Resilience During Recession

"The world is but a canvas to the imagination." ~Henry David Thoreau

When people occasionally ask me if I see the glass as half-empty or half-full I reply that "it depends on what's in the glass". Despite its cheekiness I think there is truth to the statement. What is it that makes your life pithy, filled with beautiful complexity or graceful simplicity? How did you get to where you are, do you savor the moment, and what do you wish to do with the exciting days before you?

These last few months have seen a decided dip in our economy. Recession has gripped the world and like it or not we are all affected. I remain optimistic that history will repeat itself and that eventually things will turn around once again. As an artist, it is particularly difficult right now because one of the first things that people want to do to alleviate financial strain is to spend less, and paintings are not exactly a "necessity". I am sure, however, that some passionate artists and collectors would heartily disagree. Thus I, like everyone, have to ride out the storm and continue to produce work, taking comfort that I will have a great group of paintings waiting to greet the sun and the gallery when this tempest has passed. 

  Hiking up Little Whistler Peak in Whistler, British Columbia

I have spoken with colleagues about the situation recently and all soberly advise me to "keep your head down, keep producing paintings and it will be ok". That is exactly what I shall continue to do. I have a solo show in less than a year so I have a large amount of work that I can do between now and November. I doubt that the recession will have passed by November 2009 but I simply cannot wait to show these paintings of Newfoundland.  That is why one keeps creating...out of spiritual necessity, emotional conviction and the desire to share your vision with the world. What more could a person want?

Being frugal out of necessity is tough. Being frugal out of choice is enjoyable. The gap between need and want has been growing over the years thanks among many things to successful marketing. However perhaps now, in the dimly lit room of our present economy, we can cherish the worn t-shirt rather than tossing it out, make more meals at home with our loved ones rather than splurging at a restaurant and perhaps refocus on what is most important: the things that money simply cannot buy.

"There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive."~Jack London

P.S. Bravo! Canada filmed a special profiling my work in 2007. It will be airing on Bravo! Channel all across Canada on Monday, February 9th at 8:30am Eastern Standard Time. I hope you are able to catch it! It is on at an odd time but thank goodness for PVRs.

Andrew Wyeth: Paying Respect To A Fallen Giant

"Master Bedroom" by Andrew Wyeth

"It's a shock for me to go through and see all those years of painting my life, which is very personal for me. It's a very difficult thing for an artist to look back at his work." ~Andrew Wyeth

Today the world lost one of its greatest painters. Andrew Wyeth passed away this morning at the ripe old age of 91. What a full life, and what a gift he shared with us. His artistic opus spans decades. He has given the world some of the most beautiful paintings I have set my eyes upon. Wyeth was a realist painter of the highest calibre, a seeker of truth within the details, a patient draftsman and unwavering devotee to his work. 

There are two books that sit next to my easel. One is a book of Lucien Freud paintings. The other one is an autobiography of Andrew Wyeth. In this book he examines each of his paintings and discusses how and why he did them, impressions and reflections on the pieces etc. It is wonderful to read how his mind works, how he solves problems, mistakes that were made and corrected and the overall emotional impact of the piece on him. 

I use these books as touchstones. They are friends and inspiration never more than an arm's reach away. I might not look at them for months, but they are there, a constant reminder of what can be accomplished with hard work and dedication. I am more influenced by Freud from a technical standpoint and Wyeth touches me on a more emotional level. Freud is the man of nudes, and I rarely paint the nude figure. Clothes are more mysterious to me anyway from a symbolic standpoint. Freud is unrelenting, a genius of colour and paint application and his work ethic is simply second to none. 

Wyeth however, scratches an altogether different creative itch. He is a man of emotion...yet hidden emotion; subdued, just out of reach. His paintings of solitary figures striding across snow-covered landscapes are truly haunting. There is a melancholia that pervades his work, a wistfulness and an echo of times past that we can see through rusty doors, the chipped paint of a windowsill, the tattered lace of a curtain blowing in the wind. At times I find his work so poignant that I cannot look at it for long, it brings to the surface my natural inclination to ruminate and I have to keep that in check. 

Here are three paintings from my work that are strongly influenced by Wyeth: 

"Back Stairs, Oil On Canvas, 36"x24"

"The Rasberry House", oil on canvas, 15"x30"

"Rob, Drifting", oil on canvas, 48"x36"

Technically his work is unsurpassed. I personally adore his watercolours but his tempera pieces are beyond measure. Even if I could paint that well, I have not the patience for the unbelievable details that he achieves. Truly his work is timeless. I love how his figures rarely look right at the viewer. His compositions are fantastic with a lovely balance through negative space. The seemingly arbitrary loose brushstrokes in some of his studies are far from haphazard. They serve to provide texture and movement to his work.

"Farm Road" by Andrew Wyeth

I could speak all day about this man who has shaped me as an artist over the years. Although I never met him, we are connected. His work resonates with me on a metaphysical level. I too seek to paint absence, to paint what lies beneath the expression, to create a world just out of sight. Thank-you Andrew Wyeth. Although you are gone, your work will continue to reverberate within myself and so many others. 

"I get letters from people about my work. The thing that pleases me most is that my work touches their feelings. In fact, they don't talk about the paintings. They end up telling me the story of their life or how their father died."~Andrew Wyeth

On another note, Bravo! Canada filmed a special profiling my work in 2007. It will be airing on Bravo! Channel all across Canada on Monday, February 9th at 8:30am Eastern Standard Time.  I hope you are able to catch it! It is on at an odd time but thank goodness for PVRs.

Dwell in possibility,

Heather

Of Gadgets, Potlucks and the crispness of Spring.

‘Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be fish.’~Ovid

I returned a short while ago from a potluck for my friend Conrad's birthday. It was a convivial group of us gathered around, carboloading on the various offerings brought by each person. I love small, intimate groups rather than large, raucous ones.
They lend themselves to more stimulating discussions without having to raise one's voice over a background din. I also enjoy groups of people from different walks of life, different interests and belief systems, all joining together for a mutual kibitzing of ideas and theories about life, death, or any other topic that might arise. Conrad is a very relaxed host, and that puts his guests at ease as well. I am a horror at hosting gatherings...thus I usually refrain from doing so. Thus getting out allows a time away from the studio.

My studio is a bit of a paradox. It is alternately a place of freedom and a prison as well. Perhaps I am being overly dramatic here but indeed it can be a place of great creativity and also great stress...the stress to continually produce, continually come up with unique ideas and different compositions. One day I dream of having a studio with large windows and high ceilings. Hey, I have to dream and dreams really can come true. As you can see from my painting "Self-Portrait, Heavy", my ceiling is rather low...that's an exaggeration but you get the idea.

I recently purchased a new camera. It is long overdue and finally I have a camera that is everything that I need professionally and more. I have been saving for a long time and am confident that it will be a great friend in the coming years. With four journeys on the horizon over the summer, autumn and next spring I knew that it was time to bite the bullet. It is a bit of a behemoth but I look forward to it's assistance in capturing people, places and ideas for paintings in the coming years.

I have been advised by a good friend of mine to purchase a GPS. I am traveling to the U.S. this summer and, going solo, it might be a good idea to lessen the possibility of losing my way en route. I know that with a bit of applied concentration that I could probably navigate my way to my destination without incident, but heck, it would really ease the stress of the entire enterprise. I have heard that you can even specify what voice speaks to you...ie. British Woman, American Man, etc. It would be like having your own, unerring co-pilot; one that you can put in your pocket and travel with anywhere. Hey, it beats a map in my books.

Walking up to the corner store tonight I was struck with how amazing Spring really is. Many of the new leaves are a chartreuse colour, all without the blemish of drought or blight that can set in later in the season. These crisp days of spring are a treasure; the days and weeks before the inevitable haze of summer, where the humidity is so close to you that it enters your lungs with a disturbing warmth that stifles. I do not like air conditioning and rely upon my body's ability to acclimate instead. But until those dog days of summer the air is cool and sharp, the grass green, midday is inviting and not oppressively hot.

My episode of The Artist's Life aired today again on Bravo! Channel. Already I have received a few congratulatory emails from kind friends and new people interested in my work. It is emails such as these that spur me on, keep the creative juices flowing and the self-doubt at bay. I will be sure to post again before the episode airs so that readers might be able to catch the show if they live in Canada.

This year promises to be one that is unforgettable. New friends, new experiences and new paintings are just waiting to emerge. I can hardly wait.

“Be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.”~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Listening to:"I'm On Fire" by Bruce Springsteen