My work in iconography and the series on the West Coast totems are both based on being true to the traditions and originals. They all come from the same place within me, as do the recent First Nations icons of the Coast Salish St. Paul and the Siksika Sacred Heart. To know me in the one is to know me in the other(s).
I thought this would be a good time to present my body of work within 'Journeying With The Totems' in relation to the originals that each were based on. Some colours vary slightly depending on the colours within other reference photographs or the 11"x17" colour copies that I get made to guide the process. I need lots of reference information in the images I use, in order to paint the level of detail that I work within. I've prepared a series of jpegs which present the painting and the reference picture of the original. My living room, which has become more studio then living room, is a game of rotating, musical easels. The two paintings on the floor have been relegated to the back burner for now, as I need to complete the commissioned Brown Bear painting on the easel on the right, and proceed with the commissioned Blackfoot Sacred Heart Icon on the left. The two paintings on the floor need to be completed in time for submission to the 2017 Sooke Fine Arts Show. I'm in the final stretch with the Brown Bear, working in the wood grain details. I just got the icon design inked in this morning. There will be adjustments as I move forward and as I begin to block in the base colours. I'm making progress with the 36" x 36" Brown Bear commission. I've started on the wood grain and cracking, but have a bit of undertone glazing to complete before getting in the extensive wood grain of this totem (at the Capilano Suspension Bridge park).
The past week had a few hurdles as a self employed artist. The banks just make things so difficult for self-employed persons. And utilities expect their payments on schedule even though art income doesn't come in as initially expected. Fortunately, I was invited to do a Icon Presentation and a 1-day Icon Workshop in Vancouver this past weekend. I haven't been feeling well the last few days, but still pushing forward with the Brown Bear commission. I'm still in the process of shaping the totem and getting the undertones in as I go. These all have to be done before i can begin developing the wood grain which is predominant in this totem. The forms in West Coast Totems are such that you just need to keep tweaking the image on the canvas to that they are exact to the style of the carver and Nation/Family it represents. I have a few scheduling conflicts this coming week, and I'll be in Vancouver this coming weekend to do a presentation and workshop, so I'll get the painting as far as I can. I want to have this painting completed as soon as possible. Now that I was some firewood, thanks to a dear friend, and heat in the studio has been restored, I am able to return to painting. I had started a 4ft x 4ft canvas of the Brown Bear for art show submissions, but I received a commission request for a 3ft x 3ft painting of the same subject. So that explains the canvas sitting on the floor in the background.
I've been working on the Wolf Totem painting once again. It always takes a while to jump back into a painting part way through. It takes some time to reconnect and rediscover where you were when you had to put it aside for a while. With submissions coming up for upcoming Fine Art Shows on the Island, I needed to also start on another painting. And the 4ft x 4ft canvas was calling out. I'd looked through my image library to try and find another image that would be suitable for such a canvas, one with adequate resolution to work from. But I was feeling that the only image that best suited this canvas was the Brown Bear. I had done a 3ft x 3ft painting of it, and included it in my first solo exhibition at the Silk Purse Gallery. I was so happy when the Brown Bear painting found its new home with a dear former student of mine. But during that same exhibition, one gentleman voiced that he loved that painting but that it was too small. So, I figured that the Brown Bear was calling again, and I wanted a composition and size that could command attention in a show. But as with all my paintings in this series, I will not refer to picture of the first painting, and only work from the photograph. It will guide the way, with whatever changes that come up along the way. I also find it helpful to have a second painting in the works. It informs the work being done on the other. Also in this case, it is helping me connect to the starting phase of a canvas, given that the Wolf was further on in its progression. Now that I've completed the recent commissions for icons, a totem painting which I had started last year, is back on the easel. I have a number of canvases waiting in the wings, including a 4ft x 4ft... I'm drawn to the 4x4, remembering how much I enjoyed painting the 3ft x 3ft Brown Bear, but it needs to be just the right image with a high resolution for adequate information for the detailing in such a large canvas.
In the meantime, the wolf totem which had been started, will be a good way to get back on the bike so to speak. But I started feeling cold symptoms on the same day that I delivered the last icon commission on Monday, and have had recurring stabbing sinus headaches since, and not feeling great at all. But the canvas is patiently waiting. Now that the icon commission has been completed, and hopefully delivery on Monday, weather permitting, it is time to return to a totem painting which I started some time ago.
The 6 painting from the series which are now on consignment, are being installed this weekend at JDStevenson Gallery in Chemainus, BC. I am also in touch with CanvasPlus who is doing the giclee prints for the series. |
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November 2020
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