In 2003-04 Joanne and I were living in Kentville, Nova Scotia as I was pursuing the completion of an art project entitled “Canada: Glorious To Be” (http://www.bitsandpeaces.com/Canglointro01.htm). During our stay in this beautiful part of Canada, I had organized several art workshops for the youth of this area. This is a link to a previous blog entry about one of those workshops: http://bitsandpeaces08.blogspot.com/2008/09/art-for-earth-2003.html
The one thing that I really enjoyed about these workshops is the fact that a canvas painting was started and finished within a five-hour period. Most of the paintings that I create take several weeks to complete, so you can imagine my thrill to have a completed artwork in such a short period of time. The completed paintings have such a ‘raw’ look to them; an innocence for a natural chaos of brushstroke detailing.
I was inspired by these artworks to challenge myself to become more ‘raw’ and less refined in my detailing. ‘Dancing Lights’ was the result of this personal challenge. I told Joanne that I was going to start and finish a painting in just five hours… and she laughed. I did finish this painting in one session, however, this session ended up being close to fourteen hours long.
+ + + +
Within the first month of our arrival in Nova Scotia, I had made connections with a few art organizations. One of these organizations was responsible for displaying artworks at the Annapolis Valley District Hospital. Every few months a large gathering of local artists occurred to change the displays throughout the hallways of this hospital. I had met with the person in charge of registering the artists for these displays and I was informed that there was a yearly membership fee. After I had explained that I had been travelling across Canada for several years and that my debts were very high because of this, I was offered a membership for free. I was very grateful for this favour.
During the Spring of 2004, Jo’ and I were preparing to move back to Ontario. Because we really needed to save space in our small rented moving trailer, and because I wanted to show my gratitude, I donated ‘Dancing Lights’ to the hospital. I have been told that it found a home in the sick children’s ward of the hospital.
I often wonder if it is still there…
Jim
The one thing that I really enjoyed about these workshops is the fact that a canvas painting was started and finished within a five-hour period. Most of the paintings that I create take several weeks to complete, so you can imagine my thrill to have a completed artwork in such a short period of time. The completed paintings have such a ‘raw’ look to them; an innocence for a natural chaos of brushstroke detailing.
I was inspired by these artworks to challenge myself to become more ‘raw’ and less refined in my detailing. ‘Dancing Lights’ was the result of this personal challenge. I told Joanne that I was going to start and finish a painting in just five hours… and she laughed. I did finish this painting in one session, however, this session ended up being close to fourteen hours long.
+ + + +
Within the first month of our arrival in Nova Scotia, I had made connections with a few art organizations. One of these organizations was responsible for displaying artworks at the Annapolis Valley District Hospital. Every few months a large gathering of local artists occurred to change the displays throughout the hallways of this hospital. I had met with the person in charge of registering the artists for these displays and I was informed that there was a yearly membership fee. After I had explained that I had been travelling across Canada for several years and that my debts were very high because of this, I was offered a membership for free. I was very grateful for this favour.
During the Spring of 2004, Jo’ and I were preparing to move back to Ontario. Because we really needed to save space in our small rented moving trailer, and because I wanted to show my gratitude, I donated ‘Dancing Lights’ to the hospital. I have been told that it found a home in the sick children’s ward of the hospital.
I often wonder if it is still there…
Jim
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment