Art for Your Holidays
Every year about this time I like to remind folks that my art is for sale and not just for looking at on the internet, though I honestly appreciate that, too. For those of you who support me on social media, that has made a huge difference in my art getting seen and I thank you. If you’ve made it here to my website then, I hope you might take the time to look at my available paintings and my gallery representation in the menu. Rather than give you a hard sell, though, I thought I would share some of my thinking behind the paintings, about art, and generally what I’m up to.
I’d like to start with a quotation by Robert Hughes that I appreciate:
“Realism is the eye’s ability to surprise the mind.”
The realist mode that I work in is what I call poetic realism. An artist makes thousands of choices with each painting, deciding where to heighten the realism and where to let the light come through, where to be more abstract and where to be delicate, painstaking, clear. I practice realism because we live in a world that is often devoid of close connection or experience. With my brushstrokes I want the viewer to feel the hand of a human at work, mixing colours, moving over the canvas, dabbing, gliding, glissading. I don’t paint thickly but when you see the work up close this is all visible.
The floral still life isn’t necessarily unique in and of itself, nor does it attempt to make grand statements. Rather it is simple, domestic, beautiful. With luck my work conveys an experience of glimpsing the wonder of light. My real subject is light, not things; my subject is light reflected through and upon flowers, and more recently blossoming trees.
I want to produce a sense of wonder, of wow, in the viewer and to remind them that light and colour and air are wonderful. Light changes all the time, and when we notice it, it can change us.
I recently heard someone on an art podcast say that “paintings are colours defined by the edges,” and I think this is excellent. I was once told back in my art school days, “don’t worry about artistic brushstrokes or fancy effects, just try to get the colour down, get the shape accurately, and the “art” will take care of itself.”
If any artists are reading this, you might enjoy knowing that it was the work of Velasquez that has taught me so much. I saw a tonal painting in a book on Velasquez and the author suggested that the work lost little of its power when reproduced in black and white. There are apparently only nine distinct values between black and white, almost like a musical scale, but colour is nearly infinite. Therefore, if the values are correct in a painting, then colour will take care of itself. It’s natural that artists want to be expressive with colour, but it is value which provides the structure for colour. Thinking about values underpins all of my work and provides the framework for my poetic realism.
This past year my art was included in a House & Home “mood lift” which is very on-brand for my work. One of my goals for my paintings is that they might have the power to elevate the mood and brighten the spirits of my viewers.
In the spring I had a successful exhibition in Calgary at Wallace Galleries.
I spent two weeks in Napoli, Italy in October with my partner, the writer, Shawna Lemay. We looked at great art, walked in gardens with lemon and orange trees, and sipped some delicious wine. And yes, we ate a fair bit of pizza!
Looking at amazing art provides me with inspiration for the year ahead and I also took some photos of citrus trees that I’m excited to be working on as part of my series of trees with fruit and blossoms. Please stay tuned.
As well, next year I will be having a solo exhibition at Canada House Gallery in Banff in May. I will be part of a two person show at Gallery Merrick in Victoria in July.
Thank you for all your support and for sharing my work on social media. As I’ve said, it makes all the difference. The link for my gallery representation is here. And you can find my available paintings here. If you think one of my paintings would look sensational in your home over the holidays and beyond, please write a message to one of my galleries. They ship anywhere and are experts in helping you place art in your home, not to mention they are delightful people with whom to interact.
Warm wishes to you as we bring this year to a close, and heartfelt hopes for your year ahead.
— Rob