Racines Acadiennes

 

16 x 12", acrylic on mounted gessoed aluminium panel

painting #303, 2025

These two local history books belongs to the clients who commissioned this painting. Both grew up in Acadian villages, but in different provinces. This painting is an homage honoring their ancestors and Acadian roots. 

Father Anselme Chiasson, the author of Chéticamp, histoire et traditions acadiennes (1961) is also the co-author of Sainte-Anne-de-Kent (1886-1986) which was co-written by Arthur Poirier, father of one of the clients.

Father Anselme Chiasson (1911-2004) was an Acadian Catholic priest, historian, ethnographer, and folklorist. He was a staunch defender of Acadia, both for it's language and culture. His name is associated with the founding not only of the Université de Moncton, but especially of the Centre d'études acadiennes (Center for Acadian Studies) which, under his leadership, became a reference on Acadian history, culture, and genealogy. While representing the Church and preaching the faith throughout his life, he denounced injustices toward the Acadian community.

He played a prominent role in promoting historical research. In 1960, he co-founded the Acadian Historical Society in New Brunswick with Father Clément Cormier and journalist Émery Leblanc. He also served as an archivist. In 1961, he founded Les Éditions des Aboiteaux, the first publishing house in Acadia, of which the book of Chéticamp pictured above was published that same year. He himself is the author of some fifteen books.

On the occasion of his 70th birthday, author Antonine Maillet wrote: "Of all the Acadians I know, Father Anselme Chiasson is the most Acadian." Father Chiasson was named an officer to the Order of Canada  along the designations of Chevalier to several French orders.  

While these books carry significant importance to their owners, the Sainte-Anne-de-Kent book is especially significant to me personally. Upon graduating from Nursing School, I would spent the next five years working in a rural hospital located in this community. It is here that I would meet my future wife and where I did my first painting. The artwork on the book cover is by the artist René Hébert. Hébert was born in Moncton in 1932. He studied fine arts at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal. He initially worked as a graphic artist in Toronto before moving to Sainte-Anne-de-Kent along the Northumberland Strait where he would set up his art studio and raised his family with his wife. He paints with an economy of brush strokes using bold and expressive colors exploring rural life and the landscape of Eastern Canada. He was a friend of the Quebec artist Tex Lecor. It's evident that they were influenced by the artists of the Group of Seven. I visited his studio during the mid 1990's and acquired one of his iconic paintings.

Prior to the publishing of this book, the wooded Roman Catholic Church in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent depicted on the cover had received the designation of Provincial Historic Site. The interior featured 48 iconographic frescos and paintings by local artist Édouard Gautreau, a Murano glass chandelier and sculptures by its' architect Léon Léger. I remember attending mass here and zoning out of what the priest was saying as my head was always going around in circles looking at the artwork. That church was often referred to as the Acadian Sistine Chapel. Sadly, on June 29, 2005, the church was hit by lightning and quickly burned to the ground. Only a few removeable pieces of artwork were saved. Growing up in Cap-Lumière, I was an alter boy while attending church in Richibouctou-Village. A massive painting of Saint Antony of Padua also painted by Edouard Gautreau hung above the alter. It's certainly the first great work of art that I saw as a child and have probably spend hundreds of hours admiring it. Sainte-Anne-de-Kent is also where my own mother was born and grew up. 

As retirement was looming for the couple who commissioned this painting, they decided to leave big city life, change province and built their dream home on rural ancestral land. This painting is to grace their new house. I proposed using my Preserve mason jar for the peonies, her favorite flower. The original purpose of these canning jar is to preserve food. Symbolically, I often use them as a vehicle for preserving memories. The composition rests on is a Danish/Scandinavian inspired mid-century modern side table. This piece of furniture had sentimental value to her since it brought flair and style to her former workplace. I was pretty much given full artistic license as they wanted the artwork to be painted in my signature style. I chose an outdoor setting as I wanted the peonies to bask in natural light. 

During the late 1980's, I became a fan of the Canadian alternative rock band Chalk Circle. In 1987, they released an album entitled, Mending Wall. The inspiration for the title was borrowed from a Robert Frost poem of the same name. Good fences makes good neighbors, a line from that poem also appeared in the lyrics of their song N.I.M.B.Y. (not in my backyard). Since then, every time I see a fence, the Robert Frost reference always comes to mind. With that said, I've opted for a fence in the background as I've done in several previous painting.

Mending Wall, a poem by Robert Frost 

N.I.M.B.Y  (not in my backyard) - by Chalk Circle

Music video filmed in Dartmouth and Peggy's Cove, NS.

-Private Collection

Lollies for Dali, an homage

14 x 11 inches, acrylic on gessoed mounted aluminium panel               

 painting #299, 2024 - black floater frame 

While window shopping in Halifax a decade ago, I entered the Freak Lunchbox candy store on Barrington Street. I was aware of the existence of Chupa Chups lollipops, but I think that it was the first time that I actually saw some in person. The sight of them gave me a visceral response, so I bought two. Upon my return home, I did a Google search about this candy on a stick. Chupa Chups is a Spanish brand of lollipops and confectionary founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat.    

In 1969, Salvador Dali was approached to reinvent their logo. He would set the Chupa Chups name inside a daisy shape flower and suggested that the logo be place on top of the lolly instead of its' side. It would soon become one of those iconic commercial logos and help propulse the brand. 

Click to view this entertaining bio of Dali

Upon learning this, I knew I had to paint these while paying an homage to Salvador Dali. I would soon acquire a coffee table book entitled Dali Pop-Ups by Courtney Watson McCarthy. The book features the Persistance of Memory on its cover which seemed fitting to anchor a composition. Since these lollipops were hard to find in New Brunswick, I ordered a dozen from an on-line vendor. When they arrived, they were much smaller than I had anticipating, so I decided to put this painting on hold for the time being. Almost a decade would go by.

While standing inline at a self checkout at Walmart this past summer, I spotted a few open boxes of XXL Chupa Chups in the now so-call candy aisle. These were the size that I had envisioned for a painting, so I bought six. In keeping with the narrative, I changed Ball to Dali on the vintage mason jar. It was quite the challenge to paint.     

                                          _________________

My love affair of visiting art galleries and museums across North America and Europe began soon after I began painting in 1987. Among the firsts, was the Beaverbrook Art Gallery (BAG) in Fredericton, the designated art museum of the province of New Brunswick. It was here that I was introduced to the art of surrealist painter/artist Salvador Dali. The gallery owns no less than five of his paintings, among them is one of his masterworks, Santiago El Grande painted in 1957.

This painting was first exhibited as the centerpiece inside the Spanish Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Once the fair closed, the massive painting was acquired by Lady Dunn (Marcia Anastasia Christoforides), wife of the late James Dunn. It was gifted to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery when it opened in 1959. The Dunn's had established a relationship with Dali since that late 1940's, having commissioned three portraits paintings that also hang in the Beaverbrook.

Santiago El Grande, oil on canvas, 1957

Beaverbrook Art Gallery, November 2022.

After many visits to the BAG, it's quite possibly the painting that I've spent the most time admiring inside an art museum during my lifetime.  I was finally able to connect the dots and fully grasp the scope of the imagery with its symbolism and metaphors during the process of preparing my 800 km hike on the Camino de Santiago back in 2009 (Way of Saint James). 

Santiago El Grande translates to Saint James the Great, who's the patron saint of Spain. Legends has it that the apostle James the Great made a miraculous apparition at the Battle of Clavijo during the Reconquista, helping the Christians conquer the Muslim Moors during middle ages. In art, Saint James is often depicted on a white horse while holding a sword and given the name of Moor-slayer. In this Salvador Dali's painting, the sword has been replaced by a crucifix made of light beams with Jesus looking towards heaven. His hands are not nailed to the cross but are facing upwards while forming the shape of cups. Symbolically holding all of the sins of the world.  

Video description of Salvador Dali's paintings

at the BAG, narrated by John Leroux, art historian and 

currently manager of the collections and exhibitions at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

In 2005, we visited the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. It houses a comprehensive collection of more that 2400 works of all kinds, spanning the entire artistic career of Dali. The collection was acquired over a 40 year period by art patron and friends of Dali, Ohio couple Reynolds and Eleanor Reese Morse. The museum is the home to more masterpieces of Dalí than any other museum in the world, including eight large-scale paintings. In 2011, the collection was moved into a new modern day storm secure complex. 

Self in from of the old Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Fla. - 2005

My son Jean-Luc, age 10, napping on a melting clock bench at the Salvador 

Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Fla. 2005.

Over the years, I had a chance to see, The Persistance of Memory up-close on several occasions. Housed in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City, although smallish, it's considered by many to be his most famous painting. I've also had the good fortune to view countless others during my travels and was pleasantly surprise to even discover a few at Musei Vaticani in Vatican City.  

While vacationing in Torremolinos, Spain this spring, we rented a condo-apartment for one week. Less than a km away, along the sea-side promenade are two sculptures of Salvador Dali and his wife Gala who stayed here during the spring of 1930.   

Sculpture of painter Salvador Dali and his muse Gala, 

whom between April and May 1930 resided in the Santa Clara Guesthouse, 

where Dali created the painting "The Invisible Man". 

Avant-garde poets Manuel Altolaguirre and Emilio Prados are the two other figures

who were part of the Generation of '27.

This painting is currently on view at the Fog Forest Gallery in a group exhibition entitled, "Winter Songs" - Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, 2024. (painting will be removed from exhibition if sold). Check website for gallery hours.

To acquire this painting please contact: 

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

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

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

A Moveable Feast

11 x 14", acrylic on gessoed aluminium panel

painting #265, 2018

This painting is a commission piece for a lovely couple who have a summer home in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. My wife and I met them over a wonderful lunch she had prepared for us of seafood chowder, salad and trifle for dessert. I started to brainstorm ideas for a composition as we got acquainted, then did a photo shoot in their backyard overlooking the Minas Basin / Bay of Fundy. 

In the past, I have used mason jars in several of my paintings. These utilitarian bottles designed for preserving food become an allegorical form of symbolism when used in preserving personal objects, places, memories. I did the photo studies for the painting during low tide, when most of the basin had emptied out, revealing a muddy clay bottom floor. I was later sent photos taken at high tide and painted from several pictures. 

Without going into specific details, from our first meeting to delivering the finish painting I found the whole process informed me in creating a very biographical piece just by using props. Every objects and the space in the composition had personal meaning to her, all anchored on a table build by her grand father.

On a personal note, this area is also dear to me since my French ancestor came to Acadia in 1652 and settled in nearby Port Royal. Along this basin's shore lies Evangeline Beach where the late artist, Alex Colville owned a summer cottage and used the setting as a back drop for several of his paintings. He lived in nearby Wolfville. 

When I started to concentrate on still life painting at the turn of the millennium, the artwork of Mary Pratt would become my main source of inspiration. What distinguished Mrs. Pratt from most still life painters apart from her signature approach to painting glass, light and colour palette was that she used the natural setting in and around her home instead of setting up a composition in a very neutral and unassuming space. On a very sad note, she passed away on August 14 after a lengthy illness at the age of 83. I completed this painting at the end of August and would dedicate the remaining hours in her memory. It is a great loss for her family, all those who loved her and the Canadian artistic community.

Mary Pratt photographed in January, 2000

Globe and Mail

-Commission 

Kitchen windowsill in the Olson House

12 x 9", acrylic on gessoed hardboard

painting #249, 2017

Three years ago, I visited the Olson House located in Cushing Maine. The Hathorn-Olson House was built in the late 1700s by Captain Samuel Hathorn II. It was lived in until 1968 by brother and sister, Alvaro Olson and Christina Olson, both were descendants of Hathorn.

It is in the registry of the US National Historic Landmarks after being made famous by Andrew Wyeth's many paintings and sketches done on site that includes the iconic "Christina's World". It is located in a bucolic and isolated rural area of Maine that boost a partially obstructed view of the Muscongus Bay. It was a totally surreal experience to move within the landscape and to visit the interior. The house has very little furnishings. The kitchen had a few dusty mason jars on the counter. I took one and put it on the sill of the open kitchen window. I could feel the warm backdraft coming from the breeze from the screened front door as I laid the canning jar down. The sun was setting on the opposite side of the house which created a nice contrast from the foreground to the background. 

The Olson House, Cushing, Maine 

Interior of the Olson House. June 2014.

The House is currently owned by the Farnsworth Art Museum located in beautiful Rockland, Maine which I had visited earlier that morning. 

Part of my two-person show with Yvon Gallant entitled ''HARVEST'' at the Fog Forest Gallery from 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