HAPPY EARTH DAY 22.13
To catch up with my art and art projects please drop in to say 'hi' at my new Artist's Page on Facebook.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Near-Death Experience Fuels Quest for Immortality: An Artist's Story
Today I was excited to hear that my guest post " Near-Death Experience Fuels Quest for Immortality: An Artist's Story " is published at the Udemy.com/blog .
As you know, I have recently launched into an exciting new venture with Udemy.com, one of the world's most dynamic and successful online academies of higher learning.
Just before Christmas 2012 I was recruited by one of their sleuth-y staff members who apparently has common connections on the LinkedIn network with moi.
I decided to take it on as a serious 'project' at that time and after some technical upgrades I have succeeded in creating my first course "Art of Acrylic Glazing with a Modern Master" .
You know, it was a very useful and self-instructive exercise, as it meant I was obliged to set things down in a very logical, systematic way so my students will have a great experience with my 12-step painting curriculum.
The course is set out in easy to digest bite-sized pieces that take you all the way from a blank canvas to a finished painting, without the use of black!
But I digress.
I was excited to see my post Near-Death Experience Fuels Quest for Immortality: An Artist's Story in today's Udemy Blog! I was challenged to write a post that would surprise, delight and even intrigue my readers and this is the theme I came up with. Didn't somebody once say "Write about what you know"?
Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of a busy life one forgets the accomplishments that really mean something, have an impact in the grand scheme of things. I decided to settle in to composing this story that has been tumbling around in my mind now for over 30 years.
After all, if I don't tell the story, who ever will?
And I think it's a good story...that I hope will inspire people who are going through a rough patch of their own to persevere, even if things look grim at the moment.
As you know, I have recently launched into an exciting new venture with Udemy.com, one of the world's most dynamic and successful online academies of higher learning.
Just before Christmas 2012 I was recruited by one of their sleuth-y staff members who apparently has common connections on the LinkedIn network with moi.
I decided to take it on as a serious 'project' at that time and after some technical upgrades I have succeeded in creating my first course "Art of Acrylic Glazing with a Modern Master" .
You know, it was a very useful and self-instructive exercise, as it meant I was obliged to set things down in a very logical, systematic way so my students will have a great experience with my 12-step painting curriculum.
The course is set out in easy to digest bite-sized pieces that take you all the way from a blank canvas to a finished painting, without the use of black!
But I digress.
 |
| 'Recovery I' was designed and painted while a dialysis patient in 1979 at Sunnybrooke Medical Center in Toronto. |
I was excited to see my post Near-Death Experience Fuels Quest for Immortality: An Artist's Story in today's Udemy Blog! I was challenged to write a post that would surprise, delight and even intrigue my readers and this is the theme I came up with. Didn't somebody once say "Write about what you know"?
Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of a busy life one forgets the accomplishments that really mean something, have an impact in the grand scheme of things. I decided to settle in to composing this story that has been tumbling around in my mind now for over 30 years.
After all, if I don't tell the story, who ever will?
And I think it's a good story...that I hope will inspire people who are going through a rough patch of their own to persevere, even if things look grim at the moment.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Near-Death Experience Fuels Quest for Immortality: An Artist's Story
To live or to die, that is the question.
In 1979 at age 19, while living and working as a freelance artist in Toronto my health was dramatically imperiled by End-Stage Renal Failure. If the term 'End-Stage' sounds ominous, it's because it was!
Without emergency medical intervention I would've been a dead man. The toxins had accumulated to such lethal levels that the team of ER doctors were shocked that I had even managed to make it into Sunnybrooke Hospital on my own two feet.
After my timely diagnosis I was outfitted with a 'Shribner Shunt' that allowed emergency dialysis therapy the very next morning. Once I had received the dialysis therapy for about five months I started to feel more human and less like a walking toxic waste dump. Kidney failure is an extremely precarious state of being!
Making the best of a crappy situation.
A wonderful resource person at the hospital arranged for me to take over an empty room in the hospital as a make-shift studio and even supplied me with a budget in order to outfit myself with paints and canvas to enable me to start painting again as a way of getting back on my feet to regain a sense of normalcy in my shattered life.
I decided to create a mural that I called 'Recovery I' as a salutation to what I hoped would be an eventual return to health. You might say that this mural was an 'invocation' for my own recovery from what was a shockingly horrific disease. As a small token of appreciation for the excellent medical care and life-saving intervention I received at Sunnybrooke, I decided to donate this mural to the institution. It hangs in the main lobby there to this day.
Extreme adversity leads to a life-long commitment...
Although the onslaught and aftermath of this disease was a huge setback that caused a lot of negative impacts in my life, I can now in retrospect say that the net benefits of the whole experience far outweigh the deleterious. Although I certainly would not recommend this trial by fire to anyone, for me the experience set me on a path to self-discovery though my path as a life-long artist that I would never regret.
Sure, there have been times when I almost wished I had settled for a more financially secure career but all in all, it has been a great ride and just keeps getting better!
Inspiration or Delusion? Let History Decide.
Very soon after my eventual kidney transplant...which freed me from the exhausting routine of thrice-weekly dialysis treatments...I was a recipient of another kind: a powerful vision came to me in a vivid 'waking dream' of three triangles hovering in space. They contorted and rotated to join together to form a single design of three triangles 'within' a single triangle. Lest I sound like a total nut-job in describing this as a 'mystical experience' I will share with you the exciting development of the following days.
With the confidence of one 'inspired', I took my crude pencil sketch of my three triangles to the Archbishop of Halifax at the time, professing to him that I believed it to be a 'mystical vision' that encapsulated the mystery of the 'Trinity', which in Roman Catholic terms is the 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit'.
Much to my delight and amazement (but really, not a huge shock or surprise; I was THAT confident) the Archbishop made an executive decision on the spot and assigned the parish priest to oversee the execution of a mural in St. Mary's Basilica which I proceeded to work on with vigor!
After about three months I had completed the mural which I called "Trinity AD 1981" in the modest setting of the Parish Hall of the Basilica. My dream at the time was to someday be commissioned to design and paint a much larger and grander mural in the Sanctuary of a sacred space. Alas, this was not to be...until exactly 30 years later!
Although the mural was a fairly modest size and scope, it generated a lot of notoriety in the local media. I think the main reason for this was the audacity of an 'outsider' taking his unlovely pencil sketch into the hallowed offices of the Archbishop with the confidence that it would be honored by a designate wall on which to flesh it out to a full-blown mural. Take that!
Success ALWAYS leads to more success!
In my experience, one success ALWAYS leads to more success and this was a good test for that theory. Soon after the completion and unveiling of this early mural, I was recruited as a 'liturgical design apprentice' to the eminent Interior Decorator and Architect the (late) Reverend Father Toby McIvern with the Montreal design firm Desmarais and Robitaille Inc. where I worked for two very formative years.
Indeed, Fr. Toby's glowing letter of endorsement was key to my much later commission of 2011/12 to design and paint a huge, ambitious mural in the coveted 'sanctuary' of Sacred Heart Chaldean Catholic Church in Saskatoon.
I have chosen these particular artworks to drive home the point that artistic vision and 'inspiration' remain potent and powerful forces even in today's world; they are not outmoded artifacts of a bye-gone era.
Imagine my state of mind working on the ambitious mural that covered the entire sanctuary wall of Sacred Heart Chaldean Catholic Church fully 30 years after the humble 'Trinity AD 1981'. Words like 'ecstasy' and 'euphoria' come to mind...if only things were that simple.
If you want to take a closer look at the work-in-progress of this 2011 mural, check this video which pans across the entire surface and proffers some intimate views obtainable only by high-definition zoom lens, as the artwork soars to a height of almost fifty feet at the apex.
Not wanting to be typecast in any way shape or form as a 'religious' artist, I have created a prodigious number of murals across Canada over the past 30 years in the secular realm. Here is a selected mural portfolio with The Urban Wall in Saskatoon to give you an idea.
In case you were wondering, I remain to this day a successful kidney transplant thanks to the 'Gift of Life' from my loving brother Steven. He is doing well after 33 years too! One of my long-term goals is to be recognized as the World's Longest Surviving Kidney Transplant Recipient and at over 33 years I am definitely in the running. Just sayin'.
In 1979 at age 19, while living and working as a freelance artist in Toronto my health was dramatically imperiled by End-Stage Renal Failure. If the term 'End-Stage' sounds ominous, it's because it was!
Without emergency medical intervention I would've been a dead man. The toxins had accumulated to such lethal levels that the team of ER doctors were shocked that I had even managed to make it into Sunnybrooke Hospital on my own two feet.
 |
| Depiction in pencil of the 'Shribner Shunt' to initiate emergency dialysis. (10:48 am, April 4th, 1979) |
 |
| My neighbor on the dialysis ward with my machine in the foreground, April 1979. |
Making the best of a crappy situation.
A wonderful resource person at the hospital arranged for me to take over an empty room in the hospital as a make-shift studio and even supplied me with a budget in order to outfit myself with paints and canvas to enable me to start painting again as a way of getting back on my feet to regain a sense of normalcy in my shattered life.
I decided to create a mural that I called 'Recovery I' as a salutation to what I hoped would be an eventual return to health. You might say that this mural was an 'invocation' for my own recovery from what was a shockingly horrific disease. As a small token of appreciation for the excellent medical care and life-saving intervention I received at Sunnybrooke, I decided to donate this mural to the institution. It hangs in the main lobby there to this day.
 |
| "Recovery I" was designed and painted as an invocation for my own eventual recovery from the ravages of End-Stage Renal Failure. |
Although the onslaught and aftermath of this disease was a huge setback that caused a lot of negative impacts in my life, I can now in retrospect say that the net benefits of the whole experience far outweigh the deleterious. Although I certainly would not recommend this trial by fire to anyone, for me the experience set me on a path to self-discovery though my path as a life-long artist that I would never regret.
Sure, there have been times when I almost wished I had settled for a more financially secure career but all in all, it has been a great ride and just keeps getting better!
Inspiration or Delusion? Let History Decide.
Very soon after my eventual kidney transplant...which freed me from the exhausting routine of thrice-weekly dialysis treatments...I was a recipient of another kind: a powerful vision came to me in a vivid 'waking dream' of three triangles hovering in space. They contorted and rotated to join together to form a single design of three triangles 'within' a single triangle. Lest I sound like a total nut-job in describing this as a 'mystical experience' I will share with you the exciting development of the following days.
With the confidence of one 'inspired', I took my crude pencil sketch of my three triangles to the Archbishop of Halifax at the time, professing to him that I believed it to be a 'mystical vision' that encapsulated the mystery of the 'Trinity', which in Roman Catholic terms is the 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit'.
Much to my delight and amazement (but really, not a huge shock or surprise; I was THAT confident) the Archbishop made an executive decision on the spot and assigned the parish priest to oversee the execution of a mural in St. Mary's Basilica which I proceeded to work on with vigor!
 |
| Applying the first few strokes on 'Trinity AD 1981' at St. Mary's Basilica in Halifax. |
After about three months I had completed the mural which I called "Trinity AD 1981" in the modest setting of the Parish Hall of the Basilica. My dream at the time was to someday be commissioned to design and paint a much larger and grander mural in the Sanctuary of a sacred space. Alas, this was not to be...until exactly 30 years later!
 |
| The finished mural 'Trinity AD 1981' in its humble setting at the parish hall of St. Mary's Basilica. |
 |
| My mother Shirley Gaudet stands with the Archbishop James Hayes and myself on the occasion of the unveiling. |
In my experience, one success ALWAYS leads to more success and this was a good test for that theory. Soon after the completion and unveiling of this early mural, I was recruited as a 'liturgical design apprentice' to the eminent Interior Decorator and Architect the (late) Reverend Father Toby McIvern with the Montreal design firm Desmarais and Robitaille Inc. where I worked for two very formative years.
Indeed, Fr. Toby's glowing letter of endorsement was key to my much later commission of 2011/12 to design and paint a huge, ambitious mural in the coveted 'sanctuary' of Sacred Heart Chaldean Catholic Church in Saskatoon.
 |
| (The late) Reverend Father Toby McIvern posed for a quick pencil sketch on 11/05/85. The decorative 'doodles' in the background were rescued out of the wastepaper basket as Toby tossed them out after a chat on the phone. |
 |
| Working high up on the scaffold on the upper right-hand side of 'March of Trinity' aka 'Trinity 2011'. |
If you want to take a closer look at the work-in-progress of this 2011 mural, check this video which pans across the entire surface and proffers some intimate views obtainable only by high-definition zoom lens, as the artwork soars to a height of almost fifty feet at the apex.
 |
30 years after the creation of 'Trinity AD 1981' in Halifax I was honored to stand with His Excellency Roman Catholic Bishop of Saskatoon Donald Bolan and Father Sabah, parish priest of Sacred Heart Chaldean Catholic Church in Saskatoon, SK. on 03/03/2012, the day of the official unveiling ceremony of 'March of Trinity' aka 'Trinity 2011'.
|
Not wanting to be typecast in any way shape or form as a 'religious' artist, I have created a prodigious number of murals across Canada over the past 30 years in the secular realm. Here is a selected mural portfolio with The Urban Wall in Saskatoon to give you an idea.
In case you were wondering, I remain to this day a successful kidney transplant thanks to the 'Gift of Life' from my loving brother Steven. He is doing well after 33 years too! One of my long-term goals is to be recognized as the World's Longest Surviving Kidney Transplant Recipient and at over 33 years I am definitely in the running. Just sayin'.
Monday, March 18, 2013
"Art of Acrylic Glazing" online course goes LIVE!
Hi all!
I am excited to announce that after climbing one of the steeper learning curves in recent years I have succeeded in creating my first online Art Instruction Course.
It's called "The Art Of Acrylic Glazing".
Just before Christmas 2012 I received an email from Udemy.com recruiting me to create the course.
I was impressed by the very fact that they have people on staff who are trawling around the net seeking out potential candidates that they 'like' as a 'world expert'.
I went ahead and started nibbling on the elephant, one bite at a time and now, after about 10 weeks of slogging through all the Curriculum requirements, it's happening!
Want to learn how to paint like the masters? This art course shows how!
It was a real pleasure to work with the amazing staff at Udemy, who shepherded me through the whole process from the word GO!
Although I have painted hundreds and hundreds of canvasses, not to mention many many large murals in my day, it was an extra challenge to create this course. EVERY step of the way -12 in all- were carefully documented by HD video and then each of the videos were transcribed as lecture notes to clarify and emphasize the lessons.
The 12 videos take you ALL THE WAY from a blank canvas through to a finished piece.
The course is set up and designed so that you -the painting 'apprentice'- can follow along at your own pace. You can go back and repeat view any or all of the material as often as you wish. The lecture notes are also printable so that you basically have a full-blown textbook to go along with the video demonstrations!
I'll be writing more as this thing develops...can't you tell I'm kinda excited about it?
I am excited to announce that after climbing one of the steeper learning curves in recent years I have succeeded in creating my first online Art Instruction Course.
It's called "The Art Of Acrylic Glazing".
Just before Christmas 2012 I received an email from Udemy.com recruiting me to create the course.
I was impressed by the very fact that they have people on staff who are trawling around the net seeking out potential candidates that they 'like' as a 'world expert'.
I went ahead and started nibbling on the elephant, one bite at a time and now, after about 10 weeks of slogging through all the Curriculum requirements, it's happening!
Want to learn how to paint like the masters? This art course shows how!
It was a real pleasure to work with the amazing staff at Udemy, who shepherded me through the whole process from the word GO!
Although I have painted hundreds and hundreds of canvasses, not to mention many many large murals in my day, it was an extra challenge to create this course. EVERY step of the way -12 in all- were carefully documented by HD video and then each of the videos were transcribed as lecture notes to clarify and emphasize the lessons.
The 12 videos take you ALL THE WAY from a blank canvas through to a finished piece.
The course is set up and designed so that you -the painting 'apprentice'- can follow along at your own pace. You can go back and repeat view any or all of the material as often as you wish. The lecture notes are also printable so that you basically have a full-blown textbook to go along with the video demonstrations!
I'll be writing more as this thing develops...can't you tell I'm kinda excited about it?
 |
| In my happy place. |
Saturday, March 16, 2013
My first online Art Course about to go LIVE!
For about the past six weeks I've been working away on a new painting.
What's so remarkable about that you ask?
Well, for the first time ever I've been chronicling every step of the way with HD video with the intention of creating my first ever online Art Instruction Course through the world-famous Udemy.com, one of the most respected and successful online Academies of Learning in business today.
I got an email from one of their administrators recruiting me in early December 2012.
After the extreme learning curve that I have surmounted since then it seems like that was a life-time ago.
First thing I needed to get started was a high-definition video camera, because at Udemy they take the online learning experience very seriously.
After a bit of comparison shopping, I settled on a Panasonic Lumix model camera, based on the advice from a friend in the biz.
Between the camera and Corel Video Studio Pro X6, I have managed to pull all the moving parts together into a semblance of order.
The first trial by fire was the creation of an 'Intro Video' that promotes the course...oh yeah, called "The Art of Acrylic Glazing".
Here's what I came up with:
Once I get my 'Art of Acrylic Glazing' course authorized by the administration of Udemy.com it goes LIVE.
The plan is to roll out a series of demonstrations that offer a variety of genres for you to choose from as your introduction to the glazing technique: landscape, still-life, floral, portrait, etc. I've found that this 'technique' lends itself perfectly to the whole spectrum of genres, even large mural-painting.
As a little bonus (and to experiment with my new toys) I built this 1 minute video for you:
What's so remarkable about that you ask?
Well, for the first time ever I've been chronicling every step of the way with HD video with the intention of creating my first ever online Art Instruction Course through the world-famous Udemy.com, one of the most respected and successful online Academies of Learning in business today.
I got an email from one of their administrators recruiting me in early December 2012.
After the extreme learning curve that I have surmounted since then it seems like that was a life-time ago.
First thing I needed to get started was a high-definition video camera, because at Udemy they take the online learning experience very seriously.
After a bit of comparison shopping, I settled on a Panasonic Lumix model camera, based on the advice from a friend in the biz.
Between the camera and Corel Video Studio Pro X6, I have managed to pull all the moving parts together into a semblance of order.
The first trial by fire was the creation of an 'Intro Video' that promotes the course...oh yeah, called "The Art of Acrylic Glazing".
Here's what I came up with:
The painting I referred to is finished and so is my first series of 12 demonstration videos that make up the 'Art of Acrylic Glazing' course.
It was really interesting to put that much thought and energy into not only trying to clearly explain the technical aspects of glazing, but also all of the technical considerations of creating a legible video document of the process as I went. It was quite the balancing act!
At first I must admit, I was a bit overwhelmed by it all.
But as time went on and I got deeper into the process I started to find my groove.
It was a big help to be on the receiving end of all of the generosity of time and expertise that was offered by the staff at Udemy.com during those early moments of sheer panic. They have likely heard it all before and lots besides from their rookie instructors.
The pain was kept to a minimum thanks to the studio that they've set up on Facebook where instructors are invited to field any questions and anxieties they might have when starting up. That has been a huge help!
I'll be writing more as this thing gets hatched aka goes live in the next little while.
I think it has a lot of potential to do well.
While I'm here I may as well show you the 'demo' painting that I decided to create for my first course.
I love the great out-doors and our yard with the flower gardens, so I decided to tackle a painting of 'Tiger Lilies' that grow every summer just outside our big picture window.
 |
| This painting was created in 12 organized steps for the 'Art of Acrylic Glazing' course. |
The plan is to roll out a series of demonstrations that offer a variety of genres for you to choose from as your introduction to the glazing technique: landscape, still-life, floral, portrait, etc. I've found that this 'technique' lends itself perfectly to the whole spectrum of genres, even large mural-painting.
As a little bonus (and to experiment with my new toys) I built this 1 minute video for you:
And try this next one on for size while you're here...12 steps from a blank canvas through to a finished piece in just 48 seconds. But who's counting?
This is me experimenting with some new toys.
So long for now, thanks for all your support!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Artist Spotlight: Nfld-based G. Matthews Painter/Philanthropist
No man is an island , even if he happens to live on one.
Newfoundland-based visual artist Graham Matthews has
long been a strong advocate for artists worldwide in his role
as creator of the wildly successful artists' resource website
his own distinctive blend of surreal and abstract oil paintings
that depict the iconic images of his home and native land.
 |
| Graham Matthews at work in his Newfoundland studio. |
Name: Graham Matthews
Region and Country: Newfoundland, Canada
Mediums: Oil on Canvas, Acrylic, Graphite
Style: Surreal, Abstract, Abstract Realism
Please tell us about your first experience creating:
For as long as I can remember, I have had an inclination toward creating. Art was my favorite subject in elementary school. I can remember everyone saying I would be an artist someday. As a child, I would often doodle and sculpt with play doe. Unfortunately, art was not part of the curriculum from grades 7 to 12, but I did draw often during my teenage years.
How long have you considered yourself an artist?
I think I only considered myself an artist since I completed my first painting. Before art school, I did not have the confidence, encouragement or know-how to paint. But, I had been drawing for years. My first painting was completed in my first year of art school in 1996. My professor was the Canadian artist Harold Klunder. He gave us a painting project where we were to construct a huge 4x5 feet canvas with the theme of “octagon”. It was up to us to interpret this word any way we wanted. I still have this painting in my home. It’s not the best technically, but for me it’s the painting that initially gave me the confidence to say “I can do this!”
.jpg) |
| Capelin Run By: Graham Matthews. Oils on canvas. |
What are you trying to convey to viewers through your art?
There are different levels to what I am trying to convey. On one level (outward) I am trying to show the beauty of my own surroundings. This province is filled with so much inspiration. I grew up near the ocean and fishery, so this has become a dominant part of my work. My artwork is filled with scenes and images which I have seen all my life and are a part of me.
On another level, I am trying to draw viewers in, and get them involved in the artwork. I do this by shading, creating a sense of space and movement, repetition, use of perspective, and sometimes using high contrast. I also try to pay attention to every part of a painting, not just the focal point.
On still another level (inward), my artwork has become my personal autobiography. I have used it in different ways: to release anger, overcome frustrations, express love, show my inner pain. Many times, because of the personal nature of some of these themes, I sometimes “hide” them inside my paintings. It is my way to release frustrations, without expressing them outwardly.
.jpg) |
Entwined
By: Graham Matthews. Oils on canvas.
|
Tell us about your creative process, from the beginning of a typical piece to its completion:
My paintings begin in one of two ways. With an idea and sometimes a photo reference, or trying to cover the blank canvas as quickly as I can… many times it depends on my mood. This may seem chaotic, but I do have my own reasons and approaches in both cases.
When I begin with an idea, I plan out the painting. I first sketch on the canvas and then establish basic tones and composition. I let this dry and work on another painting. When I return, I work on contrast between dark and light areas, then let this dry. Next, comes brighter color and definition of areas. Most of my paintings involve several layers and a long process of reorganizing the composition until I am satisfied with the result. I have been known to make big compositional improvements in some paintings when I thought they were close to completion.
When I begin without a set plan, I cover the canvas as quickly as I can. I work with what I see on the canvas, creating forms and imagery. The painting comes to life through several layers, and the theme evolves with what I see on the canvas. The approach is the complete opposite of the other way I paint. This is typically for my psychological themed artwork though.
.jpg) |
Meeting of the Titans
By: Graham Matthews. Oils on canvas.
|
What things inspire you to create art?
There are many things that inspire me to create art: my own experiences, nature, culture, things I see around me everyday, life, love, disappointments, successes, heartache, loss, etc.
Have you sold any of your artworks?
Most of the artwork I have sold are commission based and sold locally - portraits, animals, landscapes, paintings of houses, and more.
How do you promote your art on the internet?
I have a website/blog as my central location on the web. I also have many profiles at portfolio type websites, and make sure to link my main website with those. I have a Facebook page, newsletter, Twitter profile, Pinterest, Linkedin, Google + and more. Read Artpromotivate.. you will see the other things I do.. :)
Influences
I have many influences. Most of my influences come from my own life, experiences and surroundings – province of Newfoundland and Labrador. As for artists who have influenced me, these are: Salvador Dali, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Harold Klunder, Tom Thompson, Monet, and more.
.jpg) |
Reflections of the Past
By: Graham Matthews. Oils on canvas.
|
What is the most annoying thing someone has said to you about your art?
I have heard many things said to me over the years. I shared some of this in my post here. Although some of the things have discouraged me, I am now at a point where it does not affect me.
.jpg) |
| Ice-Berg Flow By: Graham Matthews. Oils on canvas. |
Do you have any regrets in your life as an artist?
I have many regrets, mainly that I listened to people who discouraged me from becoming an artist early in life. I tried many other things besides art, but always was unhappy with what I was doing. I think different people are born to do different things – I was always meant to be an artist!
.jpg) |
| Triumph By: Graham Matthews. Oils on canvas. |
I have many plans. Creating many more paintings, creating more series, bringing more focus to my work, writing more articles for Artpromotivate, helping the online art community as much as I possibly can.
.jpg) |
| Squids hung out to dry By: Graham Matthews. Oils on canvas. |
Do you have any good advice for emerging artists?
I would say to stay positive, and don’t let disappointments and setbacks hold you back. Keep creating art no matter what people say to you. Make art even when you are not selling, and through all your ups and downs of life. If you have a day-time job or are raising a family, do it in your spare time. As long as you are devoting time to your dream, even if it is one painting a month, you are still growing as an artist. One day when you retire or the family is raised, you will have more time. But, if you have not been creating art all along, it will be like starting all over again.
I would like to thank Michael Gaudet for giving me this opportunity to be spotlighted! He has been such a great supporter of Artpromotivate and an encouragement to me from day one, and I am very grateful for that.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
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.
|
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) |
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)