Pure Maple Syrup and Hudson Bay Company Scarf

Acrylic on gessoed aluminium panel, 2018

12 x 12", painting #261

When I did the photo study for this painting,  I was cross-country skiing in Centennial Park in my home city of Moncton, NB while carrying a backpack with props and camera inside. With this painting I wanted to document three things that are truly Canadian: Maple Syrup, the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) and Winter! The Hudson Bay Company was incorporated in 1670 and was a fur trading business for much of its existence before several acquisitions and mergers with other retail stores. It is the oldest company in Canada, predating the confederation by almost 200 years. 

I started the painting while the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics got underway. HBC was the official clothing outfitter for members of the Canadian Olympic team for the 1936, 1960, 1964, 1968 games and has been the official outfitter of both the winter and summer Olympiads since 2006. During the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, they also outfitted the carriers for the Olympic Torch Relay. It was during this event that the famous red mittens were introduced, selling 2,6 million pairs that year alone. 

Olympic Torch Relay of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympiads

left- myself / right- Marc-André LeBlanc

The scarf in the painting is from the 2006 Torino Winter Olympic apparel collection with coloured stripes reflecting the fives colours of the Olympic rings. The scarf was inspired from the iconic HBC wool point blanket with the four stripes in green, red yellow and indigo. The origin of the blankets dates back to the 1700's and were typically traded with First Nations in exchange for beaver pelts. I’ve altered the scarf to make it less Olympic and more in keeping with the Hudson Bay Company iconic wool point blanket by replacing a black stripe for indigo. I also changed the sewed on patch for the more recognizable HBC stripes that appeared on this year Olympic collection for team Canada.

The sap from Maple trees to make the syrup was first collected and used by the indigenous peoples living in northeastern North America, and the practice was adopted by European settlers, who gradually refined production methods. The Canadian province of Quebec is by far the largest producer, responsible for 70% of the world's output. Vermont is the largest producer in the United States, generating about 6% of the global supply. (ref. Wikipedia).

-SOLD by the Fog Forest Gallery

Pure Maple Syrup

14 x 11", acrylic on gessoed birch panel 

painting #246, 2017

Canada is celebrating it's sesquicentennial this year, also known as the 150th anniversary of Confederation. I felt an obligation to do a painting as my way to acknowledge how fortunate I am to be living in such a wonderful country. I did the photo study for the painting during one of our last snowfall earlier this spring. The can is sitting on the top of a wooden rail of a small footbridge located fittingly in Mapleton Park, here in Moncton, NB. The out of focus diagonal dark stripe in the background is of a small stream.

The sap from Maple trees to make the syrup was first collected and used by the indigenous peoples living in northeastern North America, and the practice was adopted by European settlers, who gradually refined production methods. The Canadian province of Quebec is by far the largest producer, responsible for 70% of the world's output. Vermont is the largest producer in the United States, generating about 6% of the global supply. (ref. Wikipedia).

For this painting, I was inspired by Andy Warhol's serigraphs of Campbell Soup and used this rather generic Maple Syrup Can that has been around as long as I can remember. These are available nationally through Wal-Mart. While I was doing this painting back in April, my son Jean-Luc pointed out that he had just seen a video of a Montreal street artist named WhatisAdam who had done some Pop Art, Andy Warhol-esque like artwork of the same can but parodied it to "Pure Maple Sizzurp"....Simply Brilliant! (click HERE to view). This summer I also saw the same can used as a maple scented candle holder for purchase in a local pharmacy. 

The syrup from this can is from Decacer, a distributor located near the Québec-New Brunswick border in Déglis, Québec. With this syrup, we made Maple Taffy. With the help of a candy thermometer, you boil the syrup until it reaches a temperature of 112 °C (234 °F). You then spread it over fresh snow. When the taffy starts to harden, you roll it up like a lollipop with a Popsicle stick...so GOOD! 

This painting will be part of a two-person show this fall being held at the Fog Forest Gallery in Sackville, NB. 

Harvest by Yvon Gallant and Alvin Richard

October 12 - November 8, 2017

Opening reception - Thursday October 12, 6:30- 8:00 pm

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street

Sackville, NB, Canada

(506) 536-9000

e-mail- janet@fogforestgallery.ca

website- http://fogforestgallery.ca

-SOLD