The Crown

            12 x 12 inches, acrylic on gessoed mounted aluminium panel               

 painting #296, 2024 - black floater frame

 

The year 2022 marked a milestone and a memoriam for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She ascended the throne on February 6, 1952 at the age of 25 following the death of her father King George VI. On February 6, 2022, she would celebrate her platinum jubilee, marking 70 years as the longest reigning monarch of England and Head of the Commonwealth. She died later that same year on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96. 

As one of the most famous person in the world, Queen Elizabeth II was known for her unwavering sense of duty, responsibility, steadfastness and grace. She always put the needs of her country and her people first. Although she faced occasional republican sentiment and media criticism, most often directed towards members of her family and during certain tragic events; the support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high throughout her lifetime, as did her popularity. 

During her reign, she visited and toured my province of New Brunswick a total of five times. Click HERE for a highlight of her visits. I got to see here briefly in a passing car while visiting Moncton on September 24, 1984.

I've been to England three times. Although I've never visited the inside of Buckingham Palace, my wife Suzanne and I have visited Kensington Palace while Princess Diana was still alive and with our son Jean-Luc, we visited Windsor Castle, where the Queen and Prince Philip spent many of their weekends. 

 

  Buckingham Palace, London, May 6, 2010

Windsor Castle, May 3, 2010

One person who has made the monarchy relevant to the masses is none other than screen and playwriter Peter Morgan. He's responsible for writing extensively about Queen Elizabeth II creating no less than three major productions. First, as the screenwriter for the 2006 film, The Queen starring Helen Mirren in the title role. The movie received rave reviews and earned Mirren many accolades including an Academy Award for best actress.

In 2013, Morgan wrote the play, The Audience with Mirren reprising the role of Queen Elizabeth II. The play revolves around weekly meetings between the Queen and her prime ministers. I had a chance to attend a production of that play as it was broadcast live to cinema on June 13, 2013. The broadcast broke the record for most people viewing a live production with nearly 80,000 people watching in the UK and 30,000 people in North America. I remember waiting two hours in the movie theatre on Trinity Drive before the broadcast started as there were technical issues in London that cause a major delay. Still, Helen Mirren gave a tour de force performance. The conversations with the prime ministers are not held in chronological order so with a magical quick changes of costume and wigs, she could be switching from Winston Churchill to John Cameron within a few minutes.

Lastly, Peter Morgan is also the principal script writer for all six seasons of the Crown on Netflix. I watched a few episodes of season 1 when it first came out in 2016. But it was only when I started this painting late last fall that I watched all six seasons. The Crown has been praised by critics for its acting, directing, writing, cinematography, and production value. However, its historical inaccuracies have been criticized, particularly in the latter seasons. Netflix has noted that it's "fictional dramatisation" that was "inspired by real events". Nonetheless, I have to say that I absolutely love it and found all six seasons riveting. 

The concept for this painting arose upon seeing two companion books written by Robert Lacey about the Netflix series. Lacey also served as historical consultant for The Crown. It immediately ignited the possibility of incorporating them in a still life painting with a Crown mason jar. Last fall, during the process of doing a few photo studies for the painting, I realized that they lacked color and impact. A quick visit to my local Chapters bookstore remedied that problem as I was lucky enough to find a small coffee table book entitled, The Platinum Queen published in 2022 by Allen & Unwin. This book is a photo essay that chronicles more than 75 speeches given by the Queen during her reign. 

In 2012, during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (60th anniversary), the Royal Collection would acquire four of Andy Warhol's famous serigraph portraits of Queen Elizabeth II that were exhibited later that fall at Windsor Castle. Click HERE to view the acquired artwork.

During her Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II would get the royal treatment by gracing the cover of the May 2022 issue of Vanity Fair Magazine, with three variations of Warhol's portraits. 

On November 24, 2022, two months after her passing, a serigraph prints entitled, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from Reigning Queen, Royal Edition was sold at auction by Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Toronto for $1,141,250 CDN, double the pre-auction estimated price. Click HERE to view.

For this painting, I not only wanted to pay homage to the Queen but to Andy Warhol as well.  Incorporating a Pop Art portrait in the background would create a myriad of colors inside the canning jar. In order to establish a more cohesive palette, I took the artistic liberty of modify several colours. After painting her face a pale shade of blue, I then proceeded to paint several thin glazes of a peach hue to tone down the blue in order to avoid references to the Blue Man Group. I procrastinated for the longest time in painting the Queen's face that appears on the book. That photograph is attributed to Getty Images. Because of the perspective of the book which physically alters her features, her profile in pencil almost looked like Mr. Burns of the Simpsons. All joking aside, I was able to pull it off. In the original photo, the pearl necklace she is wearing has three strands. I opted for two so it would have more presence. 

I did a quick online search and found that the original photograph Warhol used to create his serigraph prints was taken by Peter Grugeon (1918-1980) at Windsor Castle in April 1975. It was later released in 1977 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee. Reproduction of this particular image was used extensively, appearing on commemorative merchandise as well as banknotes across the Commonwealth. In Canada, it was printed on a 25¢ stamp, which I collected at the time when I was 15 years old. On the original photograph, the dress she's wearing is in a pale shade of pink with pearl embellishment, while on the Canadian stamp it appears more to be in a mauvish tone which was the color I settle on for my painting.

Canadian Stamp SC 704 - 1977

photo by Peter Grugeon

She is wearing a collection of Royal Jewels: the Vladimir tiara, Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee necklace, Queen Alexandra's wedding earrings and the Family Orders of King George V and King George VI on the Garter sash. The tiara has a fascinating history since it was smuggled out of Russia by a British antiques dealer after the assassination of the Tsar Nicholas II and members of the Romanov family. It was later bought by Elizabeth II's grandmother Queen Mary. It originally belonged to the Grand Duchess Vladimir (1854-1920), the wife of the Tsar's uncle, Grand Duke Alexandrovich of Russia. She was the last Romanov to escape Revolutionary Russia and the first to die while in exile in France. 

Both sporting killer moustaches,

Emperor (Tsar) Nicholas II of Russia with

his doppelganger first cousin , 

George V (grand-father of Queen Elizabeth II)

photo- Wikipedia

Vladimir Tiara

The Crown mason jar in my painting is dated 1947 on the bottom. It was actually made in Canada, but for the narrative I substituted it's origin to England. The jar is only one third fill with water. I often insert a marble in the composition as a form of symbolism when my intention is to play a mind-game with the looker. More recently, in the early 21st century, increasing dissatisfaction with several members the house of Windsor and the Royal Family, especially after the death of Queen Elizabeth II has led to public support for the monarchy reaching historical lows. 

With a reign spanning seven decade, Queen Elizabeth II was the only sovereign that most of us have known during our lifetime. She was as much of an institution as anyone in modern history. I leave you with one of her speeches that is written on the back cover of the book featured in the painting. 

''For more than seventy years, I have been lucky to meet and to know many of the world's great leaders. And I have perhaps come to understand a little about what made them special.

It has sometimes been observed that what leaders do for their people today is government and politics. But what they do for the people of tomorrow - that is statesmanship.

I, for one, hope that this conference will be one of those rare occasions where everyone will have the chance to rise above the politics of the moment, and achieve true statesmanship''. 

-Her Majesty, the Queen. Address to the COP26, urging world leaders to find solution to the climate challenges facing our planet. Nov. 1, 2021.

This painting is currently on view at the Fog Forest Gallery in a group exhibition entitled, "Summer Views" - July 11 to August 30, 2024. (will be removed from exhibition if sold). Check website for gallery hours. 

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

Phone (506) 536-9000

https://fogforestgallery.ca/

e-mail: janet@fogforstgallery.ca

-SOLD

Pinned up 7-Up

 

Title- Pinned up 7-Up

14 x 14", acrylic on gessoed aluminium panel

painting #291, 2021 

7-Up was created in St Louis, Mo by Charles Leiper Grigg in 1929. The lemon-lime soft drink was initially called "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda". The formulation much like many soft drinks that were often developed by pharmacists during the late-19th and early-20th century contained a drug, in this case the mood stabilizer Lithium that is often prescribed for bi-polar disorder. It was removed from its formulation in 1948.  The name was changed to 7-Up in 1936, the same year the slogan "You Like It, It Likes You" was adopted and remained in use until the mid-1970's. There are several theories behind the origin of the name. I like the claim that 7-Up was bottled in a 7oz bottle while many other soft drinks like Coca-Cola were available in 6oz bottles. In 1961, Coca-Cola would introduce Sprite to its product line as a direct competitor to 7-Up. In 1967, sales for the product rose when it adopted the ad campaign of being an "Uncola".  

7-Up, 1970's advertisement campaign

Some time back, while in a store aisle, I spotted this dart board. The first thing that came to mind was a thought of Jasper John's "Target" paintings. I bought it as a prospect prop. It wasn't until this summer that I noticed that the colors of the vintage 7-Up bottle and the dart board were exactly the same. The positioning of the bottle with the board creates a sort of Japanese Rising Sun imagery with the bullseye. The logo and design concepts for the bottle has changed with the passage of time, always trying to stay current. I find this specific bottle to be the most iconic, maybe it's because it was the one in use while I was growing up. 

This painting will be part of a small solo show entitled "Art-ifacts", hosted by the Fog Forest Gallery in Sackville, NB from October 14 to November 5, 2021. Unfortunately, in order for the gallery to remain open during the pandemic while keeping everybody safe, the gallery director and I came to the decision that it was safer not to hold an opening reception. The public however will be able to visit the gallery at their leisure during the run of the exhibition. 

The gallery will be open on Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 5 pm or by appointment. 

The exhibition can be viewed online from the Fog Forest Gallery website at this LINK.

Update- November 15, 2021

I've decided to reframe this painting from it's initial black frame with round mat opening under glass. The aluminium panel has been mounted on a wood support and is now presented in a black floater wood frame. 

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

-SOLD

Perfect Seal Jar

 

Title - Perfect Seal Jar

10 x 8", acrylic on mounted gessoed aluminium panel

painting #289, 2021 

I acquired this antique canning jar in 2016 at an estate sale in Summerside, PEI. After I did the photo study for this painting the following year, I dropped a handful of marbles inside the jar, the jar cracked and the bottom fell out.  The same thing later happened with an antique Ball mason jar, except the jar didn't shatter but has a major crack that I was able to secure with a piece of scotch tape. Lesson learned with jars and marbles. Glass hitting glass can either break a jar or even chip a marble. 

It's impressive the amount of different brands of antique canning jars that were produced in Canada more than half a century ago. It's always a thrill when I spot a new-to-me jar in an antique shop. It was a time when a lot more people had gardens and did all kinds of preserves for winter. While canning still remains a must for many, what has changed however, almost all fruits and vegetables are now available year-round in grocery stores. Before world-wide importation or green house farming, most fresh produce in grocery stores were seasonal. 

This painting will be part of a small solo show entitled "Art-ifacts", hosted by the Fog Forest Gallery in Sackville, NB from October 14 to November 5, 2021. Unfortunately, in order for the gallery to remain open during the pandemic while keeping everybody safe, the gallery director and I came to the decision that it was safer not to hold an opening reception. The public however will be able to visit the gallery at their leisure during the run of the exhibition. The gallery will be open on Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 5 pm or by appointment. 

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

Phone (506) 536-9000

e-mail: janet@fogforstgallery.ca

-SOLD  

Improved Corona Jar

 

Title - "Improved Corona Jar"

12 x 14", acrylic on mounted gessoed aluminium panel

painting #288, 2021

This painting might look fun and whimsical at first glance, but it is a allegorical piece that is also meant to pose as a form of social commentary. 

When the Covid-19 pandemic started in early January 2020, the main concern was to try to contain the virus and stop it from spreading. With no vaccine existing, it wasn't long before there were clusters of outbreaks with this virus being so highly contagious. The only way to stop the spread was to put sanitary measures and for many countries to go in lock down, resulting in the massive disruption of our daily lives. As cases multiplied, the healthcare system was soon overwhelmed with lack of PPE and patients going in severe respiratory distress, having to be sedated and intubated while trying to ride off the storm on a ventilator. It was the beginning of a very stressful time for frontline and healthcare workers. Even if all of this was happening, it kind of brought the world together. There were often rallies in front of hospitals in support of healthcare workers, households displaying rainbow signs in their windows that everything was going to be alright, the Zoom platform exploding in popularity, people in cities opening their windows to sing and play music as a form of solidarity.  

Then all of a sudden, it became political, especially when mask mandates were implemented, which for some was a breach of the civil liberties. Science deniers and conspiracy theories would soon follow suite on social media and right-wing channels. Then the virus gradually became an instrument that caused division within the population.

In late 2020, there was hope on the horizon when several pharmaceutical research companies announcing that vaccines had been developed and were being approved for emergency use after their trials were completed.  These were found to have a very high efficacy rate in warding off the disease, hospitalization or deaths. 

When the vaccine rollout started, the response for vaccines was overwhelming. Finally, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. While some remained vaccine hesitant, the anti-mask / anti-vaccine militants started rallies in protest. Still hope remained as the general population continued to roll up their sleeves to get shots into arm. There was a possibility that herd immunity might be achievable if 70-75% or more of the population would become fully immunized. 

That theory seemed sound until the variants started to appear. The vaccines still remain highly effective with high efficacy rate among the general population with no underlying or auto-immune conditions in warding off, complications such as long Covid, hospitalization or death. When the Delta variant started to spread during the summer in the United States, it was a evident, that a pending storm was about to hit us with a 4th wave.  Especially when mask mandates were temporary lifted, our province opened its borders to the rest of Canada and later to the US. It was then referred to as  the pandemic of the unvaccinated, now affecting a much younger slice of the population as this variant is more than 2x as contagious as the previous variants according to the CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention). 

When the federal and provincial governments started to gradually impose vaccination mandates for many public workers and students, followed by vaccine passports to access non essential services, this would incite and fuel the anti-vaxxers to start protesting in front of  hospitals against health care workers. You just can't make this stuff up. Within a year, rallies in front of hospitals went from cheers to jeers.

Our province of New Brunswick had fared rather well since the beginning of the pandemic with all of the precautionary measures in place and were regularly revised depending on the state of contagion. The tide has since turned as we are currently experiencing an unprecedent influx with record high daily number of new cases infected with the Delta variant, hospitalisation and patients requiring ICU care. And this is with 90,1% of the eligible population having received one vaccine and 81,1% that are fully immunized. The fact remains that even if there are breakthrough infections, 80% of those requiring hospitalization are the unvaccinated, proving the the vaccines do work. Our provincial government announced this week that it would be imposing a circuit-breaker system in specific regions in order to contain the transmission of the virus since our hospital system is currently overwhelmed with Covid-19 infections. 

________   

As some of you may or may not know, I was a registered nurse for 35 years before retiring in 2017. On my birthday in late January, my wife offered me a scrumptious cloud cake. Three hours after making a wish and blowing the candles, I received a telephone call from my former employer. They weren't birthday wishes.  It was to join the vaccination taskforce for the vaccine rollout with public health. My response was, "Be careful for what you wish for" since my wish was for an end of the pandemic by year's end. After I received my first vaccine in March, I came out of retirement and started working at vaccination clinics, putting shots into arm. 

As a still life painter, I've been collecting small props for many years. Whenever I get a visceral response or I feel an attraction or a connection for a particular object, I will often buy it on impulse. It can be the first element that can immediately  ignite an idea or concept for a painting. Other times, it can take many years before an event might trigger a response when these stored objects come out of hibernation to be used to create the narrative.

Back in 2006, I was watching the Scotiabank Giller Prize on CBC. The Giller Prize, is a top literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English the previous year. The winner that year was "Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures" by Vincent Lam. Dr Lam is a medical doctor and was working as an emergency physician in Toronto at the time of his win. The book is a collection of short stories connected through the relationship that develop among a group of young doctors as they move from the challenges of med school to the intense world of emergency rooms, evac mission and terrifying new viruses. I bought the book shortly thereafter. The title alone intrigued me and thought, it would be a great prop for a painting, but under what circumstances? 

After I had started working at the vaccination clinic, I can across this Corona mason jar which was stored on a back of a shelf in my studio. When I bought it back in 2016, it dawn on me that it was the Spanish word for crown. Also, that I had previously acquired some Crown jars for a commission painting. In the context of the pandemic, the moment I saw the word Corona on the jar, it took a whole different meaning. It was then that the whole narrative for the painting came to me. Later that week , while working at the clinic, a pharmacist who pre-loads the syringes with the vaccine for the nurses kindly gave me an empty vial of the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine. I often refer to marbles as the mind, in the context of, "I'm losing my marbles". I won't go any further with the narrative and let you draw your own interpretation. Just know that the jar is flooded in light and hope. 

While I was painting away, I listened to "Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures" on audio book.  One of the short stories is entitled "Contact Tracing".  It deals with the SARS-CoV-1 that occurred in Toronto during the outbreak between 2002-2004. The initials stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-1. The narrator send chills down my spine as the unfolding drama was exactly the same as with our current pandemic. Lack of PPE, medical personnel getting infected and issues that arises while working in a hospital setting during a pandemic.

During that pandemic, 8110 cases with a 10% mortality rate were reported worldwide from 31 countries. The United States reported 27 cases with no deaths, while Canada reported 251 cases, 44 deaths including one doctor and two nurses who worked at a Toronto hospital. SARS-CoV-1 is one of seven known coronaviruses to infect humans. This current pandemic is SARS-CoV-2. When many claim that the vaccine was rushed and developed too quickly, what many don't realize is that the science and research in developing a vaccine for a coronavirus had been in the works in vaccine research labs for years. It's quite impossible to test a specific vaccine for a 3-phase human clinical trial if there is no outbreak within an infected population. 

But if we all coming together, follow sanitary mesures, do our citizen duty by getting vaccinated to protect ourselves and all those around us; maybe, just maybe, we'll put an end to this pandemic. 

   

Buy the book through these links-

Amazon -Canada

Chapters/Indigo- Canada

This painting will be part of a small solo show entitled "Art-ifacts", hosted by the Fog Forest Gallery in Sackville, NB from October 14 to November 5, 2021. Unfortunately, in order for the gallery to remain open during the pandemic while keeping everybody safe, the gallery director and I came to the decision that it was safer not to hold an opening reception. The public however will be able to visit the gallery at their leisure during the run of the exhibition. 

The gallery will be open on Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 5 pm or by appointment. 

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

Phone (506) 536-9000

e-mail: janet@fogforstgallery.ca

-SOLD

Lose One's Marbles

 

Acrylic on mounted gessoed aluminum panel

11 x 14", painting #279, 2020

I've done several still life paintings using vintage mason jars with marbles. My last one goes back about a decade now. It's always interesting to revisit past subject matter to see how one's fare as my craft continues to evolve. In recent years, I've been using a lot more opacity while painting with transparent glazing on top. I am pleased with the outcome.

For this study, I purchased a 12 x 18 in. white glossy ceramic floor tile from Home Depot which I laid on the windowsill to serve as the base. Its glossiness provided a mirror like effect that I was hoping for. 

The lampwork hand crafted marble on the glass lid was done by an American artisan. I acquired it from the artist a few years ago. This one even has a gold dust ribbon swirl. 

Currently exhibited in a group show entitled "Apart Together, a Weary World Rejoices" at the Forest Fog Gallery, Nov. 20- Dec. 31, 2020

To acquire this painting please contact:

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

Phone (506) 536-9000

e-mail: janet@fogforstgallery.ca

-SOLD

Le Chemin

Acrylic on gessoed mounted birch panel, 7 x 5"

painting #263, 2018

I've just return from a one month stay in Europe. My main goal was to return on the Camino and complete the Puy Way in France that my wife and I had started last year. In 2017, we hiked 270 km from Puy en Velay to Figeac over 10 days. My wife would suffer a knee injury and we were forced to stop here.

This year, I flew to Paris alone and did some sightseeing for three days before catching a train for Figeac. I had planned 19 days to complete the 480 km trek from Figeac to the French-Spanish border town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. By day-4, I would encounter my own problem by accumulating 12 blisters on my feet. After a week on the Camino, I decided to stop in Moissac for the weekend to give my sad feet a break. I would resume my hike for another week. The two days off and having to arrive one day ahead of schedule because of an on-going train strike, would force me to leave the Camino on day-16 since Aire-sur-L'Adour was the last town I had access to public transportation. In summary, I hiked a total of 335 km over 14 days plus 2 days of rest. I was very fortunate to have so many wonderful encounters and made many new friends during the whole trip. 

I took full advantage of my time in Europe by spending three days each in Paris, Bordeaux, London, Dublin, Ireland /Belfast, Northern Ireland. I visited in excess of 30 museums, galleries, venues and countless churches which included: 

• The Louis Vuitton Foundation, L'Orangerie, le Musée D'Orsay, Musée Rodin, Panthéon, les Invalides all in Paris. 
• Le Musée-des-Beaux-Arts, Cité du Vin in Bordeaux. 
• The Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Portrait Museum, the National Gallery, the British Museum, the Tate Modern, the Tate Britain, the Saatchi Gallery, the Chelsea Flower Show - all in London.  
• The National Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Guinness Storehouse all in Dublin.
• The Titanic Belfast. 

This small painting was a gift to my friend Philippe and his wife Dora (an amazing classical pianist) who graciously invited me to stay with them during my three night stay in Paris. I met Philippe nine years ago while hiking the 800 km of the Camino Francés in Spain. We've kept in touch ever since. It was great to see him and meet his family. Last year, he completed both the ultra-endurance races of the Marathon des Sables in Morrocco in the spring and the Marathon des Sables in Peru in the fall. This composition features a Tintin figuring of Cigars of the Pharaoh resting on Le Pèlerin de Compostelle (The Pilgrimage) by Paulo Coelho. The book was published in 1987, a year before his runaway best seller, The Alchemist. The image is infused with symbolism that represents Philippe very well, not only for his athletic abilities but for his humanity as well. 

Private collection - Paris, France. 

Shooter Marble in Shooter Glass

7 x 5", acrylic on gessoed hardboard

painting #255, 2017

A play on words inspired the imagery for this study. During the spring of 2014, we visited Coca-Cola World, a museum of everything Coke in Atlanta, which is also where their headquarter is located. I picked up a few items in the gift shop on our way out, this shooter glass was one of them. The glass study rests on blank card with Andy Warhol's "Three Coke Bottles", 1962 on the cover. 

Coca-Cola is by far the most popular soft drink in the world, sold in 200 countries, with 1,8 billion servings consumed daily.

Part of my two-person show with Yvon Gallant entitled ''HARVEST'' at the Fog Forest Gallery from October 12 - November 8, 2017.

Fog Forest Gallery
14 Bridge Street
Sackville, NB, Canada
(506) 536-9000
websire- http:/fogforestgallery.ca

-SOLD

Marbles for Anne Shirley

Acrylic on mounted gessoed birch panel, 6 x 8"

Painting #253, 2017

The spirit of Anne of Green Gables remains alive and well, 109 years after Lucy Maud Montgomery brought the Prince Edward Island icon to life in her series of novels. Anne of Green Gables: The Musical has been performed every summer at The Charlottetown Festival - Confederation Centre of the Arts since 1965, making it Canada's longest-running musical. In March 2014, the production was officially recognized as the longest running annual musical theatre production in the world by Guinness World Record.

Anne with an E, a new critically acclaimed Canadian television series based on the book started airing on CBC earlier this spring and is available for streaming elsewhere in the world on Netflix. Amybeth NcNulty was chosen to play the role of Anne Shirley from approximately 1800 girls who audition for the role.

This painting was inspired from Anne of Green Gable, the animated series, episode #20 (2002) entitled "Marbles". These marbles are resting on the 2015 Charlottetown Festival Program. 

Part of my two-person show with Yvon Gallant entitled ''HARVEST'' at the Fog Forest Gallery from October 12 - November 8, 2017.

Fog Forest Gallery
14 Bridge Street
Sackville, NB, Canada
(506) 536-9000
websire- http:/fogforestgallery.ca
-SOLD

Hello Kitty rides The Great Wave

12 x 12'', acrylic on gessoed birch panel

painting # 237, 2016

This painting combines both past and present elements of oriental art and popular culture pertaining to Japan. Last year I did a painting of the same Hello Kitty oriental take-out food inspired candy container, except this time I've opted to include the lid and present it as a vessel.

The background art is perhaps the best known artwork by a Japanese artist to the rest of the world. The Great Wave off Kanagawa (a.k.a. The Great Wave) by Katsushika Hokusai is a woodblock print part of a series entitled the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. It was created during the end of the Edo period circa 1829-1832. Here it is shown sideways off the pages of the art book, ''999 Art Works you must know, you should know and you really impress if you know'' published by Scala Group, Florence Italy (pages 520-521).

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai

I can't recall when I first saw The Great Wave, except it created a lasting impression after visiting Claude Monet's house in Giverny back in 2006.  Monet started collecting Japanese woodblock prints around 1864, which in turn would inspire him to build and incorporate a waterlily pond and a Japanese footbridge on his land beyond his flower gardens. These two elements would contribute to inspire a series of paintings which would become some of his best known work. Monet's collection of woodblock prints are exhibited throughout his house. His own artwork shown in his home however are only in form of reproductions. The Great Wave off Kanagawa can also be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago among several others. 

During our visit to Washington DC, back in 2012, we spotted a mural of The Great Wave on the side of a building near the campus of Georgetown University that was brilliantly done.

Hello Kitty continues her phenomenal wave of popularity with owner Sanrio serving as the marketing empire using the white bobtail cat on more than 50,000 products worldwide. Her actual name is Kitty White. In 2014, Sanrio celebrated Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary with a first Hello Kitty convention. The sold-out event, a global gathering of fans and friends was held in Los Angeles from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.  A museum exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum and unique collaborations and limited edition commemorative products were also made for her milestone birthday.  

While waiting in line for Broadway Show tickets at Times Square in NYC during the Christmas Holidays, I spotted a Sanrio Store. Unfortunately, I did not have time to visit the holdings of Hello Kitty treasures it had on display. 

Sanrio Store, Times Square, NYC

December, 2015

While Hello Kitty was initially conceive for a target audience of young girls, it has definitely crossed over to the adult market as well and gone mainstream. Last week-end I saw a screening of the new Marvel movie, ''Deadpool'' starring Ryan Reynolds as the protagonist. This film is rated R. During the opening credits, there is a Hello Kitty product placement floating in space, then later on in the movie, a Hello Kitty dufflebag can be seen in the front seat of a taxi cab. 

On July 3, 2015, Sanrio announced a full-length Hello Kitty theatrical film to be released in 2019 which will certainly attract a very wide audience around the globe and increase her popularity even more.  

-SOLD

Mondrian on Monopoly

Acrylic on gessoed birch panel, 10 x 12''

painting #236, 2015

I've mentioned before that the Piet Mondrian's grid like paintings reminds me of the Monopoly board game. While visiting Philadelphia with my family this past October and doing some sightseeing, we unexpectedly came across the Municipal Service Building Plaza right next to the JFK Plaza (Love Park) which features gigantic game pieces from Sorry, Monopoly, Chess, Dominoes and Bingo. This 1996 art installation is appropriately named ''Your Move'' and is the brainchild of artists Daniel Martinez, Renée Petropoulis and Roger White. Upon seeing it, the whole narrative for this painting came to me. Little did I know that two days later, I would see a Piet Mondrian at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

We just returned from a four day Christmas Getaway Vacation in New York City and during our visit to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), we got to see a whole wall of Mondrian's grid paintings. The painting shown below (lower left) entitled ''Broadway Boogie Woogie'', oil on canvas, 1942-43 was painted after Piet Mondrian moved to New York City to escape WWII. It was influenced by boogie-woogie music. For a great sample click HERE.

This painting was SOLD upon posting it on social media to a collector living in the Netherlands, the native land of Mondrian, how appropriate.

This is my last post for 2015. Thanking you all for checking out my art blog throughout the year and to the patrons who acquired some of my artwork. May 2016 bring you much contentment, happiness and peace.  

-SOLD

Having a Ball with Little Miss Sunshine

Acrylic on gessoed masonite, 7 x 5''

Painting #234, 2015

While my son Jean-Luc, now 20 was in kindergarten, he introduced me to the series of book known as Mr. Men and Little Miss, or to us in French as Monsieur, Madame. 

These children books were introduced to the world in 1971 by British author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves. The first book he wrote was called Mr. Tickles. It was inspired when his young son Adam asked him what a tickle looked like. He would go on to produce a total of 46 booklets for the Mr. Men series. In 1981, the Little Miss series followed suit with another 33 humorous books that are also about universal human emotions and morality. In 1988, the world would mourn the loss of Hargreaves who died quite young at the age of 53 following a series of stokes. His son Adam (born 1964), took over the empire his father had created and after some rigorous training, was able to continue to publish new offerings. The popularity of the books was an instant hit spawning a BBC animated series for Mr. Men in 1974 and for Little Miss in 1983. The sales of the books has reach a staggering 100 millions, sold in 28 countries and translated in more than 10 languages.

Click:  Here and Here for some nice interviews and video demos with his son Adam Hargreaves.

The rights to the characters has been sold twice. Since 2011, they are currently owned by Sanrio, the same company that owns Hello Kitty. 

The four-time Oscar nominated film, ''Little Miss Sunshine'' starring Abigail Breslin in the title role is not related to this book. 

Mason jars or canning jars has been incorporated in the composition of many of my painting for their beauty and also as symbolism for preserving things, whether memories or objects. The Ball Corporation, originally Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Co. has been in business since 1880. Last year I purchased a box of 6 blue tinted Ball Mason jars issued to commemorate 100 years of American Heritage (1912-1915). The one used in this painting is a vintage model that came with the zinc lid.

To be exhibited in the 2015 Small Works Invitational at the 

Ober Anderson Gallery

101A West Argonne Drive, 

Kirkwood, Missouri

(St Louis, MO)

Exhibition Dates: November 6-December 31, 2015 

Public Reception: November 20, 2015

-SOLD