The Passion of Phil the Forecaster - $10 Off at Blurb.com

“The Passion of Phil the Forecaster” – 120 pages full of my art was published via Blurb on Monday September 24^th, 2012.

http://www.blurb.ca/bookstore/detail/3574328

Blurb is offering $10 off by simply using the code SHARE10 at Blurb Bookstore's checkout. To quote Blurb "This is a perfect opportunity for you to tell the whole world about your book. Email, Twitter, Facebook, your blog, skywriting, shouting from the rooftops – we're sure you'll find tons of ways to get the word out. (Just don't wait too long, this offer ends March 31, 2013.)"

Welcome to Spring 2013

It is more like winter! The snowall would make it difficult to paint en plein air anyway so I will spend another day in the studio working on the 50 Years of Our Flag Project. We had more than 15 centimetres of very heavy, wet snow yesterday .... I saw it coming from the water vapour imagery ...

I get to listen to a lot of music while I am working in the studio. That's a good thing! I want to endorse the music of a good friend of mine from Environment Canada. Glen Hornblast's CD has remained my play list for the last couple of months. He has a special talent! His Canadian music has just maybe found its way into the pigments on the canvas. The best way to enjoy his talent is to listen to it over and over again - like me. I hope that you enjoy it as well. Dont't email Glen about the true meaning of a "blue moon" - he already knows even though the graphic on his CD wouldn't reveal that knowledge.

http://glenhornblast.com/

50 Years of Our Flag - Laser Lettering

The sample of lettering pictured is about half way done. There are some imperfections in scale and spacing. I will try to improve on those - if I can. Any imperfections that remain will just have to add character to the project. Afterall this is supposed to be a work of art and human frailty is a big part of true art.

There are plans to produce 7500 or even 15000 prints. Thus the importance of the painting can be intimidating – so that one is afraid to apply pigment to canvas… it is important to get it right!

New Post Is Old... But I have Been Busy!

It is important to keep any Blog current... fresh... it has been five days and that is more than long enough for fish on the counter to start to stink. But I have been very busy. I have been "Phil the Laser Printer" working on the 50 Years of Our Flag painting. It is not easy work! The font colour is strong and swamps the lighter background if even a single brush hair flicks out of line. How often do you think that might happen? When painting en plein air an unruly brush hair can be a good thing! On the important text of the 50 Years of Our Flag painting a brush hair can be a real disaster.

Getting the text right on this 4x6 foot canvas will be a prolonged 8 phase process. Each phase will use either the strong cadmium red or the weak cerulean blue and will work the edges of the text back and forth until they are as close as I can get to perfect - which certainly won't be perfect at all. With each phase the paint on the canvas will get thicker and I have to remember to paint thick on thin.... The text is a very important part of this project so it deserves the best that I can do.

Here is John Ross Matheson signing the draft of the 50 Years of our Flag Artwork... the text is very important to John and thus it is very important to me and the rest of the committee! As I was taking the attached video of John with my Friend and Chair of the 50 Years of Our Flag Committee Bob Harper, it struck me that we were recording history...

 




http://www.50yearsofourflag.ca/

Stompin’ Tom Connors and the Flag Project

Stompin’ Tom Connors passed away on Wednesday March 6^th - well before his time.  It seems he simply wore himself out performing for the country he loved. A few phrases from his final message caught my eye. I waited a few days to let them really sink in before writing this post.

“It was a long hard bumpy road but this great country kept me inspired with its beauty, character and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about it people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world. I must now pass the torch to all of you, to help keep the Maple Leaf flying high, to be the Patriot Canada needs now and in the future.”

Tom’s words apply to the “50 Years of Our Flag Project”. They also apply to Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven who were inspired to create a distinctively Canadian culture. They also apply to the "1965 Flag Committee", the names on the flag painting that I am still working on (and will continue to work on for a few more months) and to the countless, unidentified Canadians who want to make Canada an even better place to live.

Over the coming months Canada will gradually become aware of the several projects undertaken by the “50 Years of Our Flag” Committee. The 4 by 6 foot canvas is just one of the celebratory projects planned for 2015. Stompin' Tom will still be participating but from an even better place. Tom was asked by the Committee to write a special piece of music for the “50 Years of Our Flag” Celebrations. That Tom would have written a great piece of music is undeniable … for now we will just have to imagine how it might have sounded on Flag Day 2015.

For what it is worth, my favourite Stompin’ Tom song was the “Marketplace” theme – true and laced with his classic humour.

Wrapping the Flag in Canadian Art

An earlier post told a portion of the story behind the design of the painting for the “50 Years of Our Flag Project”. There is much more to that story! The project wraps the Canadian Flag in history, art and science. The selection of the art works and locations from my collection of plein air paintings was not accidental but it will take many posts to explain all of the details. This post is about the ancestry of the style of the art itself.

A cursory look at the brush strokes is reminiscent of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. I am not intentionally copying anyone’s style but when one paints outside, surrounded by Canadian inspiration and weather, there is only one way for me to apply pigment to canvas.

Thomson was deeply inspired by the same Canadian landscape and he very much inspired the Group of Seven.  Thoreau MacDonald, the son of JEH MacDonald, Thomson friend, Thomson co-worker and Group of Seven charter member said the following about Tom’s art.

“Thomson’s work would be a fine study for some competent critic, but anyone attempting it should be familiar, not only with every phase of his work, but with the country too, lakes, rivers, weather; have them in his bones … “

To understand Tom’s work one must have Canada in your soul. There can be no better art to wrap the Canadian flag in.  Unfortunately Tom’s art is out of reach for this project but the Group of One was available!

From history there is another reason to use Thomson styled art! Tom Thomson was directly related to Sir John A Macdonald through his mother, Margaret Matheson. Sir John was the first Prime Minister of Canada and one of the “Fathers of Confederation” - perhaps he could be called the "Father of Canada".  It is most appropriate that art inspired by Canada, Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven-One brand the culture of Canada – a nation whose very existence owes a tremendous amount to his relative Sir John A Macdonald.

In my painting for the “50 Years of Our Flag Project” there is a dove grey (cobalt blue based)canoe at the portage for Ragged Falls. Tom would have certainly parked his canoe there.

 

Matheson? Tom’s mother was Margaret Matheson! Isn't the "Father of the Canadian Flag" John Ross Matheson? Is there another story here? Stand by …

Queens Alumni Review 2013

I was aware that Queens Alumni Review was preparing an article on my CSI (Creative Scene Investigation) Presentations. They didn't know about the work we are doing on the "50 Years of Our Flag" project - with several other Brockvillians. They certainly are not aware of our direct association with the "Father of the Canadian Flag", John Ross Matheson. Imagine my surprise when I received my copy of Alumni Review and discovered the article immediately under a photo of John chatting with David Johnston, Govenor General of Canada. What are the odds?

 http://www.queensu.ca/news/alumnireview/csi-creative-scene-investigation

 

Do You Have CCD?

Another true story... My good friend, the really great artist I mentioned in the previous Blog, thinks he has a disease. Every day he feels compelled to forage out into nature to create another plein air painting ... to add to his inventory of hundreds of similar plein air paintings. He feels it must be a MHA (Mental Health Act) disease. Why would a sane person persist in doing something that apparently no one wants?
This is a terrific artist we are talking about. Why does his art stack up in orange crates in his front parlour? Anyone with any understanding of his art would snatch up these little masterpieces to hang proudly on their walls. Is it lack of exposure? Lack of art understanding? Are artists like my friend too prolific for the limited artist appreciation and even more limited demand?
He doesn't bother to try to answer these questions. He paints every day. He is happy. So am I. What's wrong with this? No harm is being done ... is there? We might be featured on an upcoming episode of "Hoarders". I might need to build a bigger garage. My wife might rent a dumpster.
The disease must be contagious. Maybe the next plein air piece will be "The Masterpiece" ... maybe... It is worth a try.  If we give a disease a name that is half way to finding a cure. Let's call it "CCD" - Chronic Creative Disorder... that works for me.

 

What is Art? Continued ... Does art require an explanation?

A truly excellent artist, who I am proud to say is a good friend of mine, told me a story of a scientist who asked to study him as he painted. The scientist patiently sat, watched and said nothing. After a couple of hours the scientist who was probably attempting to make some sense out of the artistic process, stood up and asked to be excused. Upon questioning, the scientist remarked that he could make no pattern or sense out of the painting process. There appeared to be no great plan in either the selection of colours, the picking of brushes or even where to apply the pigments. The end result was certainly a fine piece of art but how it got to that point from bare canvas was a complete mystery to him – a random stroke generator better explained how the painting evolved – perhaps even chaos theory. Maybe art defies explanation. Does art need an explanation?

This story came back to me today as I was painting on the “50 Years of Our Flag” Project. I was applying a bold dash of colour. I immediately knew it was a good stroke. It felt right. When I stepped back, it even looked “right”. But how did I know? For every good stroke there can be many “bad” strokes. They feel bad. They look bad. They have to be fixed. The best easel days have more good strokes than bad…

It seemed to me that when an artist is in “the zone” the creative process is more like subconscious chaos. The “zoned in” artist is still immediately in touch with what is good, what is bad and what is ugly.  Maybe it is best not to ask how or why – just be content that the painting might be successful. There is still lots of work to do :>)