Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail 2013

Michael Gaudet is a well-established professional artist who specializes in large-scale murals, portraiture, landscape and historic paintings.  In the Zone (Acrylics on canvas 16" x 20", 2013.) The Magic Cup (Acrylics on canvas 18" x 24" 2012)

Murals
His murals are meticulously researched to achieve a high standard of accuracy and design. The muralist is kept busy designing, painting and installing permanent, archival-quality productions for a diverse clientele including towns throughout Saskatchewan, private businesses, organizations and the Church. His most ambitious mural to date was commissioned by Sacred Heart Chaldean Catholic Church in Saskatoon and unveiled on March 3rd, 2011. Please visit the project blog to read more about this ongoing commission. To view a selection of Gaudet's recent murals, please visit his MURALS website. 

Portrait commissioned by Bill Burley of Regina SK. (Acrylics on canvas 18" x 24" 2012) 

Portraiture 

Another specialty is the very challenging genre of 'portraiture'. Gaudet has drawn and painted hundreds of portraits over the years and has now reached the point with his expertise where he is fully capable of rendering a very convincing likeness of the physical attributes of his subject. The challenge now is to go beyond a mere physical resemblance to the model in search of the more elusive 'feeling' of the person. He insists that a truly successful portrait must not only 'look' like the model but must also 'feel' like the person. In other words, his best work reflects the deeper spiritual and psychic essence of the model. 

Paintings 

Gaudet is on a life-long painting adventure. His paintings are rich in color and detail that explore the everyday things around him with a concentrated fascination. Gaudet studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design with New York figure painter Eric Fischl and Dutch color field painter Jan Andriesse. This exposure to international art and artists continues to exert an influence on his work to this day. He paints with acrylics in the European style of the old masters, using multiple transparent glazes to achieve rich, jewel-like colors and vivid contrast.

In the fall of 2012, Michael and his partner Sharon went on an extended painting holiday to Nova Scotia where he created a series of seven pieces that pay homage to the land and sea where he was born and raised.

From Nova Scotia with Love (Acrylics on canvas, all 18" x 24")

Beach-Combers (SOLD)

U-Pick Apples (at Hennigar's in the Annapolis Valley, N.S.)

Fishing Village at Peggy's Cove 1 (SOLD)

Low Tide at Belliveau Cove, N.S. (SOLD)

Fishing Village at Peggy's Cove 2

Chatty Starling at Halifax Wharf  (SOLD)

Full-On Fall Foliage (SOLD)

Little River, N.S.

G-G's Gallery & Gifts

In 2010, Gaudet and his partner Sharon Gibson established 'G-G's Gallery & Gifts' as an addition to their residence at the Resort Village of Manitou Beach. This seasonal business has been very successful as it taps into the well-established tourist trade that has been an economic and cultural staple of the Resort Village for generations. G-G's Gallery & Gifts offers the public a 'living portfolio' where they can meet the artist, see his original artwork on display and view his extensive portfolio of mural commissions all in one visit. Please visit Gaudet's'Art Blog' to stay abreast of his latest paintings and design projects. 

The couple have created a warm, welcoming atmosphere within a rustic setting at G-G's Gallery and Gifts.

Location: E. one blk past Danceland at Manitou Beach, turn rt on Charles St., then rt to 309 Evenson Ave. at the cul-de-sac. 

Dare to be Different...paint a mural!

Mural a Community Effort

My daughter Ilara's friend Meredith Stults was invited to drop in to help push the Dare to be Different mural over the top on the last day of painting. Which was a good thing, as she dove right in to work on the deep dark shadows in the old-growth forest. Meredith clearly enjoyed herself, as was evidenced by her great, relaxed brush-strokes. Working on a large-scale mural (albeit this is one of the smaller ones; though the same general rules apply) it is critical to keep the flow of the brush-work loose and fluent. Too much 'pickyness' or tightness tends to dampen the free flow of painting on this scale, so I always encourage my proteges to stay loose, keep breathing and to go with the flow of the piece...to be 'in the moment'. 

Sprinting to the finish line with a bit of extra help.

Mural-painting technique a singular methodology

Meredith Stults readily 'took' to the mural-painting medium and methodology with just a bit of coaching. I encouraged her to think of painting the shadowy 'shapes' that were already being set up in and around the trees, rather than thinking about painting 'trees' per se. With this little tip she was off and running. I saw her brush-work suddenly loosed up and she transformed before our eyes into a confident large-scale painter. In a way, painting on this scale is like a dance that the artist has with her brush and the paint. There is a certain rhythm and flow to the application that takes on a life of its own when the artist is able to breathe and relax into her work. The physicality of painting takes a front seat with this technique.

Meredith Stults focuses intently on the rhythm and flow of her brushwork.

A well-proportioned owl fits in just right

Ilara decided early on that there ought to be an owl soaring overhead in the mural. At first we thought about making it quite large so that it would appear to be close to life-size and therefore close to 'us' in the extreme foreground of the image. After some deliberation however, we decided that the owl would look better pushed back to a place (in virtual space) where it hovered over the tree-tops of the old-growth forest. This ended up being the right choice, as it would have over-powered the composition and in doing so would've diminished the sense of scale that we had granted the central focus of the design, namely the giant Sequoia redwood. 

Ilara introduced the idea of  an owl into the composition. Here is a detail that shows it against the soft-focus background.

Mural design celebrates the rare giant Sequoia

When I first saw the picture of the rare giant Sequoia in National Geographic before Christmas, I was haunted by the image of the solitary megalith soaring so incredibly high above the old-growth forest. I wondered why there was only one in the entire vista of the photograph. After reading the article, I came to realize that the reason was simple, though ultimately ignoble. All of the others in what had one been a huge grove had been harvested over the years for lumber. Only a scant 10 % of these gigantic monoliths have survived into the modern age. This is tragic and ironic, as some of the eldest ones living today are in excess of 3000 years old. I felt blessed and honored then to have the opportunity to honor them in this small way.

Detail shows the sun setting behind the giant Sequoia Redwood, with transparent rays piercing into the shadowy depths of the old-growth forest.

One of the best shots of the Dare to be Different mural was captured by Ilara with her Android device.

Meredith Stults, Ilara Stefaniuk-Gaudet and I pose in front of the mural right after its completion in Edmonton Alberta.

Richard Preston reveals the secret life of the giant Sequoia Redwood trees in his Ted Talk

While we were working on the mural, we watched an amazing Ted Talk by Richard Preston that reveals some mind-blowing secrets of the giant Sequoia trees of northwest California. These trees are SO huge, for example, that they have been known to support permanent pools of water in their upper crotches that in turn support an exotic and diversified ecosystem all of their own including a relative of the 'plankton' formerly thought to live exclusively in the oceans. Remember, this is happening at heights of up to 380 feet ( equivalent to a 38 story skyscraper) in these magnificent trees! 

First Mural in First Month of 2013

A Spontaneous Brain-Storming Session

I went to Edmonton in early January 2013 to visit my daughter and after I arrived she and her housemates asked me if I wanted to do a mural on their 14' x 8' living-room wall. Or maybe I came up with the idea, the details are just a little blurry about who conjured up what but the end result of our brainstorming session was...there is a prominent crack in the wall, on the right-hand side that might be integrated into a design rather than simply mudded over. 

Suddenly, it's all about the crack

This crack ran vertically up the wall from a 1/4 inch base to a hairline at the top. Could the crack be made to feature in the design? 

A Haunting Image

I'd seen a three-page fold-out in the December issue of National Geographic that showed one of the world's tallest tree and was intrigued with the haunting image.

So I suggested that the tree, which soars to over 380 feet (38 stories) over the canopy of the old-growth forest below, be the theme of the mural...as it would doubtless create the illusion of plunging space 'within' the wall to add more dimension to the modest-sized space.

1st Mural in 1st Month of 2013

Once we had all agreed to the basic gist of the design, the project was rapidly launched by the first 'study' glaze to start the separation of light from dark.

The first sketchy orange glaze will quickly separate the light from the shadow.

In this case, the best way to proceed was to paint directly onto the wall with a large brush, unaided by a preliminary sketch in pencil. This is a great way to keep a composition fresh and vibrant, as it becomes a record of the 'physicality' of the brush-strokes or a recording of the artistic process in its raw form.

You can see where the crack in the existing wall becomes a visual and even tactile anchor for the positioning of the giant Sequoia that springs up and high above the lofty heights of the old-growth forest canopy far below. 

As usual, the job at hand is to separate the light from the dark. The dark must be a foil for the objects of light. so it makes sense to paint at first the designate 'negative space' or the darkness where objects appear as light against a dark surround. Conversely, when an object is seen as a dark shape set off against a lighter field, it must be perceived as a 'positive'. 

The early glazes are kept lively and fresh to  be later clarified to a certain degree using as the mural-painters approach of large fluid strokes.

Keeping the early glazes fresh as large, loose and free-flowing as possible to coax out the images with as much expression as desired. Subsequent glazes will provide ample opportunity to refine the visual fingerprints until they ring with authenticity.

You can see the giant Sequoia towering above the canopy of the old-growth boreal forest with just the first three glazes in progress. What is dark? What is light? Herein lies the difference.

It's called "global glazing" for a reason. Each progressive glaze is applied throughout the entire mural as required so that the whole wall progresses in a wave. There would never be 'micro-managing' of isolated details, rather everything is painted with equal attention continuously.

Ilara Stefaniuk-Gaudet was largely responsible for the 'negative space' in the old-growth boreal forest . 

Ilara Stefaniuk-Gaudet was largely responsible for the 'negative space' in the old-growth boreal forest and beyond whereas I had set it up with those first few defining glazes. Much more to come! 

Only the top of the crack was left visible from the base of the giant trunk where it emerges from the depths of the canopy. Beneath this the crack is filled.

I requisitioned a pail of crack-filler to BURY the crack-in-the-wall below the visibly lower trunk of the giant Sequoia. That way, it would appear to spring out of the canopy, invisible in the old-growth boreal forest. Beneath this the crack is filled and buried to enhance the visual oomph of the integration of the self-same crack into the texture of the ancient trunk above to its very tapered tip. Working with the anomaly of the surface can yield stronger results than merely covering them over, in some cases.

Everything is painted on a larger scale in mural-painting as this close-up of Ilara working on the negative space shows.

The mural-painting technique is specific in that everything is painted with larger-than-life strokes. Anything else would defeat the purpose of the medium and genre. While a mural may certainly look lovely at close inspection, the visual impact must be greatly enhanced at a distance.

Building, always building transparent glazes until the 'negative space' is positively separated from the light, leading to 'native' or local colors.

There's nothing like a pre-booked return train ticket to ensure that a project stays on a tight schedule. Stay tuned for the following post in the next couple of days that will show the mural being completed along with a more in-depth look at the meaning(s) embedded in the 'Dare to be Different' mural...

Mural to Hibernate ( 'til spring '13 )

Mounting this mural will not be easy.

It comes as no surprise with a mural project of this scale that the permanent mounting will be a formidable undertaking, especially now that the planning committee has decided that the superstructure will be engineered to hold the fifty 4' x 8' panels up so that the bottom will begin ten feet in the air. This means that the top of the mural extant will soar a full thirty feet off terra firma. Considering that the surface of the mural is a whopping one-thousand and six-hundred square feet, it will constitute an engineering challenge to overbuild the structure to withstand the inevitable force of what can amount to gale force winds here on the Canadian prairies. That is a huge 'sail'! 

In the coming months, we will be unveiling the master plan for the dedicated site where the mural will be installed, just south of Young School facing the #2 highway. The plan is to erect the mural on its own site complete with a drive-in access off the highway, a rest stop with washrooms and of course a viewing bench at the so-called 'sweet spot' where the view is optimal. I mention this because you will find that a certain distance is required for the best viewing experience...too close a viewing position will be counter-productive as it is so huge that the whole thing will not be visible. I don't think there will be any issues with distant viewing; I have looked at the mural from as far away as bout 100 feet (inside the rink) and can report that a distance of twice that far would still be well within reason.

Taking this into consideration, the committee has in their wisdom opted to contract with an engineering firm in Saskatoon to draw up and certify the plans for the steel structure that must be over-built by a factor of X10 to ensure that it truly is permanent.

Thankfully, we have a very generous corporate sponsor in place that is underwriting the cost of engineering. Now the trick is to generate the final chunk of financing required to pay for the actual steel, cement and hardware that the engineers will call for with their plans.

Nor will it be cheap.

Word on the street is that the cost of erecting this mural will likely surpass the fees that I have required for my professional services as the designer and painter of the mural proper! 

But it WILL happen. In the spring of '13.

Recalling that the mural was painted inside the hockey rink at Young, it only stands to reason that as the weather evolved from fall to early winter, it was imperative to clear out of that space to allow the rink committee to proceed with preparing the natural ice for the onslaught of the hockey season, as the Young rink hosts a very busy agenda of games starting pdq.

Although I would be the first to freely admit that this 'process' is about as exciting as watching paint dry, I thought I would faithfully chronicle the de-construction of the mural as it came down off its temporary frame and was securely packed and stored in its steel container ( "C-Can" ) where it will hibernate until the spring of 2013.

Dismantling the temporary frame was a fairly tedious undertaking that involved a lot of un-screwing. We planned ahead and used screws throughout in anticipation that it would have to disassembled after the mural's completion.

Shewin and I stacked all of the panels in position in the corner of the rink closest to the exit, in preparation for their winter storage.

I suppose that this picture might seem to be rather anti-climatic...but trust me, it took a LOT of energy to get to this point where all that remains standing is the basic skeleton, ready to drop onto the rink floor for the final dis-assembly. Remember, the frame is a full eighty by sixteen feet, so it represents a bit of work even at this late juncture.

With the help of a couple of very generous volunteers, we were finally able to send the wall back down on its face for the final un-screwing. As you can see, only about three pieces of lumber were shattered in the process. Not bad considering the huge 'boom' that occurred at the moment of impact.

Once all of the panels were removed from the frame and stacked methodically in the corner  of the rink, we recruited several generous volunteers from the community to assist in carrying each panel into the C-Can for winter storage.

All of the fifty panels were stacked with spacers in between and beneath to allow air flow as well as to prevent any shifting over the winter. Great care was taken to ensure that all the panels were not allowed to contact any of their neighboring panels so that scraping or scratching of the precious painted surfaces would be prevented.

A final sweep of the snow, dust and debris was carefully performed by Dennis Sather of the Centennial Committee before the C-Can was sealed for the winter.

Sprinting to the Finish Line

Now that the so-called 'full-spectrum tonal study' is nearing completion, I can start adding the 'native' or 'local' colors. In my opinion, the advantage of using the 'full-spectrum tonal study' throughout the entire composition BEFORE committing to local color is that this approach lends an overall continuity and warmth to the painting. No part of this mural appears isolated from the rest; rather, the whole things hangs together as a unified field.

The richness of the shadowy parts in contrast with the highlighted colors is really apparent as the steam locomotive comes into sharp resolution.

The cluster of figures is now about ready for 'local' color after the last treatment with pthalo blue strengthens the shadows. At this point all of the colors represent only the 'full-spectrum tonal study'. No effort has yet been expended in introducing the actual colors of the clothing or flesh tones. That will take place in the coming days so wait for it. You will see quite a radical transformation as it progresses.

The horse and buggy now stand out in sharp contrast from the background (more muted) colors. Also, the perspective of the horse creates a convincing illusion that he is popping out of the surface.

The parade of vintage vehicles begins to come into its own as increasing contrast and resolution (those two elements seem to go hand-in-hand with this technique) begin to enhance the three-dimensional dynamic.

A more distant shot of the parade shows the marchers along with historic downtown Young...with the seemingly gigantic cows calmly overlooking the scene. I wonder what they are thinking?

Backing up even further to show the relationship between the horse and buggy and the parade. The diving perspective is accentuated by the sweeping lines of both the parade route and in opposition...the horse's torso that proudly stands in front of the letter 'N'.

Looking back on the lower section of the mural towards the end of the work day.

I think the fairly busy collage of shapes is sorting itself out quite nicely at the lower right-hand side of the composition.

Turns out that the two portraits of our honored WWII vets will be every bit as prominent as the weathered figures at the upper left-hand side of the mural. I was a bit surprised at how large and eye-catching these two figures ended up being. Sometimes it really is difficult to anticipate how things will look until they show up on the wall.

Just modeling the various textures in this vista that shows a clerk at the 'Bean Farm' operation. Again, I was just a bit surprised at how prominent this figure turned out to be. He nicely anchors the middle right-hand side of the composition.

The parting shot of the lower section of the mural shows how the overall continuity holds the composition together in a coherent fashion. Even with such a complex phantasmagoria of shapes and colors there is certainly a visual and conceptual order.