Art

branch majesty

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I rescued this majestic branch whilst walking home one day last summer and brought it back to the studio. It was about to be pulverized in a wood chipper but like the photinia that you will remember from my yard work to art work story, it became my model.

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Using the small branches from the photinia as drawing tools it started to come to life transforming my empty sheet of Arches watercolour paper one warm July day.

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Finally, as I completed the painting today with the brushes from the Gift of the Four Treasures, the spirit of the branch filled the studio once again and its story was complete.

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the secret path

Today’s painting was inspired by last night’s broadcast on CBC television of Gord Downie’s film, The Secret Path. The film acknowledges a dark part of Canada’s history – the long-suppressed mistreatment of indigenous children and families by the residential school system and tells the story of twelve year old Chanie Wenjack who died alone beside the train tracks fifty years ago on October 22, 1966 whilst trying to walk home to his family from whom he was taken over 400 miles away

If you can find an hour take the time and see the film, and be as moved as I was. Learn Chanie Wenjack’s heartbreaking story, listen to Gord Downie’s unforgettable songs and music and be inspired by award-winning cartoonist Jeff Lemire’s illustrations. You can find the film here on the CBC website: The Secret Path.

Dedicated to the memory of Chanie Wenjack

Discover Challenge: Mixing Media

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For this week’s Discover Challenge: Mixing Media, Michelle asks us to “publish a post containing the kind of work you’d normally publish — but mix it with a second type of media, either digital or analog.”

This seemed to be the perfect opportunity to revisit some of the paintings that many of you will have seen on The Changing Palette over the past year.  Using iMovie on my MacBook Air I have pulled them together in a short video and added the sublime accompaniment of Glen Gould playing one of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.  I hope you enjoy it.

Weekly Photo Challenge: H2O

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12.10.16

No surprise that the spectacular Fall colours from our recent trip to Quebec found their way into the studio today with the magic of water, paint, brushes and a little imagination.

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Outer Layers

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For this week’s Discover Challenge: Outer Layers Ben asks, “What story do the things you wear tell about you?… you can focus on one item that tells a story about you…from work uniforms and party gear to battered hoodies — and talk about their connection to your identity. ”

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I have worn this apron in my studio for years and throughout this time the paint has accumulated on it in layers as you can see, just as it has on the paintings that have come and gone.

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