I managed to enter a few photos into the Winter Wave Photo Showdown
I’m really looking forward to seeing the other entries, I know a few people who’ve entered the contest.
I caught a glipse of royal blue matte and metallic silver frames to be used when I dropped of my entry at The Info Centre at Whiskey Landing, the exhibit should look pretty sharp with an impressive line up of local photos.
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
Teresa Knight’s recent work is full of atmosphere – she imbues what she sees with the emotions the scenes evoke within her. The softness of her style and the subtlety with which she uses colour help create this almost mystical experience. The viewer enters a new and special place outside of normal time where words are not necessary, but where experience is shared.
Teresa has been an artist for many years, and had a love for animals for as long. She got started in art when she and her sisters would pass rainy days at the cottage by drawing and painting, and Teresa continued in art.
She obtained her B.A. in Studio Arts and Bachelor of Education in Art from the University of British Columbia and now paints and teaches painting out of her Union Bay studio.
Teresa exhibits her work at local and West Coast venues. She hopes, eventually, to use her paintings to raise money to improve the lives of overlooked animals
Exhibitions
Teresa’s paintings are available at:
Selected pieces are also available through Art Sales and Rentals at the Vancouver Art Gallery. www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/about_services2.cfm and some of Teresa’s work is available as limited edition prints from Casa Collection info@casacollection.ca
Teresa’s website is featured at the Agora Gallery website in New York www.agora-gallery.com
The Whale Fest posters have started to appear … with great anticipation. This year
Angie Roussin ( of Pina ) is the featured poster artist. She grew up in a commercial fishing family and has opened her shop here in Ucluelet, having spent some fishing seasons here. I like her graphic inked design work, it’s playful, very finely rendered and I think quite a strong contemporary look. I’m also fond of her paintings.
Last year Shannon McWhinney, a long time local Art teacher designed the poster in a pencil crayon illustration.
Charles Villiers reviews the print making and exquisit framing of his digital self portrait series before shipping them to Europe.
In 2004 I was asked to print a series of work by artist, and personal friend of mine, Charles Villiers. He was exploring digital image making and output in projection, web, and print. We went to great lengths, proofed in numerous art and photographic papers to make an archival print with color characteristics that would do the brightly colored images justice. The final prints were meticulously framed; mounted on a floating full bleed placard inside of a brilliant white matte and classic black frame.
The series was crated up and shipped to Europe for exhibition but were lost in transit. Eventually they did resurface and were shipped back to Vancouver Island, Canada. Charles had already been to London and returned to L.A. by the time that the recovered series was returned and has been in storage ever since. Now 5 years later – I have the opportunity to show these and selected works by Charles Churhill Villiers in my gallery here in Ucluelet, the show is currently in the planning stage – I’ll be posting some dates and info as things progress. Meanwhile, here’s a sneak peak at the recently rediscovered treasures…
It’s not very often you witness a hero born, but today local surfer Peter Devries, of Tofino, won Canada’s first major surf competition in grand style.
Congratulations Peter, and sincere thanks to all who participated – it was interesting to see surfers contending with water much colder than they’ve used to.
Cold water surfing is a challenging sport, and it was a pleasure to watch the international surfing pros display their talents here in Canada’s surf capitol.
The O’Neill Cold Water Classic event is a really big deal for the Canadian surf scene and a total validation of local surf culture.
A Painter’s Quest for Canada – Ken Kirkby
At this stage of my life all I wanted to do was go and live at my favourite place, a small village near a stream on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Most of all, I wanted to live an ordinary sort of life which had so far eluded me, a life where I could sleep when tired, eat when hungry, fly-fish whenever it pleased me and paint all those paintings that had become stored up in me like water behind a dam constructed by the events told in this book.”
Ken Kirkby has published a biographical account of his travels across the north, and of painting the largest canvas known; 12 foot x 153 foot long , Isumataq. Launch of the book will take place at Englishman River Gallery, in Parksville on Saturday September 12th 2009, noon ’til 4pm. I’ll extend my personal invitation to all of you.
Ken is a remarkable speaker, and a formidable painter. Ken’s works are represented here at Mark Penney Gallery, Ucluelet and at Englishman River Gallery, Parksville. The book is currently available online through it’s independent canadian publisher; Libros Libertad. I’ll be sure to bring in a few signed copies.
C’mon down to UKEE DAYS! – Fun for the whole family
Bullhorning, town crier style, in the morning is a tradition that goes way way back, as a kid I can remember being woken up way too early for a lazy summer day.
This year events included a wheel barrow race (replicating the tradition of unloading cargo at Whiskey Dock and hauling it up Main Street hill to the store by wheelbarrow).
The Ucluelet sports day it grew from has been an authentic celebration here for longer than anyone can remember… Last year a very senior lady visiting Ucluelet with her family via the Francais Barkley explained that she grew up in Kildonen ( a fishing village 1/2 way down Alberni inlet from here). She said that her father had brought her here the same way for ‘Ukee sports day’ when she was 11 years old. She had participated in several events, won a ribbon and a pencil. and remarked that she still has the pencil.
For 2 weeks (July 1st to July 15) Ucluelet and Tofino host a new event; Pacific Rim Summer Festival. Organized by the dynamos over at P.R.A.S (Pacific Rim Arts Society) the event has a list of local events featuring Music and Performance art. In our own Whiskey Dock way, we invited traveling street performers from Quebec to entertain Ucluelet’s Historic Waterfront District. Randy ( an eccentric local ) cranked up the music from his pickup in support of the french speaking duos efforts. The crowd from the Francis Barkley and those milling around in front of the Aquarium seemed to respond to the impromptu display of culture.
Canada Day in Ucluelet is punctuated by fireworks at dusk in the harbour. It draws a crowd down to the Whiskey Dock.
The official ceremonies are conducted at the village green, and followed by live entertainment in the afternoon. This year Elgin with Pacific Rim Arts Society had a table featuring several donated pieces of art to fund raise for the Pacific Rim Summer Festival a week long event with a focus on performence based art and music in the area. Elgin Ambrose, Nigel Brooks Peer and I donated pieces in support of the raffle.
edge to edge marathon official site .
Th
is year’s Edge to Edge Marathon was again a success.
I’ve always admired the marathon. Last year Danielle’s efforts really stepped up the profile of the event and this year, I have to admit I was wishing I’d signed up. The runners were well supported, the weather was great, they have a half marathon option and a relay race ( geared toward mere mortals).
Adam participated as a member of the local Coast Guard Team. I’d like to have had a Whiskey Landing team, but I don’t know if I could convince anyone else that it’d be fun.
Thank you to all those who came out and congratulations to those who did run this year.
I know and respect each of the artists represented in the gallery, some I have worked with for many years, others have come to know me recently, through the gallery. I try not to limit the works to any specific genre, scale or medium despite my own personal biases.
It’s an absolute pleasure to admire, display, reproduce, sell artwork that I’m genuinely enthusiastic about.
Many visitors are amazed to learn how many artists are from Vancouver Island or who travel here to paint, study, vacation and sometimes to disappear for a while.
Charles Villiers seldom offers explanation of his work. He prefers to remain a bit of a mystery, leaving the viewer to form their own opinions of his art. Prolific painter, sculptor and more recently digital media artist, he’s made a transition that many artists struggle with; the process of making your art in different mediums without loosing your style. Somehow even highly technical compositions retain a bit of the innocence of his earlier figurative and nonobjective works. It’s not unlike the way you can still sometimes see the boy within a man.
Ken Kirkby is renowned at an internal level as a decisive canadian painter, he has a distinct graphic style formed by many bush miles. His paintings depict a minimal stillness not unlike other noted canadian realists. He’s a very passionate man who has a dedication to making an impact as an artist that goes well beyond painting.
Rob Elphinstone is a physicist whose area of expertise is the study of the northern lights. I find it fascinating that his work to quantify something ethereal is also reflected in his art, he’s an actualist painter and his paintings depict his experience, not technically what he saw.
Marla Thirsk – is known as Ucluelet’s artist, and I’d have to say she’s so much more. Almost every art event, function, group in the area has benefited directly from Marla’s help. The Whale Festival posters have been a calling card of hers for years. I’m pleased to have several exciting work of hers.
Jeff Edwards – a well known sculptor, and a well liked crab fisherman. Jeff chooses his stone from local area quarries, his works are highly prized. His enchanting bears, and marine mammals are well liked and collected, I’m happy to be showing several of Jeff’s figures, and shapes.
Joan Larson – renowned for her equine (horse) Illustrations, she works almost exclusively in pastels. We’re very pleased to showcase several of her local landscapes, and look forward her RCMP Musical Ride Series.
Peggy Burkosky – Known as a advanced watercolorist, Peggy is an capable painter in any medium. Her paintings have a sincerity about them, a true reflection of her island life. Sea scape scenes often include her daughter, family, or Bob’s fish boat, they are stunning paintings and portraiture. She teaches her secrets at the Old School House in Parksville.
Richard Hoedl – An accomplished painter, his bright whimsical style catches alot of attention. Richard paints in a walnut based oil on deep streched canvas.
Terry Jackson is a Metis artist working in carved wood, silver and cast porcelain. His contemporary use of materials lends a refreshingly clean look to his culturally based works. The porcelain is highly collectible, and the silver reflects an intrinsic value. Terry’s woodwork ranges from masks and wall panels to commissioned totem poles.
Jacqueline Windh, a Tofino based photographer, is well known for captivating seascapes and wildlife. Her work is frequently published and she regularly contributes to CBC Radio.
Nigel Brooks Peer is an art photographer of a different kind, he’s well travelled has worked in several genres, and is fascinated with reflections. He’s formed a style of his own in multiple image exposures, juxtaposing images, often on first blush they’re seemingly unrelated subjects, but subtle cultural refrences emerge to poke at your conceptions of art and photography.
