Acrylic Painting of a Figure Skater Plus a Big Announcement!

Elegant Skater

Guess what we did today… I took the kids skating on our lake after school. We have been watching the lake freeze for the past couple of weeks now as we pass by walking to school. According to the ice fishermen, the ice is 8 inches thick so it is safe enough. This has been the first year since our move that we have been able to take advantage of the organic skating rink that is within walking distance from our house. The window of opportunity is rather small here in Westbank as it never really gets cold enough for long enough. Last year, I would watch the ice fisherman out on the lake and think they were nuts. But, for the past couple of weeks the thermometer has been hovering around negative 10 degrees, making me feel safer about skating on the frozen surface.

The frozen lake is really neat. You can see through the clear ice to the bottom. The other day my friend even saw a bald eagle looking through the clear “glass” at the fish below. (Yes, we are living in quite the place!) Bubbles are frozen in action as they were racing to the surface. The only disadvantage is there is no zamboni. It has been snowing for the past couple of days, so I was out shoveling the lake for a bit as the kids skated. I can see as I type this, my efforts were rather pointless as it is snowing yet again. Nothing like having a white Christmas!

So instead of showing you the last music painting of my music inspired mini series, I have decided to jump ahead and show you one of my skating paintings. How appropriate, don’t ya think? This 18″x24″ acrylic and charcoal painting is entitled “Elegant Skater”. Like my music mini series, I have completed a 5 painting mini series of figure skaters. Around here in BC, the obvious inspiration for art shows these days is the upcoming Olympics. Painting figure skaters is not that far of a stretch from painting ballerinas. And, the paintings will fit the criteria for me to participate in any Olympic themed art shows.

For this painting, I was interested to capture the elegance of this skater’s final pose. Can’t you hear the crowd applauding her performance? This painting pushes the white texture further than previous paintings in this style. I thought the white texture was fitting for all the different reflections on the surface of the ice.

Anyways, I want to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for all your support with your readership over the past couple of years. I hope you all get a chance to get out and enjoy the winter wonderland with your families this holiday season.

Merry Christmas,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my paintings visit my website at www.rawdesigns.org.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

As I hinted at in my last issue of OFF THE EASEL, I have some very exciting news to share with you all. Starting in January you will be able to find me in a studio at the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna. It is true… I have finally found an opportunity of outside space that will fit into my schedule and budget! I am joining with 3 other artists to form a small coop called Studio 113. Our studio space is at the end of the hallway in the RCA and I am hoping to be there daily during the weekdays when my kids are at school.

Julia Trops, a figurative artist, one of the founding members of Livessence and a very good friend of mine, has opened this opportunity for us to join her lease in this space. Julia graduated with her BFA from the University of Lethbridge and paints female nudes in oils. She also works in charcoal, ink and watercolour. To learn more about Julia please visit her website at http://www.juliatrops.com.

Along with myself, Trina Ganson, who works at Opus Art Supplies in Kelowna, will be joining us. Trina holds a BFA from the University of BC Okanagan with a major in printmaking and is inspired by her environment that evokes fragments from memories. Some of her work is rather abstract. You can learn more about Trina by visiting her site at http://trinaganson.piczo.com/?g=1&cr=2.

And finally, Angela Bonten who graduated from the Fibre Art and Fine Art program at the Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, rounds out the group with her abstract fibre work. Angela also paints landscapes and garden scenes in acrylics. Visit her website at http://www.angelabonten.com to learn more about her art creations.

We will be having an opening for this new coop Studio 113 on Thursday, February 4 to celebrate this new phase. (More details will follow.) But starting in January, the 4 of us will be rearranging and setting up our gallery/studio space in the RCA.

I am quite excited about undertaking this new adventure in the RCA, which will give me consistent exposure for my art in the public. I can’t wait to work with these ladies as together we have great energy. I look forward to turning this energy into enormous success. It should be a ton of fun!

 

The Written Music for Fur Elise by Beethoven Is Inspiration for an Acrylic Painting

Fur Elise

Have you got all your Christmas shopping done yet? I haven’t even started and I am starting to panic with only 20 days left. Typically, I like to have all my shopping done before December so that I don’t have to fight lineups, crowded malls or the deadline pressure. I am usually quite organized. But this year has been so busy with art commitments that the time is sneaking away from me. I am working on one last commission before I can completely focus on Christmas. Although, I have managed to put up Christmas decorations, so even as I type this, I am looking at my lit up tree beside the fire. How festive!

Here’s another music inspired 16″x20″ acrylic and charcoal painting entitled “Fur Elise”. This song by Beethoven was once one of my favourite pieces of music. Even though I had given up on playing the piano, this was one piece, I thought, would be neat to learn how to play. So I sat myself down at the piano and slowly plunked out the song. Way beyond my piano lessons level, this piece took me a while to master but I did it. I memorized it and could play it by heart. But, of course, that was many, many years ago and I have since forgotten that one little skill I had been so proud to have accomplished. Maybe one day, I will return to playing the piano.

That is actually one thing I am grateful that I did learn growing up was to read music. I know what most of those funny music symbols mean. My short fall comes to the actual application. My brain has a hard time turning that musical knowledge into finger movement.

But have you noticed how beautiful written music is? Apart from the sound, written music is a piece of art in itself, hence this painting with all the scrolling symbols and rhythm of the lines.

During Artwalk, I had an obvious musician come up to this painting and started playing from my painting in mid air. I asked her, “Is it all there?” Not realizing I had been watching, she laughed at herself and replied, “Yes, it seems to be all there.” I had to smile.

Catch ya later,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my music-themed paintings stay tuned to my blog (they haven’t made it to my website yet www.rawdesigns.org).

PPS. By the way, I have very exciting news to share with you all for the upcoming year, but I have just been told to keep in under wraps until next issue. I would love to let the cat out of the bag but my fingers are tied, so you will have to catch next issue of OFF THE EASEL. Hmm… now what am I going to write about for the next section…

CANADIAN CULTURE

Oh, I know what I can write about… Let’s talk about art at the Olympics for a moment as the games are quickly approaching. Did you know there is going to be an Artisans Village at the 2010 Olympics, which is going to be a major component of the winter games. Sounds exciting! But, let me rephrase that a moment… there is going to be an Aboriginal Artisans Village. Still very exciting as any art is exciting, but that means I have been automatically thrown out of the race for participation in this particular Artisans Village.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Aboriginal art. I have nothing against the Aboriginal nations. In fact, it is the opposite. I admire the strength of their history and culture. I admire the way their crafts have been passed down from generation to generation. It is really quite a beautiful concept. I wish I came from a heritage with such a strong artistic culture.

The Olympic committee has decided that Aboriginal is what is going to represent Canadian culture to the rest of the world during these games clearly indicated throughout their promotions and products. Is that a fair representation of this country’s culture? I don’t really blame the Olympic committee for the choice they have made about what art gets showcased because what exactly is Canada’s culture? Hockey? Politeness? How do you choose from a melting pot of cultures when there really isn’t a strong artistic tie that links all these cultures together? Maybe variety is Canada’s culture?

So then, where does that leave the rest of the artists in Canada who are not Aboriginal? I know, they won’t be invited to participate in the Olympic Artisans Village and won’t be able to tap into that tremendous opportunity of rare, worldwide exposure. I know they will all have to fight for grants that are quickly drying up everywhere due to cut backs while Aboriginal artists can apply for their own separate grants.

After these Olympics held in our country of vast variety, the world’s perception of Canadian culture will be Aboriginal. Is it just me, or does anyone else see a problem? Apparently, I was born in the wrong family tree.

 

Valuable Acrylic Painting of a Harp

 

The Harp

Can you believe how quickly the weeks keep ticking by? It amazes me every time I sit down to write this newsletter. I send out an issue thinking I have a 2-week break but, before you know it, it is time to start putting another one together. One of these days, I keep thinking, I will run out of things to say, but so far I have always discovered something new to write about. That’s the wonderful thing about art. It is such a deep subject with so many new avenues to explore.

 

So, this past weekend was my last art fair for 2009. It was the Artisans of the Okanagan Holiday Exhibition and Sale held at the Rotary Centre for the Arts. Bonnie Anderson, who is a resident artist of the RCA’s pottery studio and a personal artist friend who I admire, pulled together a fantastic show. This year the entire building was filled with a huge variety of high caliber artists and their fabulous art. There was live music for the entire event setting a wonderful holiday atmosphere.

As a really nice gesture, Bonnie gave out prizes for the best in many different categories. These accolades were a nice little surprise for the artists. Everyone walked away with a “best” in something. I received the “Best in Overall Design”. Photos of my booth will be posted on my blog. And, the Livessence Unlimited show, which I currated with the help of Hylton Harrington in the RCA Galleria, received “Best in All of Kelowna”.

Saturday was very busy with lots of people in attendance. Great exposure but, again sales were slow throughout. This seems to be a reoccurring theme, I have discovered, in the Kelowna area. I’ll chalk it up to a poor economy and move on. All in all, it was a great weekend of art, and one you should mark on your calendars for next November.

One of the larger pieces I decided to showcase for this weekend was this 24″x48″ acrylic and charcoal painting entitled “The Harp”. This painting is part of my Penticton Dream House Tour collection which is just weeks away.

While creating my music inspired painting collection I have really begun to appreciate the sculptural qualities of musical instruments. Over the past few decades there has been instruments that have been redesigned into very modern shapes. In my exploration of musical subject matter, I have seen some really modern shaped violins and harps with straight lines and angular edges. These contemporary instruments are pushing the design while maintaining the function of the specific sound and playability of certain instruments, which is a very fascinating study in itself.

I, personally, tend to lean towards the traditional shapes and designs. I am drawn to the fluid curvatures that often present themselves in the traditional instruments. Again, these fluid curvatures have a very feminine feel.

Catch ya later,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my music-themed paintings stay tuned to my blog (they haven’t made it to my website yet www.rawdesigns.org).

 

ART’S VALUE

Let’s get right to the point. Why is art so important? You may ask, “Why are you so obsessed with art? Why spend so much time devoted to creating and promoting art.” The point can sometimes be hard to see when sales are down. I question myself so many times, but I always return to the same conclusions. Art is so much bigger than the sales of a product. Art goes so far beyond the retail value. Here is what I can see that makes art so valuable.

As I mentioned in my last issue of OFF THE EASEL, art is important for its non-verbal communication. I think it is very important for most people to be understood. When you are understood, the judgments can be diluted. And, sometimes, speaking can be taken the wrong way or misinterpreted by the listener. The arts are another avenue to express you inner soul.

With this non-verbal communication you can also shed light on something that you find interesting. It is a way of looking at the world from a new perspective. New perspectives lead to new learning and progress.

Art can make a statement about a cause or a passion, raise awareness … Check out what this one artist has to say.

http://www.canadianart.ca/online/audio/2009/11/05/an-te-liu/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=EWeeklyCampaign&utm_content=795151196&utm_campaign=CanadianArtNov52009+_+uyihth&utm_term=Readmore

Art can leave a legacy and document a history, which has huge value to some. Mortality can be a frightening concept. There is comfort in knowing a piece of you will be left behind after you die. Just look at so many artists in history. Their paintings have lasted the ages and tell the story about themselves and the culture and times they lived in. They keep speaking and teaching even though their bodies have passed.

Art can bring pure enjoyment. Art can be interactive and fun… play. Check out this fun art… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SU1XXAVxhg&feature=player_embedded

Yes, I think it is a worthwhile endeavour to be obsessed with art, no matter how difficult the road. And, by supporting the arts, you give voice to what artists have to say. Isn’t that valuable?

 

Artisans of the Okanagan Holiday Exhibition and Sale

Here’s my booth set-up for the Artisans of the Okanagan Holiday Exhibition and Sale held at the Rotary Centre for the Arts, Kelowna, BC on November 13-15, 2009. For those who missed out, there was lots of great art and fantastic background live holiday music. Great weekend!

 

Music-Inspired Paintings Inspire Study of Music and Emotions

 

Piano

Another triple-header of hockey this weekend, but as my schedule conflicts with some of the games, I may need to miss out. But, what can ya do?

To continue with my mini series of music inspired paintings, this 18″x36″ acrylic and charcoal painting is entitled  ”Piano”. (I know, not a very exciting title… I am really going to have to work on my titling. Put that on my goals list!)

I love piano music. When I was a kid, one of my fondest memories was when my mother would put us to bed at night. Then, she would head to the piano for a little nighttime practicing. We would fall asleep to the soothing sound.

Last Christmas, we bought our daughter a digital piano. Before we moved out west, we had to part with our old Bell piano as it was too heavy to bring on the truck. Faith enjoyed her piano lessons, so we decided to invest in a small, portable digital piano. The really cool thing about this digital piano is that it has a demo setting, which can play 50 preset piano songs. Who needs to practice when your piano plays for your?!

As an adult, I have come to truly appreciate the work put into practicing to learn an instrument. It is one thing I wish I didn’t give up on as a kid. The learning process is just the starting point. Once you learn to play an instrument, it opens you up to a whole new world of creativity. So much can be expressed through music whether it be writing your own music or interpreting other composer’s music.

I understand this now being an artist. Similarly in the visual arts, once you understand the basics of drawing or painting, it opens your world up to new ways to express creativity. Your own unique voice becomes visible to the outside world. It becomes a non-verbal way of communication.

A composer communicates with the audience with musical notes. A poet communicates with the reader with word patterns. A choreographer communicates with the audience through dance. A director communicates with the audience via actors. And, a painter communicates with the viewer with a canvas. Understanding a perspective without speaking – it is this non-verbal communication that makes the arts so intriguing and invaluable.

Catch ya later,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my music-themed paintings (they haven’t made it to my website yet www.rawdesigns.org) or for a follow-up blog post regarding my “missing something” questions from last issue of OFF THE EASEL visit my blog www.rebekahwilkinson.wordpress.com.

 

WITH OR WITHOUT

As part of my new resolution to pursue attention from the galleries, I need to figure out what it is I want to say with my paintings. On my quest to find my unique voice, I spent a couple of days last week surfing the net and researching things that I found quite interesting.

Maybe it has been my music-inspired paintings, which has brought this new interest to the forefront, but I started researching how music effects our emotions. One thing led to another as I leaped from different aspects that surround this fascinating study. I was interested to understand music and emotions and how that correlates to visual arts and emotions. What I discovered is that there is a strong connection between the ear and the brain. When this connection is broken a disorder emerges called amusia where the patient is unable to process music and goes beyond tone deafness.

Similarly, there is a strong connection between the eye and the brain. And from this broken connection stems a variety of disorders including common colour blindness to agnosia, which does not allow a patient to recognize visual stimuli. Agnosia then can be broken down further into many other specific disorders such as apperseptive agnosia (can’t copy), associative agnosia (can describe but can’t recognize) and colour agnosia (can’t recognize colour).

On the other end of the spectrum there are patients who are classified as savants. Savants suffer from severe brain handicaps such as autism but display natural artistic genius without being taught. You will remember, the main character from the movie “Rain Man” was a savant who’s genius was numbers.

During this part of my research, I stumbled on the videos of this extraordinary artist from London, England, which I just couldn’t wait to share with you. His name is Stephen Wiltshire. He is autistic but has a remarkable gift for drawing panoramic cityscapes with tremendous detail all from memory. You have got to check out his videos! http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/videos.aspx I specifically watched the video of him creating a panoramic cityscape drawing of Tokyo. Unreal – absolutely amazing!!

Looking at the extreme cases of deficiency vs genius, may shed light of understand on what is in the average range of normal artistic tendency. Understanding how the brain processes the arts is a fascinating study. Will this be my unique voice? I am not quite sure. The future will dictate the outcome. But, in the meantime, I wanted to share the neat things I have learned.

 

Have I Found What I Have Been Missing?

So in the last issue of OFF THE EASEL e-newsletter I wrote about how I felt there was something missing from the art world that I really couldn’t grasp. My questioning centered around missing the aesthetics in some conceptual art. I looked for your opinions and you answered. One email I received stood out and I thought I would share it with you. My friend George writes from a Christian/writer perspective which has some really valid points. He wrote…

“Writers have the same conundrum  believe it or not. Our version of conceptualists just string together several affective (NOT necessarily “effective”) words and aim to get an emotional response. I think it’s much the same as those you describe or abstract artists, (which for me are in the same category). I came across these types when I first investigated writing as a serious participant/ artist. What I have come to find is not that one is better, or more valid, than the other, but that both appeal to different tastes.

I have to acknowledge that those other types exist even though what they do doesn’t really resonate or does really annoy me on occasion. What they do, is reach readers, though perhaps not a large cross section of them. To deny or invalidate the creativity of those artists, (or their appreciators) is a loss to all appreciators of which ever art form it might be. In christian terms…. I CAN say this piece or that works for me, or doesn’t… What I can’t do is judge whether that art should or shouldn’t be or whether people should or shouldn’t appreciate it.

In short, what I’ve found is pretty simple. Yes, there are different areas of appreciation. Yes, my work appeals to those in one arena more than those in the others. At the end of the day, put your art, as I do mine, where people who will appreciate it, can. The others can do what they do and the people who like that sort of thing can like it. He uses all things for His purposes, (even bad or nonsensical art), so let Him do what He does and do what you can as best you can. Trying to assume His mantle of judgement (beyond personal taste ot moral ethic), just isn’t productive and certainly is not beneficial to our spirit.”

Here’s my reply…

“Thank you so much for what you wrote! It completely makes sense, and actually, takes the pressure off of trying to figure it out. I think, I just like to understand where people are coming from as a way to connect with them. And, maybe there are things that just can’t be understood and that is ok. I can’t expect to understand everyone all the time, can I… just like people aren’t going to understand me all the time, too. That’s what makes the world so interesting and colourful!”

So, have I found what I have been missing? Maybe, maybe not… maybe I’m finally ok to not have to search for that particular answer anymore. And, in that, there is resolution.

 

Music-Themed, White Acrylic Paintings

The Violin

I am gearing myself up for 3 hockey games this weekend. Now, that is a lot of hockey. At least, we get to share the experience with my brother & sister-in-law who will be visiting for a late Thanksgiving. But there, unfortunately, won’t be time for a traditional turkey dinner like I had initially planned. Maybe we will have to save the turkey to celebrate the American Thanksgiving in November.

So, as I mentioned in my last issue of OFF THE EASEL, I have created a mini series of music themed paintings for the Penticton Dream House Tour which will be held the weekend of Nov 27-28^th. Actually, in the meantime, these paintings are being showcased in the Kelowna Community Theatre for another week until the end of October. So be sure to stop in if you want to see these paintings in person.

These paintings are my first attempt at this new subject matter. Not that music is a stretch for me, since music is a huge part of my life. I grew up in a very musical family. Both of my parents, my brother and my sister all played an instrument at some point in their life. As a kid, I did take piano lessons, but I never liked to practice, so never went very far. I seemed to have been the one to use my creativity in the visual arts. I do love to listen to music, however. In fact, I love to paint to music. So when the Penticton Dream House Tour needed paintings for their music themed house, I knew I could tackle this project with confidence.

This 20″x30″ acrylic and charcoal painting is obviously entitled “The Violin”. For many who know my parents, they may not know that my mother played the violin. And, as I understand, she is teaching my niece to play the violin. Because of this family connection, the violin was a natural choice of subject matter. Not only this, but of all the instruments, the violin has very feminine curves and becomes a natural extension to the feminine theme within my paintings.

Catch ya later,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my feminine themed paintings visit www.rawdesigns.org .

MISSING SOMETHING?

Can I be perfectly honest with you? There is a huge part of the art world that I don’t seem to get. It is this aspect that actually turned me off pursuing an art career back when I graduated from university. And, I am finding that that struggle has returned once again. But this time, I am determined to not let it push me from my goals of being an artist. Instead I am trying to work through my questions and issues so that I can rectify this in my own mind. But being at a place of wanting to compete for the gallery’s attention, my questions and confusion has come to the forefront. How can I compete in a world I don’t fully understand? Let me explain my dilemma so that I can, hopefully, look for outside opinions and answers.

I am sure most of you have noticed, whether you have realized it or not, there seems to be two camps within the art world. In the one camp, you have the artists that create art that most people can relate to or identify with. These pieces of art are aesthetically pleasing and are easily understood for their aesthetic appeal. This is the art that the majority of the public puts on their walls in their homes and can easily enjoy. Typically this art is found in commercial galleries full of landscapes, photo-realism or paintings of that sort.

In the other camp, there is the art that is based on an original concept. These artists create conceptual art that is shocking or feels bizarre to the general public. It is what you often see in public galleries and pushes the limits of aesthetics. From a mess of car parts hung on the wall painted blue to a gigantic stuffed hamburger, it leaves the viewer scratching their heads as they walk away.

Now, I understand a lot of different conceptual art and can appreciate the creativity and weirdness of some, especially in comparison to a lot of the general public. I understand that often art is about the creative process on a journey to an end result. What I have a difficult time understanding is when conceptual art throws aesthetics completely out the window. What I don’t get is if the original concept precedes a unique ability in the creation process. If there is no aesthetics or evident talent, what makes it art versus junk on the floor? What is the point of going to school to learn about aesthetics or to hone a talent only to be dismissed and pushed aside by an original concept?

There are times when I hear about artists getting accolades for original concepts when I can’t seem to recognize the aesthetics or talent that I feel like I am missing something. Am I missing something? I would love to hear your opinions, so please comment on my blog.

By the way, the big Canadian RBC art competition winners have been chosen. I was one of the 600 artists who applied (no, I didn’t win. J). The first place prize was $25,000. Follow these links for the results…

The winner – http://www.canadianart.ca/foundation/programs/rbc/2009/07/23/rbc-winner/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=E%20Weekly%20Campaign&utm_content=795151196&utm_campaign=Canadian+Art+Oct+8%2c+2009+_+kuhluh&utm_term=newsrelease

The semi finalists – http://www.rbc.com/sponsorship/paintingcompetition/pc-semi-finalists-2009.html

Any thoughts? Please leave any comments on my blog.

 

White and Blue Painting of a Tulled Dress with a Simple Bodice

 

Tulled Dress

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! The weather is getting cooler as the fall is settling in. I am looking forward to warm, cozy nights beside the fire with a blanket and a hot mug of tea.

This Thanksgiving weekend for us, being away from family, will be low key. Weekends for the past few months have been busy with art or family commitments. And, I am actually looking forward to a weekend without juggling a schedule. It is nice to take a break from a hectic schedule to focus on appreciating the blessing surrounding us. I am planning to put together a small Thanksgiving dinner with a stuffed chicken and an apple crisp for four just for our immediate family. Then, the following weekend we will get together with my brother & sister-in-law for the traditional family visiting and fun.

There are not many more pieces I haven’t shown you from my solo show at A Woodside Design Gallery. This is the last of the costume dress paintings I have created for this collection. It is entitled “Tulled Dress” and is a 30″x30″ acrylic and charcoal painting. This piece was again initially inspired by a wedding dress with a Cinderella ball gown skirt made of tulle. However, during the creation of this piece, I simplified the details down to the graphic nature of the bodice in comparison to the rough layering of the skirt. In the end, the dress has become generic and could be another ballet costume.

It is a very feminine piece that, to me, embodies the different aspects of being a woman – the feminine curves, which are simple and beautiful versus the edginess of the skirt, which is interesting, deep and complex. There is so much more to a woman than the outward curves.

Next I will show you some pieces from my music inspired collection created for the Penticton Dream House Tour, so be sure to stick around for the next coming OFF THE EASEL issues.

Catch ya later,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my costume or formal wear inspired paintings visit www.rawdesigns.org .

GROW UP

Last weekend, my son made rep hockey! Yes, we are very proud and, yes, again our schedule will be extremely busy. But part of being a player on this team is the dress code. He is required to wear a shirt and tie before every game. This is a stretch for him considering he has never worn a collared shirt before in his life. It is all part of the discipline getting him ready to take more of an active role in his own hygiene and taking care of his body in becoming an athlete.

This is the first year I have been able to dress him in jeans. Up to this point, he was convinced track pants and running shoes made him faster. Sometimes, it was just not worth the battle to get him to care about his appearance. Fighting everyday over showers was enough. Now, being a part of this team, he is not allowed to leave the arena without having a shower. My little boy is growing up!

As an artist, I too, have been feeling a major growth spurt these days. Confidence has been building over the years and I feel it is time to take my art to the next level. What does that mean exactly, you may wonder. Over the past few months, I have been feeling the need to stretch. Thinking the feeling had to do with my home studio space, I have been looking into taking on outside-the-home space. Some really neat opportunities have presented themselves and have been very tempting. However, after months of consideration, I have finally decided the direction I need to take.

The realization, being on this side of Artwalk, has become evident that good exposure does not guarantee sales. Just like talent does not guarantee sales. The art market is unpredictable and volatile which, in a way, creates an intriguing mystery of challenges, but makes taking on steady expenses rather difficult. I also feel that because my family is my number one priority and are not ready to be on their own yet, taking my studio out of the home is just not feasible at this time.

So then, where does that leave me with regards to growing as an artist? Up to this point, I have been convinced that I do not yet belong in the galleries. Yes, the galleries are full, but it is more that I have not felt ready to compete against great artists for space on gallery walls. Over the past couple of years, I have gained experiences that have taught me about the art world and how it works. My artistic resume tells me it is time to take the next step. I have been hiding behind the excuse that “the galleries are full”, way too long. I need to prove it to myself. I need to spread my wings outside of the Okanagan to see how far I can fly. I need to at least try.

Will I make the team? I don’t know, but at least, I feel ready to tryout. It will require focus, dedication and perseverance to push through the rejection to success. But, it is all part of growing up as an artist.

 

Lively Acrylic Brushstrokes Surround this Maiden as She Sleeps

 

Sleeping Maiden

Artwalk was great fun! If you were unable to make it, I created a video so you can see my booth and the art that I put into the show on my Youtube Channel. As part of their Olympic theme, they held art competitions throughout the weekend, which I was asked to be a participant. The challenge was to paint a 18″x24″ painting in 15 minutes. We had a blast, not to mention was mentioned in a newspaper article. You can read the article here at http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local.php?id=211040   

This 48″x24″ acrylic and charcoal painting entitled “Sleeping Maiden” is one of my personal favourites to date. It was a highlight of my solo show at A Woodside Design Gallery, which is still hanging for a few more days. However, you will notice that this painting is actually absent from the walls. Just over a week into the show, it was sold to a Calgary couple who will hopefully enjoy it as much as I do for years to come.

The inspiration for this painting was a culmination from my figurative work and my fascination with beautiful gowns. I initially envisioned a beautiful young woman falling asleep on a bed after a celebration. I was interested to use a pose that captured the feminine curves and was generic to represent any female. But the texture and brushstrokes became so interesting during the execution that the need to detail the story further became irrelevant. The texture and movement of brushstrokes livens the painting and becomes the focus for this painting. The image became contemporary and slightly abstract allowing the viewer to attach his or her own story to the painting.

I really enjoyed the creative process of this painting. Taking a realistic image as a starting point and allowing the creativity to take over is what I have learned from this particular painting. I hope to develop this further in future paintings.

Catch ya later,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my formal wear inspired paintings or my figurative work visit www.rawdesigns.org .

SPEAKING OF ART COMPETITIONS

Yes, it is finally here! And it’s about time…I know you have all been waiting for it. I just read in the Canadian Brushstroke Magazine that there is an art-based reality TV show running for 13 Saturday evenings on Bravo! Television. The Canadian series is called “StarPortraits” and the premise is 3 artists compete to a creating a portrait of a celebrity who sits as the model. At the end, the celebrity chooses the winning portrait.  

I had to laugh when I read about this reality show as I have been wondering when they were going to develop a visual arts reality show. In the world of reality TV, I personally have watched cake-decorating competitions, home decorating competitions, fashion design competitions, modeling competitions, cooking competitions, losing weight competitions, music competitions, survival competitions, talent competitions, racing competition… the list goes on and on and on… It was just a matter of time before the visual artists jumped on board the reality TV bandwagon.

And, why not? Artists have been competing for centuries dating back to papal commissions to the Olympic games. Today, the web and every art magazine is chalked full of art competitions. And often, art groups require some sort of jury process in order to join.

But when you think about it, how does art really compete with art? How does a photo-realism painting of an apple compare to a surreal painting of an orange? Art is extremely subjective and based on opinions and tastes. So then, do you compare the artistic resume of the artists? How do you compare the technical training of one artist versus the natural creativity of another?

I can’t necessarily endorse this “StarPortraits” as I haven’t yet watched an episode. But, I have to say “good-on them” for at least bringing the visual arts to the forefront through this media. I only hope the show will make it past the pilot season to give more visual artists the opportunity to compete for the spotlight.

 

The Francesca Pitera Gown in White Acrylic Paint and Charcoal

 

The Francesca Pitera Gown

So, we had a great time at the opening of my solo show at A Woodside Design Gallery. We had steady visitors right through the beginning to the end, which was great. Check out my Youtube channel for a video for those who missed out. If you were unable to make it and are still interested to see my new work, the pieces will be hanging for the month of September. 

This 24″x48″ acrylic and charcoal painting is on showcase at my solo show. It is entitled “The Francesca Pitera Gown”. Lately, I have been really interested in watching fashion television, especially the formal wear by designers like Valentino and Vera Wang. These fashion designers are experts in dressing the female figure accentuating the curves and feminine lines. I am also drawn to their use of romantic fabrics that move and flow down the runway.

Haute couture is definitely out of my price range and seems unnecessary when my home is basically what I see on a daily basis. But, I am intrigued at how similar fashion is to creating an original painting. I have learned that “haute couture” means clothing, normally gowns, that are one of a kind fashion created specifically for the client versus “off the rack” which mass produced and everyone can purchase. This is not unlike creating a commissioned piece of art versus prints.

Inspiration for my art comes from that which is feminine and pretty. In everyday life between cutting-up raw chicken to dirty laundry to disciplining screaming kids to worrying about bills, femininity and prettiness can be lost. It is important for me to hold on and surround myself with these major aspects of being a woman.

Prettiness requires effort. In this modern age of business, it is easier to entertain with a bbq and paper plates instead of tea parties and fine china. Today, the uniform in our casual society is jeans and sneakers. It is rare when the occasion calls for a beautiful gown that accentuates femininity. The effort, sometimes, is just too much.

Let us not forget feminine beauty. If prettiness cannot be achieved in everyday life, I choose it as inspiration for art and hang it on the walls of my environment to remind me of the woman I am.

Catch ya later,

Rebekah

PS. To see more of my costume or formal wear inspired paintings visit www.rawdesigns.org .

 

SCHLEPPING MORE ART

Artwalk 2009, the largest art event in the interior of BC, is this weekend. In fact, it has become my main focus since my opening this week at the gallery. There are so many details that still have to be worked out and will keep me busy as the kids go back to school this week.

Although I am excited for this art weekend, there is a huge part I am dreading. That dreaded part is the actual set-up. The design and arranging of the booth can be quite creative and fun. But I am not looking forward to getting all the stuff to where it needs to go. The behind-the-scenes aspect of an art event can be quite exhaustive and requires a lot of manual labour. People sometimes don’t understand that art does not miraculously appear on the walls. It requires a lot of schlepping large pieces of artwork in and out of vehicles. It requires packing oddly shaped items into small spaces such as trunks, which, at time can be like working a rather frustrating puzzle.

Then, there is the part where if your space is too large, new walls or hanging structures are required or the artwork gets lost in the space. This dilemma can often be solved with easels. However, if many easels are needed, the space becomes rather cluttered. Another solution is the usage of metal wire grids, which carried in large numbers become extremely cumbersome and heavy. It takes a different kind of creativity to turn these grids into a visually appealing display.

Visual art is a very unbalanced business where it takes a huge amount of time for the creation process and set-up, whereas it only takes a few minutes for the viewer to appreciate the display and move on. It is not like the behind the scenes work of a production where there is a captivated audience for a couple of hours appreciating the hard work and creative energy.

And, at the end of a busy day of watching people walk by the display, it is time for the dismantling and repacking as the artwork is schlepped back to the studio. It makes me tired just thinking about it!