings thus far..."

Macha I - step I... Back to welding!

In starting this series, I want to give another shot at metallic copper paint as underpainting...

... but this time around working with thicker semi transparent paint, metallic and non-metallic, and more colors. This is a 24 X 30 canvas. I'm not sure where I'm going with this one... I'm not too nervous... may be I should!

Note: With this one, I'd like to balance the metallic with the non-metallic as opposed to what I've done with Claudel (purely metallic for the most part). With the portrait preceding Claudel, I ended up using metallic paint mostly as an after thought (color accents at the end). I'd also like to use both the knife and the brush to avoid the groomed look which is a departure from the expressionistic approach I'm after...

After completing the underpainting, I was still open to any value scheme, not necessarily a good sign...


After a rough second color pass (mired by a certain level of disorganization and disarray), I ended up with this version...

Looks like a third or a fourth coat may do it... as I seem to have kept the copper as a middle tone. I need to figure out dark value patterns throughout... and restore her initial beauty!

Note to self: "A phenomenon has suddenly manifested itself in my painting process. I use the background color integrally as either the middle tone (here), for the light values (Claudel), or to obtain dark values (previous portrait emanating from obscurity). I don't know if my art is getting better, but efficiencies are building up gradually leading the way to more freedom of expression!"

Ready to start a new canvas... but only after having written another chapter in my house owner manual!

It seems the recent heat wave has challenged our archaic air condition unit big time: it went belly up last week! The expert who advised us to replace the furnace in support of a new unit had a point. The dismantling of the furnace with the help of my brother in law (I owe you one man) confirmed the diagnosis...

... my backyard is now full of rusty sculptures, a manner of seeing! After 2 months of renovation in the basement, I need a vacation... from the house... big time!

Meanwhile, I'm still thinking about my next move in art. My rational mind spoke in the previous post but my heart is still disturbed by the Claudel painting (its color nuances are hard to depict in a photo). I'm profoundly taken by the desire to innovate, to produce works that part dramatically from my own tradition, to produce works that are both puzzling and intriguing, and that leave a lasting mark in people's minds, to produce works with a minimalist approach that are full of complexities, to produce works one single brush stroke at a time like Zen artists...

Note to self: "I seem to have a dire need for a period of calm in my art... at least for a while. However, I still want to pursue more extreme forms of expressionism. Going with 2 streams of works seems inevitable since I'm not willing to compromise at this stage!"

Branching out...

The last month was a month of (frantic?) exploration for me, looking for a sense of direction in my future art. In light of my recent experiments, I want to give a go at loose figurative work realized on darker abstracted backgrounds with textures, and on a fairly large scale. I'm fascinated by metallic paint but only plan to use it with restraint as a subtle design element to accentuate the contemporary look of my art. With this new approach, I see an opportunity in emphasizing form rather than the line, like a sculptor. Freedom of expression is also key. I want to shy away from a purely technical approach, although I may experiment from time to time with a less expressive approach (e.g., Claudel) for the sake of curiosity or simply for pleasure.

Stay tuned for more... as I initiate my "macha" series!

Note: I took the opportunity to complete the sunshine girl painting accentuating contrasts here and there...

During the past long weekend, I had the chance to visit a few art galleries in Toronto and Kingston. As usual, there is always something to be learned from talking directly to artists. A young successful artist gave me a few tips on the use of epoxy varnish... and I can't wait to apply this newly acquired knowledge on the above painting.

Note to self: "If I constantly keep a few streams of experiments going on at all times, the different techniques developed are likely to converge... for the betterment of my art... I think!"

Art Contest 2010... Photo update...

Lyne, coordinator at the Pierrefonds cultural center sent me this official photo from the Montreal art contest I participated in back in May...

Thank you Lyne for taking the time! The painting behind me is from a friend of mine who won first place in one of the amateur categories.