Showing posts with label toy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toy. Show all posts

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Lindbergh Again Flies the Air Mail (reposted from Feb. 2017)

14 x 11", Acrylic on gessoed mounted birch panel
Painting #242, 2016-17

Commemorating the 90th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's historic solo transatlantic flight aboard the Spirit of St Louis from New York City to Paris, May 20-21, 1927.

                With "The Spirit of St Louis" at the National Air and Space Museum, 
Washington, DC. Easter 2012.  

Prior to his exploit, Lindbergh was a pilot during the early years of the US Air Mail. He provided service for the newly designated route between St. Louis, Mo and Chicago, Ill. with intermediate stops in Springfield and Peoria. Ill.

Following the transatlantic flight, Lindbergh went on a three city celebration tour in the United States with stops in Washington, DC, New York City and St. Louis where many honors were bestowed upon him. In Washington, DC, on June 11, 1927, the Postmaster General presented Lindbergh with a commemorative airmail stamp. It was also the first time a stamp had been issued to honor a person still living.

The top letter in my composition- postmarked St Louis, on June 18, 1927, also bears a special ink stamp in celebration of his crowning achievement on the same day the city would honor him.

After his exploit, Lindbergh never return to his regular job as a U.S. Air Mail pilot. However he used the immense fame to help promote the U.S. Airmail Services. Lindbergh would return to his former route of St. Louis to Chicago in a CAM-2 plane for two-day promotional tour (northbound on February 20; southbound on February 21). On those two flights he carried tens of thousands of self-addressed stamped envelopes sent in from all over America and the world. These were back stamped, and then returned to their senders as a souvenir and collector item. Items carried on flights piloted by Lindbergh are still actively collected under the general designation of "Lindberghiana." The bottom letter postmarked with a lucky horseshoe -''Lindbergh Again Flies the Airmail'' was one among those thousands he carried that I was so fortunate to acquire for this painting.

I've attached a Lindbergh Stamp in mint condition and both letters to the back of the painting, as a special token for the prospect acquisitor.


In 2012, I did a similar painting for a group exhibition entitled "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" held at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, Ca. Click- HERE for Lindbergh bio notes and further documentation of both paintings.  

In 2017,  a full-circle moment occurred when this painting was exhibited at the OA Gallery in St. Louis, Mo, the city where Lindbergh lived while he orchestrated his dream. Without the eight St Louis men who financed the project which included the making of the custom design monoplane, none of it would have been possible. "The Spirit of St. Louis" was named in honor of those eight supporting patrons.

To acquire this painting, please contact: 

Galerie de Bellefeuille
1367 avenue Greene, 
Montreal, Quebec H3Z 2A8 
Tel: 514.933.4406
e-mail- art@debellefeuille.com
-SOLD 

Friday, October 16, 2020

Farm Animals on Animal Farm, a cautionary tale (an homage to George Orwell)

 

Acrylic on gessoed aluminium panel (mounted), 18 x 14"
Painting #278, 2020

This painting was started back in February at the beginning of the pandemic. It may seem whimsical on the surface, but it is an allegorical piece infused with political overtones.

I purchased and read "Animal Farm" and "1984" by George Orwell shortly after CNN started using the term of living in an Orwellian time. This came about when then US President advisor, Kellyanne Conway used the term "alternative facts" while coming to the defense of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer when he stated that Mr. Trump had attracted the "largest audience" ever to witness an inauguration. Right away, Conway's "alternative facts" was compared to "doublethink", a term coined to the act of simultaneously accepting two contradictory beliefs as correct. People also drew comparisons to "newspeak", one of the several wordplay Orwell invented for 1984, meaning to limit freedom of thought. By 1950, Orwell's newly coined words would soon find their way in the Oxford English Dictionary beginning with Newspeak, Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime and unperson. In 1945, he was also the first to use the term cold war.

It was later reported by the New York Times that US sales of 1984 had increased by 9500%. Penguin Books quickly reprinted 75,000 copies and the book surged to #1 on the Amazon's Bestsellers List less than a week after the inauguration.

Even more recently when Bob Woodward was invited on CNN to talk about his most recent book "Rage" and his recordings of conversations with Donald Trump, he mentioned the word Orwellian, which is attached to a dystopian totalitarian state.

George Orwell (1903-1950) was born Eric Arthur Blair. He was a novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. His penname was taken from the River Orwell in Suffolk, England. He was born in India to British parents. His parents separated soon after he was born. In 1904, his mother would return to England where he and his sister were both raised. In 1922, instead of going to university, he chose to serve with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, where his maternal grandmother lived. His service there fed his lifelong opposition to Imperialism.

Politically, he favored democratic socialism. He went to Spain in 1936 to fight in the Spanish War. There he joined republican forces backed by the United States and the Soviet Union. However, after he was wounded by a snipper, the Soviet forces accused him of betraying the anti-fascist cause and he had to flee the country.

George Orwell Square, Barcelona, Spain - dedicated in 1996.
Orwell lived in Barcelona between 1936 and 1937 , where he became a member of the POUM , coming to fight on the front with the Republican side. He later wrote of these experiences in Homage to Catalonia (1938), which especially portrays scenes on La Rambla and its surroundings.
Left photo of myself taken by my son Jean-Luc - July, 2019.


He spent part of WWII working as a correspondent for the BBC which further fed his distaste for totalitarianism regimes. His experiences in Spain and during WWII created the political leanings that helped shape his most famous novels, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).

George Orwell
Source Wikimedia Commons

Animal Farm is a fable that reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. Orwell was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism. The Soviet Union had become a brutal dictatorship built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror. Orwell tells a story about humans via animals. In the process he reveals the sins of the revolutionaries are not limited to people involved in the revolution, but when those in charge, guided by high ideals, then goes on to betray them all. Anytime a revolution goes wrong, people often bring up "Animal Farm" and declare it to be ahead of its time.

George Orwell died on January 21, 1950 from complications of tuberculosis acquired three years previously.

The painting is infused with symbolism pertaining to the animals themselves and the role they play in Animal Farm. It is also a reflection of the current political climate in the US. With the Covid-19 pandemic currently underway, all of these animals have all been linked to previous flus, pandemics and other diseases transmissible to humans.
props used-
• Animal figures - Farm World by Schleich
• Background wallpaper-"Golden Lily" by William Morris (1834-1896)
• base- Record album cover with plastic wrap of ''Power, Corruption & Lies" by New Order (1983) / album artwork - "Basket of Roses" by Henri Fantin-Latour, (1836-1904) collection of the National Gallery, London.


L- auto-portrait of Henri-Fantin Latour, photo taken during visit of the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, Ireland (July, 2019) / R- Record album - Power, Corruption & Lies by New Order

• Artwork featured on George Orwell books by Shepard Fairey. Ironically, Fairey became widely known during the 2008 U.S. presidential election for his Barack Obama "Hope" poster.

SHEPARD FAIREY
OBEY 3-Face collage, signed offset lithography
24 x 18" (set of 3 prints) - open edition
-personal collection

To acquire this painting, please contact: 

Galerie de Bellefeuille
1367 avenue Greene, 
Montreal, Quebec H3Z 2A8 
Tel: 514.933.4406
e-mail- art@debellefeuille.com
-SOLD

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Barbie at 60, a Fashion Icon

Acrylic on gessoed mounted aluminium panel, 12 x 12"
painting #275, 2019

On March 9 of this year, Barbie Millicent Roberts celebrated her 60th birthday. The following week, it was my wife Suzanne's turn to become a sexagenarian. This is my third Barbie painting. The first two were done when Barbie turned 50 and 55. This latest incarnation is a sister painting to the previous that also featured one of the two sewing patterns issued by Advance in 1961. The sewing pattern was the instigator that inspired the imagery and composition. It falls in the timeline when Pop Art became an art movement which drew inspiration from advertising among it's influences.

To view my two previous Barbie paintings - click on this LINK.

With the passage of time, Barbie keeps re-inventing herself and empowering the image of what it means to be a woman in 2019.  Mattel has just released multi-race (in four skin tones) ''Judge Barbie'' - LINK. Part of Mattel's agenda has been to inspire girls to be anything that can dream of, and to break the glass ceiling. Even if at times some of their choices have been controversial over the decades.

Both Barbie and my wife share another commonality....at 60 years of age, they both still look Fabulous! 

Currently on exhibition in a group show entitled- "Not a Creature was stirring.... Artworks to Deck the Halls" at the Fog Forest Gallery in Sackville, NB. from Nov. 21 - Dec. 31, 2019.

To acquire this painting please contact:
14 Bridge Street, Sackville,
New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5
Phone (506) 536-9000
-SOLD

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Stop for Gas, an homage to Edward Hopper

Acrylic on gessoed aluminum panel (mounted), 12 x 10''
painting #272, 2019

During the late 1980's, artist Gottfried Helnwein re-invented the famous Edward Hopper painting NIghthawks, by replacing the figures in the painting with Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Elvis Presley and Humphrey Bogart. I remember quite vividly that it became widely popular and was displayed in every print shops, and in many restaurants and night clubs. Helnwein's Boulevard of Broken Dreams would also inspire the Green Day song of the same name. Nightwawks is probably the first Hopper painting that I became aware of. 

The conception for this painting just happened by happenstance. The background for the painting featuring my rendition of "Gas" was printed on a small box that once held 20 note cards w/ envelopes. The box is dated 2000 on the back. I remember buying it at the turn of the new millennium.  It was a derivative product made for the Museum of Modern Art that was probably sold in their museum store. All the cards are now long gone but I couldn't part with the box. It now stores some rubber stamps.  Earlier this year, I took out the box from a drawer to use a rubber ink stamp to embellish a birthday card. The small Matchbox - 1957 GMC side-step pick-up die-cast was already on my desk. When I saw them side by side.....the whole narrative came to me. The composition is resting on an Edward Hopper art book that was gifted to me by my wife, 20 years ago. A detailed image of "Gas" appears on the glossy cover of the book entitled "Edward Hopper, A Modern Master", written by Ita G. Berkow and published by Todtri in 1996.   


unedited photo study


I've been an admirer of the artwork of Edward Hopper since my early adulthood and have had the opportunity to view many of his paintings up-close in various museums in Europe but especially in the United States.








To acquire this painting, please contact: 

Galerie de Bellefeuille
1367 avenue Greene, 
Montreal, Quebec H3Z 2A8 
Tel: 514.933.4406
e-mail- art@debellefeuille.com

-SOLD

Monday, January 15, 2018

Hockey Night in Canada, 1972


12 x 16", acrylic on gessoed mounted aluminium panel
painting #259, 2017-18

The majority of my artwork is about documenting aspects of popular culture and paying homage to luminaries who have made a difference in their fields. Ken Danby (1940-2007) is one artist whom I instantly gravitated to when I started to paint more than 30 years ago. I've flipped through Ken Danby: The New Decade written by Paul Duval (1984), so many times that the pages are falling out. I was especially fond of his egg tempera and watercolour paintings and the direction he took with the imagery. Also his earlier work that seemed influenced by Andrew Wyeth.
Over the years, I've acquired three books and several catalogues of Ken Danby’s artwork. The most recent was published in conjunction with a retrospective held at the Art Gallery of Hamilton in the fall of 2016,  entitled "Beyond the Crease". We were visiting the Niagara escarpment four days before the show opened and we were able to view a portion of the exhibition as it was still being mounted. I was very fortunate to view his solo show "Earth, Sky and Water" at the Bernarducci-Meisel Gallery in NYC, during the fall of 2002. I also own two of his serigraphs prints, the most recent acquired last summer from a German art gallery. 

Art Gallery of Hamilton, October 2016
Ken Danby's sudden passing on September 23 2007 shook me to the core. He was only 67 years old. He collapsed while on a canoe trip with his wife Gillian and some friends in Algonquin Provincial Park. Paramedics were unable to revive him. He was still playing hockey in a gentlemen's league called the "Guelph Goodtimers''. 
In 2017, one of my paintings was published in the book, "Ingenious" written by the Hon. David Johnston, the past Governor General of Canada and Tom Jenkins. The book celebrates Canadian inventors who contributed in making the world a better place. My painting used in the book was a commission piece paying homage to Edward R. McDonald who invented the first version of the Scrabble Board Game.
The idea for this new painting, "Hockey Night in Canada, 1972" (La soirée du Hockey, 1972) came to me after flipping through the book. Canadians are credited for inventing the game of hockey (p.180), the championship Stanley Cup (p.185), Jacques Plante inventing the goalie mark in 1959 (p.110) and Donald Munro for creating table top hockey in 1932 (p.194).
Ken Danby's iconic painting, "At the Crease" was painted in 1972.  The Canadian Encyclopaedia has called  At the Crease - "a National Symbol".  An episode from the BRAVO! docu-series, "The Artist's Life" featuring Danby aired on television shortly after is passing. Here, he discusses his intentions behind the imagery.
"I did that painting because I had to get it out of my system, based on an actual experience right here on this river playing hockey. Playing a game, the goalie, a young goalie was wearing a mask. Well it was the first time in my hockey experience after being away from it for some time that I was actually at ice level, skating on with a goalie, wearing a mask. That's why I painted that painting. It's a work that I resisted for 3 years because I felt that it was kind of Sports Illustrated".
The team crest was intentionally omitted, allowing viewers to see the goalie as a symbol of personal confrontation rather than an illustration of a particular goalie from a specific team. When the CBC Life & Times of Ken Danby that aired on November 2, 1998, it was stated that 100,000 reproduction prints of At the Crease had already been sold around the world.
After researching as much as I could, the whole narrative came to me. I used 1972 as the timeline for my composition. That year, I was 10 years old. I remember clearly that Canada and Russia were playing game 8 in the Summit Series since the whole school gathered in the cafeteria to watch the last period on TV with Paul Henderson scoring the winning goal for Canada. It is also the year the I started to play pond hockey prior to playing in an organized league (Pee-wee & Bantam).
With all of this said, I'm checking off several items from a list that is not just meaningful to me, but to millions other Canadians.
  • - First off is paying homage to Ken Danby and his artwork.
  • -Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the NHL in 2017.
  • -Paying homage to Jacques Plante, who invented the goalie mask. In 1972, he was playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and wore #1 on his jersey. I added the mask to the goalie in my painting
  • -Paying homage to my 10th cousin, Henri Richard, who in 1972 was team captain of the Montreal Canadiens. He holds the NHL record for the most Stanley Cup wins as a player with 11. I actually change the face of a generic hockey player to more youthful Richard, aka “The Pocket Rocket” because of this stature at 5'7" and 160 lbs, and added the “C” on his jersey. We share the same ancestor, Michel Sansoucy Richard who immigrated  from France to Port Royal , Acadia in 1654 (now Nova Scotia).  
  • -Celebrating the longest rivalry in NHL hockey between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

bottom photo - Original mask worn by Jacques Plante, 1959


Jacques Plante, invited guest at my hometown 
Summer Festival in Cap-Lumière, NB -circa 1971

Finding the props was somewhat challenging. I purchased the vintage 1960's Coleco tabletop hockey players on eBay, from a seller living in BC. The hockey net was from a seller living in Nova Scotia while the puck was purchased at the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame store in Toronto during our visit this past October. The puck was larger, so I digitally reduced it to size and affixed the NHL logo.  Just outside the NHL store, the atrium opens to retail outlets where a large bronze sculpture of Danby's, At the Crease is on display.  Outside the museum itself was a display case that had the last hockey jersey worn by Henri Richard as team captain.  


 Hockey Hall of Fame - NHL Store - Toronto, Oct. 2014

 Hockey Hall of Fame display - Toronto, Oct, 2017
Jersey worn by Henri Richard during is final season 1974-75
Order of Canada awarded to Maurice Richard
Hockey gloves worn by Guy Lapointe (my favourite player growing up)




To acquire this painting, please contact:

Galerie de Bellefeuille
1367 avenue Greene, 
Montreal, Quebec H3Z 2A8 Tel: 514.933.4406
e-mail- art@debellefeuille.com

-SOLD

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Sightseeing in 3-D

Acrylic on gessoed birch panel, 12 x 12"
painting # 231, 2015

Part of my creative process in choosing subject matter for a painting has to do with the intent and the narrative. While I am not the first to use a View-Master as a prop, several artists whose work I admire certainly ignited the idea that this toy might be an interesting object worth consideration if only I can create something visually unique in content and composition. These artists would include James Hollingsworth, Otto Lange, Kelly Grace and Carl Janes.  (click on names to view)

With the opportunity of on-line shopping, comes the possibility of acquiring great finds without ever having to leave your home. This View Master is a model G produced from 1959-1977. It was purchased from a seller on Etsy living in Montana, while the three sets of travel picture reels were purchased individually on eBay from a seller living in the U.K. The whole narrative came to me while browsing and connecting the dots.

I did not have a View-Master as a child, but several kids in my neighbourhood did. Most of the reels they owned were cartoon serials from Disney, Hanna-Barbera or Warner Bros. However, I do distinctly remember viewing several travel reels. The ones that come to mind were of Disneyland and Expo '67 held in Montreal. In retrospect it would be interesting to know if viewing these fascinating stereo pictures did contribute somehow to my love of travelling and later visiting all these places in real life because the three dimensional effect does give the feeling of being there and longing to visit them one day.

In this lot are reels of Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon and New York City. The images span from the 1950's to the early 1970's. We visited Niagara Falls during the last week of March in 1998 while on a road trip to Hamilton Ontario during my running days when I ran the "Around the Bay 30K". The most impressive thing about the falls was the shear force of the water. We returned during the fall of 2016 where I tried the new Zip-Line.

We visited Grand Canyon during the last week of February 2009 on a road trip of Arizona, Nevada and southern Utah. Here, the vastness of the ravine is mind boggling. There was still a bit of snow which added to the magic of this mystical place. It was the last week before the shuttle service kicked in, so we could drive at will to discover this amazing national park. 


And finally New York City, one of my favourite places to visit. We've visited the Big Apple five time so far. The first two were in line with the New York City Marathon which I ran in 1994 and 2002, then later as tourists in 2010 and 2013. Sightseeing, great art, Broadway plays and the famous skyline are the main attractions. I always find it a surreal experience to be there. This year, we will be spending Christmas in New York City with some family members joining us. On Christmas evening we have tickets for the "Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular" featuring "The Rockettes". I did the photo study for this painting before I even booked the airline tickets. The NYC reel featured in the painting was just randomly added. Call it faith or coincidence that "The Rockettes, Radio City Music Hall" would appear in this disc.






Painting was exhibited in 
''The Still Life'' Invitational Group Show at the Elliott Fouts Gallery, in Sacramento, CA.
 Sept. 5 - Oct. 1, 2015

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

To be exhibited in a two-person show at the Fog Forest Gallery, Sackville, NB
October, 2017, details to follow.

-SOLD

Monday, November 3, 2014

Vintage Fashion

Acrylic on gessoed birch panel, 12 x 12"
Painting # 223, 2014

The image for this painting has evolve around a series of serendipitous events. In retrospect, when I started to connect the dots, the process informed me that it was just meant to be.

During the summer of 2013, I was browsing on eBay when I just happen to stumble on this vintage Barbie Sewing Pattern featuring six outfits. I was instantly seduced by the visuals of the illustration. It just screamed "Pop Art", almost à la Andy Warhol. This pattern dating back to 1961, appeared during the same period as Pop Art was emerging. The term was officially introduced in December 1962 on the occasion of a "Symposium on Pop Art" organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. By this time, American advertising had adopted various aspects reflected in modern art, and this sewing pattern was a prime example.  

This past spring, my wife and I visited the southern part of Georgia and South Carolina. This trip had been on my bucket list for close to a decade. Two years ago, I discovered my genealogy on the Richard side, dating back to 1652. I also learned that during "Le grand dérangement" in 1755, my sixth great grandfather, Michel Richard had been deported by the British army from Fort Beauséjour, NB  and sent to Charleston, SC, where he later died. My reasons to visit this region now seemed to carry more weight. After flying to Atlanta, we rented a car and went on a 10-day road trip that included Savannah, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Augusta and Atlanta. 

This whole trip was amazing. The people are most courteous and good old Southern Hospitality is still alive and well in these parts. When we visited Charleston, first on our list was the Gibbes Museum of Art . One of their featured exhibitions was a solo show by John Westmark.  Westmark creates dramatic images of faceless human figures that become lyrical by adding contemporary text. His primary material is store bought paper sewing patterns that are meticulously mounted on large canvases. The collages are brought to life with acrylic paint as his medium.  He creates "a narrative based on crisis, conflict and resolution in relation to feminist and gender-related issues". This collection certainly ignited a spark in my decision to use a sewing pattern for the above painting, although mine took a much different approach.


On my list of commercial galleries to visit in Charleston was the Robert Lange Studios. The roster of artists they represent is among the most gifted realists in America. The two level space and artists studios is located in a historical building that has been modernized while retaining loads of it's original character. I only briefly said a few words and saluted Robert and his wife Megan whom were expecting their first child in a week or so. Upon exiting the gallery, we walked about 100 meters towards the waterfront when my eye caught a glimpse of a Robert Lange painting hanging in a grand lobby space. After inquiring about the work, a lady told me that Lange was collaborating with them. We then made our way to the water taxi and took a cruise in the harbour. 

During my visit to the Robert Lange Studios, 2 Queen Street, May 2014

During the month of July, I received an e-mail from the Robert Lange Studios. An invitation to submit my resumé for a juried exhibition they were organizing to be held at the Vendue, a historical Inn that recently underwent major renovations and transformed into Charleston First Art Hotel. Upon reading this, I immediately made the connection with the Robert Lange painting I had spotted two months earlier that was exhibited in this same space.

I submitted the required documents pretty close to the deadline. The following month, I received news that from the 500+ submissions received, mine was retained among the 40 selected artists for the show. The exhibition is entitled, "I see a Pattern", a theme that can be broadly explored as it was suggested. This opened a window of opportunity to use the Barbie sewing pattern and explore the theme in a very singular way. 

I'll spare you the details about the choice of fabrics used for my composition, but the dotted print material has several anecdotes that happened before and after it was purchased.

The Barbie Doll was introduced by Mattel in March of 1959.  A full clothing line that even included a wedding dress and accessories were launched at the same time.  This Advance Sewing Pattern was introduced two years later for the novice seamstress and designers who wanted to make their own fashion statements by experimenting with fabrics and prints. During the fall of 2009, in conjunction with Barbie's 50th birthday, New York Fashion Week hosted a haute-couture runway show featuring 50 fashion designers that included Diane von Fürstenberg, Vera Wang, Calvin KleinBob Mackie, and Christian Louboutin. Click HERE for a pics featuring live models. 

I am honoured to be taking part in such a exclusive exhibition, featuring a great diversity of established and emerging artists. The show is set to open on November 21, 2014 and will run until May 30, 2015. Please click HERE for a preview and opening reception information.

The Vendue is located at 19 Vendue Range, Charleston, SC 29401, U.S.A.  


Here is a list of the participating artists:
Tony ChimentoTripp Smith, Victor Grasso .

December 3, 2014 -Update- A friend and fellow participating artist, David Parker attended the opening reception and generously sent me a few pics to share.




______________________________________

Painting was also exhibited in 
''The Still Life'' Invitational Group Show" 
at the Elliott Fouts Gallery, in Sacramento, CA.
 Sept. 5 - Oct. 1, 2015.

_________________________________
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