www.markpenneygallery.com

Kunamokst – Coastal Inspirations Mural Mosaic Unveiling

Coast and Trees 12″x12″ Oils, plate 81 of Coastal Inspirations Mural Mosaic by Rob Elphinstone

For the last year and a half over 200 of some of Canada’s finest artists from along the west coast have collaborated to create a stunning 12 foot x 21 foot mural. The mural has been invited to be officially unveiled as part of the 2010 Winter Games. It is comprised of 231, 12 inch x 12 inch original paintings that when all the images are combined together a united image comes to life. There are no digital effects and the artists did not know each other or know what the united final image would be. It is a mural about unity through diversity – a great symbol of the Olympic ideals through art.

Kunamokst – Coastal Inspirations Mural Mosaic combines artists as young as 16 years old to artists as old as 91. Nanaimo artist, Rob Elphinstone, has contributed a piece entitled “Coast and Trees”. There are first nations artists, world renowned artists, French Canadian artists and artists from various regions along the coast. World renowned first nations artists like Roy Henry Vickers and April White contributed to the mural. As did Iconic Canadian artist Robert Bateman. Many other of the 200 artists, have been featured on the world stage as well. Special guests artists include California world renowned whale muralist WYLAND and California muralist Judy Baca.

Mural Links-
www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html

Winter Games web page
westvancouver.ca coverage of the mural

Kunamokst – Coastal Inspirations Mural Mosaic

Mural Unveiling Saturday, February 13th, 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
West Vancouver Spirit Square – an official 2010 Celebration Site
West Vancouver Community Centre (Art Studio), 2121 Marine Drive, West Vancouver.
On Display from February 13th – February 28, 2010
10 AM – 5PM Daily, until 9PM Friday and Saturday.

Congratulations to all Island Artists who participated, among them: Rob Elphinstone, Elissa Anthony, Roy Henry Vickers, Gordon Henschel, Mark Hobson, Rohanna Laing, Peter Lawson, Martin Machacek, Christina Munck. What a great project

Mackenzie Beach by Rob Elphinstone
16″x20″ oils on canvas, framed.

sold (private collection)

A colorful, emotive, depiction of Mackenzie beach, and the rocks that are a distinct and identifiable landmark.

Mackenzie Beach by Rob Elphinstone

16″x20″ oils on canvas, framed.

$1000

The figures walking on the beach as well as the log establish the grand scale of Mackenzie Beach in this painting. Intertidal puddles form as the water recedes and visitors are drawn to walking along the waters edge.

Ucluelet Harbour by Rob Elphinstone

16″x20″ oils on canvas, framed.

$1000

The Lady Selkirk is known to a great many people because she’s a popular whale watching vessel operating out of Ucluelet harbour. The Selkirk, usually moored at Jamie’s in front of Whiskey Landing is part of the harbour view from the gallery. Identifiable also in this portrait is 52 steps and Neptune Packers behind it.

Tofino Docks by Rob Elphinstone
Oils on Canvas
20″ x 30″, framed
sold (private collection)

Tofino, like Ucluelet is still well connected to boating. Up until the road was put in from Port Alberni (1958?), these 2 coastal communities were only accessible by boat (and plane). As a kid I relished docklife here and up the coast. Rob’s dockside portrayal picks up on the feelings you experience standing there on the wharf.

Wild Pacific Trail by Rob Elphinstone
Oils on Canvas
16″ x 20″, framed
sold (private collection)

One of many reasons to visit Ucluelet is the Wild Pacific Trail. Spectacular viewpoints come at regular intervals along the 8 km trail on the outside of the peninsula. The light house loop segment offers glimpses of the the broken group islands, George Fraser, Crow Island, Jenny Reef and the stark contrast of an empty horizon.

Wikaninnish Centre by Rob Elphinstone
Oils on Canvas
16″ x 20″, framed
sold (private collection)

A distinct and recognizable landmark; the Wikaninnish Interpretive Centre has a very distinct roofline and is a familiar viewpoint to visitors of the Pacific Rim National Park. I recommend stopping by for pie and coffee, the view is spectacular.

Rob Elphinstone specializes in capturing the beauty of the Canadian west coast through his textured wild flowing landscapes. His art reflects the belief that our senses reveal only a shadow of what we truly experience. Rob believes that the beauty of a place is hardly ever replicated in a photo or a video. Our senses take in a fraction of what we perceive about the world. This tiny fraction is the shadow of what is really there.
Good art should not have to be about what the inner psyche experiences or displaying perfectly what is optically there but should be about the unseen reality that everyone feels. Every one of his art pieces reflects the premise that creative art stems from what is truly evident in nature rather than the shadow that can be photographed.
The term “Actualism art” is used to distinguish this art form from the emotionally based “expressionism” trend. Reality is more than just the sum our emotional impressions and the sense detection of an external scene. The realism art discipline attempts to capture the latter and expressionism the former.
Rob Elphinstone’s version of Actualism art allows that the observer can interpret the “actual” and create works that capture the essence of the observed in a fundamental way.
 The process of laying down textured brushstrokes helps capture the elusive nature so evident when we look outside. The textured brushstrokes give the paintings a unique look. This technique yields a complexity that mimics nature and that permeates every portion of the pieces he creates.  From a distance, the painting comes together through form as a coherent whole, but each portion catches the eye in a manner that draws the viewer into it.

“… I see the Vincent influence, but your art evokes the brushwork of Soutine and I see  a distinct passionate style influenced by nature… This man’s art is going to find a huge public appreciation in the future.” – W. Matthews, a Vancouver collector

“His paintings radiate light from a hidden painful world, creating a natural atmosphere of intimacy. Combining thousands of colors in constant dynamism, sky, water and vegetation seem grouped to dance to the beat of your pulse, full of feelings and passions. His art is called “Actualism Art” as a testimony of a key reality that the author reflects in his work.”
Ricardo César Lescano Grosso, Art Critic, Argentina.

Selected Juried Exhibitions:
Artists for Peace, International Art Action, Dolmabahce State Art Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009

Art on Record, APW Gallery, NYC, USA, 2009

VI International Festival of Experimental Art, Manege Museum of Contemporary Art, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2008.

American Sandwich, Piano Living Gallery, Lecce, Italy, 2008.
Smiles Exhibition, Royal Castle, Warsaw Poland, 2008.
NHU 25th Anniversary Fiesta, National Hispanic University, San Jose, USA, 2007.

Nuit Blanche, ACA Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2007.
VIII International  “Dialogues” Biennial of Modern Art, Manege Museum of Contemporary Art,  Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2007. 

1st International Art Biennial of Sorocaba, Espaços Públicos da cidade de Sorocaba, Scorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2007.
Reflections, ACA Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2006
Urban Eyes Art Exhibition, Nanaimo Art Gallery, Nanaimo, Canada, 2006.
Landscapes and Timescapes, ACA Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2006. 

 Global Fusion, Toronto Photographic Festival, ACA Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2006.
Premio Internazionale D’Arte San Valentino, Vico del Gargano, Italy, catalogue, February 11-19, 2006.


 In the Footsteps of Jules Verne, Decourtenay  Galleries, Chatelet, Belgium, 2006

3º SALÃO OFICIAL DE ARTE DE CARAGUATATUBA, San Paolo, Brazil, 2006. |

LANDSCAPES,  Estense Castle, Ferrara, Italy, 2005
DIVINE CELEBRATIONS OF SPIRIT, ACA Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2005.

TESTOSTERONE – A MAN’S TRADE, Covent Garden Fine Art Gallery, Wellington, Canada, 2005

Feature Artist, Oakleaf Gallery, Chemainus, Canada, 2005.

Open House, Studio 737, Tweed, Canada, 2005.
Feature Artist, Fat Cat Fine Art, Victoria, Canada 2005.