"Believe in MIracles"... and I do!

One year ago today our lovely daughter Allison Morgan was too suddenly carried off by the ravaging beast - breast cancer. All of her courage and determination could not stave off the relentless and savage attack upon her entire body.

There was little doubt that this heinous killer of too many young women did in fact achieve its goal to rob her of her health and her right to live out her already celebrated achievements. But what it could not claim... was any victory over her indomitable spirit and will to live. She maintained that right up to the very end.

Her courage and determination continues to fuel courage and possibility for each of us who knew her... loved her and respected her intellect and bravery. I get up and go ahead each day... determined to carry out the life she expected me to finish in her stead. I paint... therefore... "I am."

"Winter's Sweet Surrender" says so much about the grace and dignity Allie maintained during her valiant struggle. The coldness of Death has been overcome. What is left is the rich and lasting afterglow... signalling the possibility of Spring... ans Summer.

We shared the grandeur of Nature... the beauty of Fine Art... but never more than the art and Architecture of her beloved Venice. We shared something else which continues to bridge even the abyss of Darkness and Death. We shared an unwillingness to give up the miracle of childhood. We forged ahead in an adult world... attending to the necessary duties of daily life that come with "growing up."

But we always found time to bring out the "Child Within"... and to play together. She was never ashamed of her childhood toys... her Friends right up till the end of her life. Her Friends were with her at each convocation to accompany her to receive her diplomas. They were all gathered about her in her "sick bay" nest.

                                                                   Age Four... with Piggy

                                                   

                                                          Ella in tux and Al graduate at Queen's

She and I shared a deep and abiding love of the Muppets... and in particular Ms. Pig her alter ego while I assumed that of Kermie. It was a match made in heaven... one which remains to this very moment. I miss that Pig that could turn on you and then kiss you in one foul swoop! It was magical!

In closing out this post today... I wish to say that our family is meeting and throwing an evening for eighteen of Allison's art associates at her fav pasta joint tomorrow evening. Bro' Andrew and family are coming to be with us here at the Rock for the weekend. Lots of laughs... good Italian food... and of course,we'll be tipping glasses of Allie's Prosecco to toast her.

I think she will be strongly present in spirits... smiling down upon us from somewhere over our rainbow...

I wish to share something very,very personal with each of you that Allie and I shared and believed in. I think that there is a message for us all  in it... not just for children. As a child... she "understood" even then. She was an ..."old spirit."

                                                  A very early Allie and Dad "Art-i-fact!"

Rich blessings to ALL!

I love you FOREVER Sweet Heart!

Kermie

XXXXXOOOOOXXXXX

Verisimilitude

As artists in any genre progress in their journeys, during the initial stages they depend upon teachers or mentors who encourage or provide insights which guide our search for knowledge and understanding for the act of creating.

They serve as a catalyst to fire our engine with  passion and they help create a deeper and more meaningful love and grasp of "fine art". They present possibilities and fortify and equip our tool boxes to move forward independently.

Often, we supplement direct exposure by taking classes... joining art circles and creating personal libraries of "how to" instruction. All of these resources do advance one's knowledge and confidence. However... at some point, learning comes down to the simple act of physical engagement and hard workdrawing... mixing colour and painting- for hours on end!

I chose to sketch, first in pencil and later moved to painting with oils directly on location... or en plein air as it is dubbed now, I discovered that my need to find "special subjects" to paint and to replicate them exactly taught me a great deal about composition, design and developing my own palette. At first, I was caught up with a relentless and often fruitless and frustrating search for the "perfect picture"... to copy slavishly.

Gradually, I came to realize that I didn't need that structure to make a "good picture." I discovered that Nature didn't always have it totally right either. That we could both benefit from that other's views and contributions to the process. It was indeed an empowering moment for me artistically to finally feel the freedom to truly create using my own imagination as the launch pad for my exploration and development of my own style(s).

A few of my earlier mentors had urged me to break away from a heavy reliance upon what's in front of me. I have since learned... and put into practice how to create a "new landscape" based more upon a cerebral and emotional interface... than a purely visual exercise based upon merely copying. I refer to this creative process as "Imagineering."

My last post included two small oil sketches, completed in the studio that were based upon that very practice. Judging from the responses that I received from those who viewed them, I achieved what I set out to achieve... with powerful results and a sense of "virtual realism"...  that was convincing and pleasing to the viewers... and myself!


Verisimilitude

I was first introduced to this term in my final year of high school... in an English class. The term was presented as a strategy that... when carefully constructed could be used to lift fiction convincingly into the world of reality. 

I was instantly captivated... not only by the notion of using a "flim-flam"strategy to conceal truth... but as well... I was totally in love with the musical tone that the word seemed to resonate with and that my ear was always searching for. In short... I am a"word junky"...   collector of words." To this day... I still love wordsmithing... cross wording... word finding. I am addicted to "the play on".. and use of powerful word substitutes.

It is much like the daring and fresh new approach Picasso brought to a drab tonalist world of painting and a sculpture tradition whose very foundation was based only upon hewing out. He introduced and entirely new direction... a constructivist approach which is based upon an additive method. His ideas changed the course of Western painting and sculpture forever.

Rewind....

Verisimilitude... by dictionary definition suggests the quality of appearing to be real... while inferring that the opposite is true. 

It is the tension that is created within this sentence that offers one the challenge to take up the gauntlet and to put it into use whether in language... or on canvas... which is also my intent. To attempt it might seem easy. It's only lying.... EH??? HA HA!!

But early into the practice, you will soon discover that things fall apart rapidly when one is stripped of all physical references and devices... like cameras... tablets... monitors - the very things most of us have come to depend upon to make our pictures / paintings appear real.

Striving to achieve verisimilitude is not at all intended to report falsely.. or even to intentionally  mislead. Its purpose is to permit the artist to create using a freestyle approach entirely dependent upon a more personal interpretation. The interpretation is more largely based upon previous experiences and interior ideas derived fully from within.

The process is challenging and requires years of experience and practice in drawing and painting and must be combined with a solid background in painting outdoors if one wishes to play with it comfortably. The sum total of the three sources of gaining information is a strong visual memory... a library of unending possibilities and details and effects to draw from.

As I mentioned a few weeks and posts back, I had been "stuck"artistically... and spiritually. I found it difficult to undertake new projects after the large mural project was in the bag. The two small sketches in the last post opened up a floodgate of energy and ideas for me. One of those ideas was this very large canvas that had been kicking about in our studio storage area. I purchased it with a "sort of"... kind of notion of what it might be finally used for. But that was two years ago.

All of the time that I worked on the two smaller ideas... this mainsail glowered scornfully at me from my easel. Six days ago... I set sail with much gusto... hanging over the foredeck rail with anticipation and new energy. Here... still a work in progress for at least another day or two is the "New World" that I discovered.

Truthfully... I can't really say "Where" the landscape truly "exists".My only truthful response is that what now exists in the reality painted on the canvas owes its reality to the amalgam of visual details stored in my memory... and my heart.

"Winter's Sweet Surrender" - oil on canvas 36 x 48 inches

This landscape could easily be found here in the 1000 Islands... or the Georgian Bay 30,000 Islands District... or anywhere in Quebec or Nova Scotia... where I have painted continuously during my career.

What is more important is revealed in the title of the painting. I'll leave each of you to make what you wish of it all! I'd love to hear from you with your own interpretations though!

Enjoy... 

Stay tuned... I'll post it in its final finished state later on!

Good Painting to ALL!!... and Blessings

Bruce

Just another day at the office...

"What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing: you wouldn't become an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought. I am constantly preoccupied with how to remove distance so that we can all come closer together, so we all can begin to sense we are the same, we are just one." - David Hockney  pg 198

(From "The Artist's Mentor" edited by Ian Jackman)


My moods have always been influenced by "fairness" of weather and the amount of ambient light. I find myself struggling whenever these catalysts for Joy and a feeling of well-being are either missing or delayed for long periods.

Late winter, when the ground is stripped of white virgin snow revealing the dirty grit of winter and where the temperatures are unstable and can vary greatly... these conditions present a time of great challenge for me creatively. Very often these feelings can immediately follow a project where my limits have been challenged to their utmost levels.

That is the case at present. I feel "out of steam" after the large scale mural project that I just completed. The question always arises within me... "Where do I go next?" I thoroughly enjoyed the "big brush" opportunity on that vast white wall and have directed my attention towards finding another such large scale project to maintain the momentum created by that challenge.

I have indeed lit upon an idea that I believe will work for me... but the 36 x 48 inch blank canvas simply stares back at me with contempt and the start remains tantalizingly at arm's length at the moment. This standoff has continued for over a week now... creating uncertainty and personal disgust.

To break the deadlock, I have decided to step back from the grandiose adventure of the larger real estate and have decided to complete warm up scales... just as a pianist must to limber up before a major concert. These two 5 x 7 inch panels represent this flash dance preparatory artistic fandango.

"Summer ... in Retreat" - MacLachlan Woodworking Museum 5 x 7 inch oil on panel

The idyllic and pastoral quality of this piece... is woven into the tight compositional framework creating a tapestry fusing together natural and man made elements. These are further enlivened by rich color and flora.

"Windswept Channels" - 1000 Islands west of Rockport - oil on panel 5 x 7 inches

This small painting... provided extemporaneously through recall... and yearning for those soft summer breezes that are still some distance in time away from the cold currents of winter 2018. It is a deeply felt personal view of my paradise that ties my soul to this special place.

Both step beyond a simple classification as landscapes... because both contain elements either obliterated by man's hand... like the plain white farmhouse in the first sketch and the actual sense of place in the second. It surely exists in my memory... of  years of "memories" through this sketch. Quite frankly both record  memories that I experienced that I have maintained and now pass forward and enjoin you... the viewer... and me!

I contemplated completed a few more before fully launching into the major project. But this afternoon that canvas is in place... levelled and ready to receive pigment and big brush strokes - an activity that never fails to gladden my heart and to whet my creative juices.

Which will win out??? At this very moment, I am not totally certain. I firmly believe from my experience(s)... that all human development(s) is based upon internal readiness... and timing. At least... I am underway.

Stay tuned...

I hope that in some way... this post and others that I share in some way support and further  Hockney's views which opened this post... which run parallel to my own.

Rich Blessings! ... and Good Painting to ALL!!