Bobbing for Apples

Title- Bobbing for Apples

10 x 12", acrylic on mounted gessoed aluminium panel

painting #290, 2021

Bobbing for apples (aka- apple bobbing, dooking, apple ducking, duck-apple, snap apple night) is a game often played on Halloween. The game is played with floating apples in a tub or basin filled with water. Players then try to catch one with their teeth. Use of arms is not allowed, and the hands are often tied behind the back to prevent cheating. I first played it in eight grade during activities held at school on Halloween day. After several unsuccessful attempts in trying to take a bite out of a floating apple, I took a no holds barred approach going head first in the water and immobilizing an apple on the bottom of the tub. When I reemerged, I was declared the winner of my round. The prize was a 45 rpm record of Paul McCartney & Wings hit single "Let 'em in". Click HERE to listen. 

During the fall of 2017, we spent a few days in the province of Québec. As we drove around the bucolic Île d'Orléans, we did a few stops, including a visit to a vineyard for some wine tasting. We also bought some fresh produce at the farmer's market that included a large box of honey crisp apples. When we got back home, I did a photo session on the back deck of the house inspired mainly by the cool vintage  "Pommes Québec Apples" graphics on the box. Out of the several pics I took was one that inspired the above painting. The intense blue colour inside the galvanized pail is actually a reflection of the sky. I like how the primary colors co-exist in a rather monochrome surrounding.

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.

-SOLD

Marathon, a self portrait

Acrylic on gessoed hardboard, 12 x 12''

2012, painting #212

The Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, CA invited me last summer to take part in an invitational group show entitled ''Face Yourself'' that will feature artist self portraits. The invite stated, ''This can be conceived from your own point of view, how you think people view you, etc...You can get as creative as you want, there are no rules. I think the possibilities are endless and the outcome of the show is going to be fabulously unexpected and fun''.

I really went outside the box for this one, and literally inside a jar. Although I have been painting for 25 years, my artistic professional career only began 10 years ago. Prior to 2002, I completed an average of only two paintings per year. For a full decade, my main focus during my spare time was pursuing my dream of being a marathon runner.

I started running in 1976 at age 14 while in junior High School. The Summer Olympics held in Montreal that same year would leave an indelible mark on me. When Canadian Olympian Jerome Drayton won the Boston Marathon the following spring in 1977, his victory would ignite the flame within me to become a long distance runner and to one day follow in his footsteps.

The journey getting there was long and arduous. After competing in athletics and cross country races in junior and high school, I made the transition to road races.  During my twenties, I had my share of running related injuries and was diagnosed at age 26 with heel strike hemolysis. A rather rare condition causing damage to red blood cells occurring during intensive training and repetitive foot strike when running resulting in anaemia. This was corrected with iron supplement and kept in-check afterwards while continuing the therapy. 

In September 1992,  at age 30, the stars finally aligned for me and I would run my first full marathon. I had waited so long for this day, and thought it might be my one and only, so I decided to go big and run the Toronto Marathon, the city where my hero Jerome Drayton lived. I was so overwhelmed by it all and remember being teary eyed several times during the race. Half way in, I was still on pace to qualify for the Boston Marathon. With about 5 miles to go, I would hit the wall. I would however get a second wind on the final mile and had enough left in the tank to sprint the last 200m as we were greeted inside Varsity Stadium where a massive jumbo screen was set up and spectators in the bleachers cheers us in. I finished in a time of 3h22:10. It was a defining moment in my life and from that point on, I was hooked.  

My next goal was to achieve the qualifying standard for the Boston Marathon which was 3h10:59 for a male runner under 35. This would finally happen seven marathons and three years later on May 14, 1995 at the Johnny Miles Marathon in New Glascow, Nova Scotia. On this very difficult course, I would achieve a personal best of 3h11:30.  I would find out later that year that my clocking would stand and I received my ticket to the start line of the historical 100th running of the Boston Marathon that was held on April 15, 1996. Running my first Boston Marathon easily qualifies as the greatest moment of my whole athletic journey. The history behind this event is rich and is considered by many as the people's Olympics. It has always been held on the third Monday of April on Patriots Day. The inaugural running of the Boston Marathon took place in 1897. It was inspired by the marathon of the first Olympiads of modern era held in Athens, Greece the previous year.

In total, I completed 22 marathons and every one hold a special place in my heart. From the get-go, I decided to combine the races with travelling, and visiting art galleries and museums whenever possible. For the exception of three Boston Marathons (1996, 1999 and 2000) and two New York City Marathons (1994, 2002), all the others were in different towns and cities, twelve in the United States, nine in Canada plus the Bermuda Marathon. 

In the composition for this painting, the photograph of myself was taken during the last mile of the 1999 Boston Marathon.

The seven bid numbers used in the composition are among the marathons which hold the most importance on various levels.  From the top left -clockwise: 

1- New York City Marathon - 2002 

Bill Rodgers is a 4-time New York City and

4-time Boston Marathon Champion. 
One of the greatest ambassador the sport has ever known.

2- Maine Marathon - 1998 
3- The 100th running of the Boston Marathon - 1996. 

4- The Toronto Marathon - 1992
5- The Fredericton Marathon - 2001 
6- The Johnny Miles Marathon - New Glascow, NS.- 1995

7- The Chicago Marathon - 1993

By using a Mason jar, I am essentially preserving the memory of a self from a not so distance past, during a period where I physically felt the most alive and invincible.

UPDATE- January 5, 2013
This painting is currently on exhibit in ''Face Yourself'', an Invitational group show being held from January 3-31, 2013 at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California.

Participating artists includes the talents of Lisa Alonzo, Teresa N. Fischer, Jeff Nebeker, Rogelio Manzo, Elizabeth Barlow, Jennifer Balkan, Ryoko Tajiri, Kenney Mencher, Micah Crandall-Bear, Bryan Mark Taylor, John Tarahteeff, Jelaine Faunce, Randy Brennan, Gale Hart, Terry Pappas, Maren Conrad, Gary Pruner, Patricia Wall and John Karl Claes. 

Collection of the artist. 

1940 Chevy Truck

Acrylic on gessoed hardboard, 2010

9 x 12'', #184

The Atlantic Nationals is an annual car show held in Moncton during the month of July. This Chevy truck was parked under a bright sun with puffy clouds underneath a tall leafy tree. This explains all of the unusual and freaky stuff happening on the bright red paint surface. It's quite evident that this pick-up has a proud owner and it's condition is immaculate, even sporting some amazing mag wheels. It's all eye candy to me and becomes an irresistible subject matter to paint.

As I was doing the pencil drawing, it occured to me to personalized the New Brunswick licence plate. Instead of signing the painting as I usually do, the new plate now reveals the info for the painting.

AVR- are my initials (Alvin Victor Richard),

184- corresponds to the painting's catalogue number,

08/2010- month it was mostly painted in.

This is the third of three paintings to be part of the invitational group show ''The Still Life'' to be held at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento California from October 2 to November 5, 2010. 

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Update - September 7, 2012
This painting will be part of a group exhibition entitled: 

ASPECTS OF REALISM
Saint John Arts Centre
City of Saint John Gallery
20 Hazen Avenue
Saint John, NB CANADA
(506) 633-4870

September 7 - October 27, 2012
Opening reception is on September 7 - 5:30 to 7:30pm

-----------------------------------------------

Handworks Gallery

12 King Street,
Saint John, NB, CANADA E2L 1G2
(506) 652-9787
e-mail - info@handworks.ca 

-SOLD

Heinz at Mel's Drive-In

Acrylic on gessoed hardboard, #167

12 x 10'' - 2009

This painting is from a vacation snapshot taken at Mel's Drive-in on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood, during a family road trip in California in 2008. I knew instantly that there was at least one painting the moment I entered this very nostalgic restaurant. The whole time I was painting it, I kept wondering if this type of subject matter would have appealed to me if it wasn't for Ralph Goings, who's body of work for the majority has been to document diner interiors or it's content.

Part of my solo show- Near & Far - October 16-30, 2009.

-SOLD

Reflecting on being Acadian

Acrylic on gessoed hardboard, 12 x 12''Created Dec. 6-14, 2008, #153

Continuing my author/book series, this one is especially sweet. One of my favorite non-fiction books with the bonus of having one of my favorite artist on the cover.

I read Notes from Exile on being Acadian by Clive Doucet during the summer of 2002, in the wake of painting a piece entitled ''Fort Beauséjour'' that would become part of the permanent collection of Le musée acadien du Québec à Bonventure, Qc. (the Acadian Museum of Quebec) where I was fortunate enough to have a solo exhibition during that fall.

Notes from Exile recalls the journey of the author who was acting as a journalist for CBC radio during ''Les Retrouvailles'', the first World Acadian Congress and reunion that was held in south-eastern region of New Brunswick in 1994. It is an incisive, charming, touching and sometime witty account while he wrestles with the question of his own identity of being a Canadian with an Acadian father and a British mother. It left me with an enlightened sense of pride of my own personal identity and hertiage of being an Acadian. Notes from Exile is listed in the top 100 titles of it's publisher, McClelland and Stewart Inc.

The Acadians were the first French settlers to arrive to the New World back in 1604. The first settlement was established at Saint-Croix Island in the Bay of Fundy located on the New Brunswick / Maine border. A year later they would move to the mainland at Port Royal in Nova Scotia. The Acadians later established themselves in parts of what is now New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, parts of eastern Quebec and the New England seaboard. British colonists captured Acadia in the course of Queen Anne's War (1702–1713), and its conquest was confirmed in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). The French residents of Acadia were given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave N.S. In the meantime, the French signalled their preparedness for future hostilities by beginning the construction of Fortress Louisbourg on Isle Royale, now Cape Breton Island. The British grew increasingly alarmed by the prospect of disloyalty in wartime of the Acadians now under their rule. In the summer of 1755, the British attacked Fort Beauséjour and burned Acadian homes at the outbreak of the French and Indian War between Britain and France, accusing Acadians of disloyalty (for not having taken the oath) and guerrilla action. Those who still refused to swear loyalty to the British crown then suffered what is referred to as the Great Upheaval (la déportation) when, over the next three years, some 6,000–7,000 Acadians were expelled from N.S.and N.B. to Europe or the lower British American colonies. Others fled deeper into Nova Scotia or into French-controlled Canada.

After 1764, many exiled Acadians finally settled in Louisiana and became known as Cajun, which was first used as a pejorative term until its later mainstream acceptance. Britain allowed some Acadians to return to Nova Scotia, but these were forced to settle in small groups and were permitted to reside in their former settlements such as Grand-Pré, Port Royal, and Beaubassin.

Other literary offerings on the plight of the Great Upheaval such as Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, was published in 1847 by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the aftermath of the deportation. We had the opportunity to visit the house where Lonfellow grew up in Portland Maine, this past October during a weekend getaway. I also did a book report during my senior year in High School of Pélagie-la-Charette (1979), by Antonine Maillet (who happens to be the aunt of one of a longtime family friend). Narrating the epic journey of the widow Pélagie LeBlanc, who in the late 1770s leads her people back to Grand Pré from the American South. The novel was the first foreign work to receive France's Prix Goncourt . The English translated "Pélagie-the-Cart"  appeared in print in 1982.

The image on the cover is a from one of the most documented paintings by Alex Colville. The French Cross was painted in 1988. The National film board of Canada produced a documentary on the artist, The Splendour of Order back in 1984. During one sequence we follow Mr. Colville walking on a train track leading to the cross. Here, he takes precise measurements and does sketches of the monument. He revisits the cross in another documentary produced in 2002 by CBC, The Life and Times of Alex Colville. It also appears in several of his art books and I've had the opportunity to view it twice during retrospectives of his art held at le musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal (1994) and the National Gallery in Ottawa (2002). The cross was erected in 1924 in Grand-Pré, N.S., only a few kilometers from the artist's residence in Wolfville. It is a memorial monument to the Acadian people who were expropriated from their land. The model is of Chinese descent on her father's side (a professor at Acadia University in Wolfville) and a descendant of the Acadians on her Caucasian mother's side. The unconcerned horse is following the path in front of him. The girl, also moving forward looks back towards the cross and creates a link between the present and the past. Please refer to my posting of August 31 for bio notes on Mr. Colville.

For this composition, I chose to use a Chinese Ball as a prop to a link to the Chinese girl. Also known as Baoding balls, they are used to improve manual dexterity, strenght and for meditation. A particular aspect with these reflective spheres, the closer you bring them to a bright light source, the darker that immediate surface becomes. Using my camera flash not only removed me physically from the image, it created the contrast I needed for the image to work. The ball kind of became a small planet, with a night and a day side. Also forming a type of balance found in a Ying-Yang, a circle of opposing forces. The night side is representative of my studio, where I paint mostly after 10 pm. Pot lights appears as stars around a full moon and there is even a comet-like formation. The bottom side is day and is a flipped-reverse reflection of the cover. The image also becomes a narrative of what the Acadians went through when there own reality was turned upside down as they were being boarded on to ships, families were broken up, husbands from wives, parents from children, deported and dispersed to the Southern United States, England, back to there origins in France and as far as the Falkland Islands. A linear line of lights starts from the top of the ball and continues downwards on the cover of the book. How appropriate that a shimmering light spot appears at the level of the girl's heart, noting a moment of inner enlightenment and creating a blinding spot for the horse as his face disappears underneath. It is one of the very few paintings that I have done that red is not utilized as a feature colour, it does however hides in the darker shades of brown.

I usually don't go deeply on my blog to try to explain what imagery means to me. In this case I chose to do an exception in a very thorough manner of what I felt when I painted it. A moment of introspection of my own experience on being an Acadian, but more importantly to have the insight to move forward and view the larger picture of how fortunate I am to still be living in Acadia, a land without borders.

-SOLD

GROUP SHOW at the Fog Forest Gallery

Dock, 12½ x 12½'', acrylic polymer emulsion

on gessoed hardboard, #61.

-SOLD

I currently have three paintings on display in the summer group show of the Fog Forest Gallery in Sackville, NB, Canada. ''Dock'', ''Just-picked Strawberries'' and ''June Blooms in a Red Glass'' (SOLD) are on exhibit. I will be adding a new painting to that show a bit later on this month. The exhibition runs until the end of July.

Pop Tent

Acrylic polymer emulsion on gessoed MDF, 
18 x 18", painted July 12-29, 2007, #124

One thing that wakes you up in the morning when you are camping (except crows), is the bright sun. On one of those morning, I realized that the inside of a tent might be an unusual setting for a still life. Fast forward.... Jean-Luc, our then 11 year old son and I, had done some backyard camping and the Coleman tent was still up on the lawn, when I did this photo study. These were actually the last shots I took that afternoon.

My fascination with this subject is how the light filters through these bright colored drinks and become illuminated, almost as if they have their own power source. And of course, the way the light is being refracted on top of the beverage, which often changes color. This is my third installment of the Pop bottle series in a galvanize pail. The previous two were completed in 2005 & 2006.

- SOLD