-Story by Deborah Pearce and Photographs by Lia Crowe.
The first time my husband said he wanted to rent the big hall in Sidney香蕉视频直播檚 Mary Winspear Centre and put on a show of his paintings plus 30 pieces of his students香蕉视频直播� work, I thought he was nuts.
That huge space? The one that holds the Sidney Fine Arts Show, with hundreds of artists producing 400 works? The one that costs $5,000 to rent for four days?
Yep, that one. And nuts or not, that show, back in 2016, came off beautifully. Students pitched in to hang paintings and do the myriad jobs behind the scenes, as well as put on demonstrations of the Nicholas Pearce painting technique, using a single, huge brush and limited palette of four acrylic colours plus white.
The feeling of community was amazing. So was our collective exhaustion. I swore it would take me seven years to recover 香蕉视频直播� the amount of time to replace every cell in my body.
Fast forward three years. The scene: Nicholas香蕉视频直播檚 North Saanich studio. This time he was proposing another show with his students, same venue as the first, to run March 29-31, 2019. It would be called About Face, and it would be entirely portraits.
香蕉视频直播淲ould visitors be interested in portraits of people they don香蕉视频直播檛 know?香蕉视频直播� I protested.
香蕉视频直播淗ow many people go to see the Mona Lisa?香蕉视频直播� he countered.
As it turns out, Lawson A.W. Hunter, chair of the Ottawa Art Gallery, backs him up. 香蕉视频直播淲hat香蕉视频直播檚 in a portrait?香蕉视频直播� Hunter asked in a recent Globe and Mail article, arguing for a Canadian National Portrait Gallery. 香蕉视频直播淭he quick answer: a story 香蕉视频直播here is no substitute for a face-to-face encounter with a portrait. Isn香蕉视频直播檛 the sustained popularity of the 香蕉视频直播榮elfie香蕉视频直播� a testament to our intuitive desire to put faces to our shared experiences?香蕉视频直播�
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| Lia Crowe photograph |
Over the past couple of years, more and more of Nicholas香蕉视频直播檚 students have taken on the challenge of doing just that. I香蕉视频直播檝e marvelled at the paintings they香蕉视频直播檝e produced, and the stories behind the paintings.
For example, there香蕉视频直播檚 the story of a son who hadn香蕉视频直播檛 liked having his picture taken and died in a car crash at 17. The only recent photo of him was small and blurred. His mother used that image to paint a portrait.
At the end of the class, she said to Nick, 香蕉视频直播淭hank you for helping me bring him home.香蕉视频直播�
Or, the retired counsellor who captured all seven of her grandchildren 香蕉视频直播� and then went on to do portraits of her husband and herself.
I香蕉视频直播檓 not an artist 香蕉视频直播� just a fly on the kitchen wall. I香蕉视频直播檓 the one making coffee and cooking lunches for Nick香蕉视频直播檚 classes in his studio, right around the corner.
And what I see and hear in every class is courage.
Portraiture is tough. As New York teacher Marvin Mattelson tells his students, 香蕉视频直播淧ortrait painting isn香蕉视频直播檛 brain surgery; it香蕉视频直播檚 much more difficult.香蕉视频直播�
UK artist David Cobley goes further. 香蕉视频直播淧ainting someone香蕉视频直播檚 portrait is, of course, an impossible task. What an absurd idea to try and distil a human being, the most complex organism on the planet, into flicks, washes and blobs of paint on a two-dimensional surface.香蕉视频直播�
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| Lia Crowe photograph |
So why try?
Nicholas has several theories. 香蕉视频直播淎rtists are adventurers, especially those willing to take on the single, one-and-a-half-inch brush, and a limited palette of four colours,香蕉视频直播� he says. 香蕉视频直播淧ainting a portrait is arguably the biggest challenge any artist will undertake.香蕉视频直播�
A second reason to do portraits is the need for connection through art, common to many artists.
His third theory?
香蕉视频直播淲hen we paint a portrait of someone we care about, it香蕉视频直播檚 an act of love.香蕉视频直播�
Nicholas says his goal is to capture the person香蕉视频直播檚 essence 香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播渢heir spark香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� as well as their likeness. One of his favourite instructions to students is to let go of any aim to create perfection through photorealism.
香蕉视频直播淚ndicate, don香蕉视频直播檛 illustrate,香蕉视频直播� he says. 香蕉视频直播淎s the Impressionists discovered, absolute definition of anything can take the magic out of a painting, creating a technical exercise. Give just enough detail to imply rather than to state.香蕉视频直播�
Nicholas says a portrait is working when it morphs from an image of a person香蕉视频直播檚 features to a sense of the person香蕉视频直播檚 being: 香蕉视频直播淵ou don香蕉视频直播檛 see an eye; you see a soul shining out through an eye.香蕉视频直播�
Most of the 150 works in About Face will be from Nicholas香蕉视频直播檚 portrait classes, the rest done in a new one-day workshop called painting with pencil.
For that class, students build an image using a 3B pencil and Nicholas香蕉视频直播檚 scribble technique.
香蕉视频直播淵ou start with a light hand and build the whole image at once rather than moving from one detail to another. If a line is in the wrong place, you learn how to incorporate it into the rest of the tone scribble.香蕉视频直播�
Throughout the show, Nicholas and his students will demonstrate both techniques. Draws will be held for the portrait intensive and painting with pencil classes.
Each portrait, or group of portraits, will come with a story so the viewer can learn who the subject is and why the work was created. Visitors will be able to sign up for classes with Nicholas 香蕉视频直播� or commission a portrait, done by Nick or one of his students.
Everyone is invited to the official opening, being held partway through the show to accommodate some of the portrait subjects who have offered to speak at the event. Green Party leader Elizabeth May and agriculture minister Lana Popham are both scheduled to say a few words, with their portraits beside them.
Admission: Free
Location:
Mary Winspear Centre, Bodine Hall
2243 Beacon Ave W, Sidney
Show dates and times:
Friday, March 29, 10 am to 9 pm
Saturday, March 30, 10 am to 7 pm (opening ceremony, 7 to 9 pm)
Sunday, March 31, 10 am to 4 pm
More information:
778.426.0150
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| Lia Crowe photograph |
From Pearl Magazine
