This work that I wrote about last time is finished now.http://janinehallstudio.com/category/on-my-easel/It is 10x10" and oil on board. I enjoyed painting this one and have learned so much by doing it that I have another very similar set up to work from. First though, I am off to start another drawing for the portrait based works that I introduced a couple of months ago here: http://janinehallstudio.com/category/drawing-and-studies/For those that look at paintings I'm sure you know that photography describes them fine but doesn't really capture a painting so this one will be at http://jarvishallfineart.ca/ later in the week if you want to see it in the flesh.
Happy New Year!
Hello and happy new year. I hope that 2014 is going very well for you so far. Here the kids are all back at school and I have gotten back to work in the studio.First of all I have made a couple of changes here to make it easier for those interested to follow my creative work. I have published a page specifically for following my professional activities on Facebook so you won't have to suffer personal posts there if you don't wish. It is separate from my personal FB profile. I have also included to the right here on the blog links for those who aren't on Facebook to know when I post via email and Twitter as you wish.I have a few creative projects on the go but on the easel today is work continuing my fascination with still life. In the last portrait I did there were roses and I became painfully aware of how difficult it is to capture a rose in paint. I have always intended to develop this skill and so now it seems appropriate to take the time while it is top of mind. I am using fabric roses and working to refine a limited palette I will put to use in one of my other current projects. With a few boards ready to work on I will do some variations of this still life. I may set up a "real" rose to paint from too because I'm sure there are a few very important differences in painting a fabric rose and a real rose- first being that with one you are painting fabric and with the other you are painting a living plant.One of the necessary processes in my painting is drawing the image before any of the painting begins. Painting from photo or drawn reference, I use a grid to copy and draw the image and this means transferring one 2D image to a 2D surface pretty much mathematically- one square=one square and I copy the lines accordingly. When working from a still life though, I am transferring a 3D image to 2D and it takes a different kind of process to work this way. A primary element for composition is an image's boundaries and on a 2 dimensional reference, say a photograph, I am able to crop the image very particularly and transfer these boundaries specifically to the board I am working on. From still life however it is more challenging to "crop" the image and create specific boundaries to reproduce on the board. 
Once a still life was set I used a "cut out" the same proportions as my working surface to design a composition. Marks on the cut out let me line up the image precisely every time I looked at the still life.
With the image designed the next issue was drawing to the correct proportions. On the other work (with a 2D reference) this is a simple process of measuring like for like on little gridded squares. Here though, I don't have a grid so I used a tool called a proportional divider to measure like for like. In these pictures you can see that I took a measurement with one side of the divider and then as I turn the tool around it gives an exact measurement proportioned larger for my drawing. The divider then guides me to make an copy of the still life as exactly right as my eye and hands will allow. 
Once I had a detailed enough drawing to work from and then I put a coat of clear gessoe over the drawing before I began to paint.
Here is the under painting.I will post again once the piece is complete in a week.Thanks for reading!
Latest work
For months now I have been working on this portrait of my oldest son. Dexter was still 17 in this image and now he is 20. He is on his (new then) motorcycle and is wearing a leather jacket that belongs to my dad. The work is oil on canvas and 24x30" making the face pretty much life scale. I am very happy to have it done and soon it will go to Jarv's to frame and then on to a wall at my parents house that is full of family portraits-
When I composed the portrait I imagined it a nocturnal one so that the subject glowed on a very deep black ground. We set up outside of my house by the rose bushes to photograph him on his bike. With a spot light on him I was able to get the affect I wanted. It is a strangely theatrical with mixture of both shallow and deep space.
All of the contrasting surfaces were fascinating to describe in paint.
And finally, here is the wall it will hang on with the others.
Thanks for having a look!
New works
So over the past few months I have been developing ideas in the form of maquettes for new directions in my studio work. There are a few groups of ideas and this month I began developing studies from one of them. This first group of images are portrait based and use as a starting point the Rorschach tests used in psychotherapy. A couple of the primary themes I'm developing is multivalence and emergence in the context of, of course, painting. I'll write more about them in the coming weeks but for the moment, just to introduce them, here are the first of many. They all share a working title of Rorschach Portrait and each have a number to identify which they are in the group. These are 18x24" charcoal, graphite and chalk on grey velvet paper. I will develop a selection of these into oil paintings.
Clouds
So I have finished the third of three still lives I have done over the past three months. In the last post I mentioned how much I've enjoyed the time doing them. I set up a black box beside the easel and each of the SL works from this year have been identical in terms of the environment but increasingly complicated. You can see what I mean in previous posts Fallen Angel, Courage, Ancestors and now this one. The last two are almost double the size too. 
The lotus flower is a candle holder that is sold in New Age shops, it is blue, symbolizing Vishuddhi the throat chakra, which has under its rulership communicaton. For a long time the skeleton has been to me a symbol of the material aspect of being human and not, as it seems to be in op culture, of death. Let me see if I can explain; one of my most powerful personal meditations has been to quietly sit and visualize the image of a skeleton- bones with no life or way of movement to them. Once I have this clearly I imagine the skeleton begin to animate and move. Almost instantly it brings the experience of wonder that a pile of bones can move on it's own. The last step is to then, while still in meditation, bring my attention to a point where my own skeleton is obvious, like the jaw or brow bone and direct the sense of wonder of a moving skeleton to my own experience of self. For me this has the effect of delineating the material and spiritual(conscious) experience of being human and the skeleton is a central character in this mystical sense of being.
I don't know if it would work for anyone else but for me it cultivates an awareness of these two aspects of being, and to what end? Why would one try a meditation like this? It isn't necessarily deep relaxation, in fact it may seem creepy. For me it has been a "bottom-line" kind of exercise-the experience of matter/the experience of spirit- powerful if you have as one of your goals self awareness in a spiritual sense.
So here in this image, the skeleton(the material human) has a white flower on it's head, maybe symbolizing a revelation or an enlightenment of some sort as it gazes down into Vishuddhi. The organza fabric tied up with the purple ribbon are like clouds, suggesting etheric setting and the ribbon banner behind is a scroll type image that I am developing for future works where words from the spiritual characters will appear.Don't quite know what to make of all of that but it might have some sort of emergent meaning for you.And thank you for stopping in to read!
Latest on the easel
I have set up a new still life and the under painting is complete. In the next week I will be glazing and refining the detail with shadows and highlights. The working title is Clouds and it is 18x20".
Messenger Singing update
I have been working a lot on the background of this painting. It has become less of a physical cave doorway behind the figure and more of an aura in my pursuit of creating a sense of place and atmosphere. I am very happy with the paint texture and the subtle shifts of colour. I have also begun the clothing which I intend to make very soft, luminous and painterly. Creating this piece is a very different experience from the still life I am also working on but I am aware of similarities too. The difference is the feeling of creating purely from imagination and looking "in" for reference as opposed to describing something I physically see and looking "out", but there is much the same experience of looking at the paint and the piece for guidance as well. The experience of colour, creating form with the pigment, the desire to create atmosphere and presence in the piece and the pleasure of mark making are very parallel in doing both pieces. You can click on the photos below to see a larger format.
New Still Life
Recently I have enjoyed developing more of a still life practice. I have been working from a black box set up beside my easel. Much work I do of portraits is from photo resources and so it is very valuable for me both creatively and technically to spend regular time working from life. In this composition I have used some fabric from my studio that I dyed in deep hues, the now familiar purple ribbon and a small terracotta face that has been hanging on my wall for years. When the face has fallen a couple of times I glued the pieces back together as I love it very much. This painting was strongly about colour relationship while I was working on it, but there is a symbolic component that describes the ancient alien conspiracy tales which I find fascinating and bizarre.Here for your interest are photos including a couple of the work in progress. The finished piece along with the last, "Courage", will be at Jarvis Hall Fine Art in Calgary later this week. I will also have more additions of work in progress on this blog shortly.
Messenger Singing
The current title is Messenger singing. It is 26x42" and oil on canvas. These first few photos show the under painting where you can still see the grid method I use to transfer my sketch to the canvas.This piece began as vision of a guide. She is standing at the door of a cave, singing her message. With one hand she holds a mudra of meditation and with the other she makes a deaf symbol of I love you.
Courage
Courage
One of the methods we use in Tarot is to combine two or three separate symbols to create one idea. This practice has provided me with a structure to approach designing still life painting.I think the core reason that I enjoy painting from still life is the act of painting from 3 dimensional space for an extended period of time. Because I use photo references commonly I find it very valuable to have the memory of painting from a three dimensions fresh.The above comment about the method in reading Tarot has infused the practice with another layer of meaning for me. In the following image I have three basic parts- the ribbon, the card and the glass talisman. I am using the purple ribbon now to express connection to the Divine; the glass piece is one that is used for energetic protection and the Two of Wands has a key idea something like ambition. Combining the three symbols into one concept I have called the piece- Courage.The card in the image is from The Angels Tarot by Robert Place and Rosemary Ellen Guiley. It was published in 1995.
Jarvis Hall Fine Art +One
The summer show at Jarvis Hall Fine Arts is called +One. Each of his gallery artists were asked to show a piece and then invite an artist they wanted to be included. I believe that Jarvis did not pre curate the show at all and just responded to the work that showed up prior to hanging. It is a rich mix of styles and approaches to art that will appeal to a good range of tastes and interests. It is very interesting to see how well it all works together as the mood changes from one piece to the next and every piece in the show is worth seeing individually.Here is Jarvis's description for the show:Join us for the opening reception of our summer exhibition entitled: + One"Featuring works by:Mark Dicey + Doug TaylorDavid Foxcroft + Dan HudsonMarianne Gerlinger + Marcel Van EedenJanine Hall + Richard T. DavisBilly McCarroll + Serena McCarrollHerald Nix + M. CranJen Somerville + Mireille PerronJeffrey Spalding + Marmaduke MatthewsLarissa Tiggelers + Shannon BrownDean Turner + Isobel RaeCarl White + Timothy ReeceDan Whiting+ Mackenzie Kelly-FrereJohn Will + Robin ArseneaultSince opening the gallery, Jarvis Hall Fine Art, in 2011 I have used my summer months to program curated group exhibitions. I have allowed for and invited artists that I do not represent to be included in these exhibitions in order to push the boundaries of programming in a commercial art gallery. My hope is that our audience will get a greater sense of what is happening in contemporary art, further afield from the artists that I represent.This year, I asked each of the artists at JHFA to invite a guest artist (+ One) of their choice to take part in our summer show. The result of this of type of curation has resulted in our largest exhibition to date with an estimated 30 works on view. I have had no input into the list of invited artists, believing that the strength of the exhibition would be served by the varied mix of style, approach and execution. Every artist at JHFA has their own reasons for whom they added to the guest list. "I chose Richard Thomas Davis who I met at the last the last Kingston Prize Portrait competition. I admire his work greatly for its meditative beauty but also for its slow and careful aesthetic where craftsmanship, technique and attention to detail are so valued. I find a lot of inspiration in his art that supports my longing to make work where paint describes a vision so completely that it transforms into the vision itself.
What Lies Beyond the Storms
Storms have always been a part of my creative imagination. They are so powerful and awesome, no match at all for humans and the things we build. They are terrifying, dangerous, exciting, beautiful and more all at the same time. I have no physical experience with tornados or hurricanes myself, only imaginings feuled by images from videos, photos and stories. Storms are so wonderfully symbolic. It is a combination of water and air and for someone like me who thinks in symbols, the mixture of the two- mental and emotional- is so meaningful, especially when I consider the destructive force, the beauty, the turbulence, the temperatures and the impact on the earth and on the creatures. Rich subject matter to ponder including the relationship between the forms of air and water- in the human, in the weather, in the imagination and throughout creation.This piece is called "What lies Beyond the Storms". The two twisters reach stretch from the dark clouds on either side of the composition like pillars. There is a suggestion of some drama and human presence on the ground around them. Far above the dark clouds there are patches of night sky and stars and below them is the glow of light from the sun beyond. So if I look and contemplate the light the turbulence of the storms is only on the periphery.
Latest commissioned portrait
I have just delivered the latest commission from my studio. It is oil on board and 18x24". It is the third portrait of a set of brothers and I will have a post up shortly of the all three. For now though here is this last one along with a detail. You can click on the image for a larger view. Thanks for taking the time to look!
New Frame from Jarvis
Last night my brother- Jarvis from Jarvis Hall Fine Art, brought a painting he has framed. It is a portrait of my daughter at 13 years old and the frame is absolutely gorgeous!He is such a master at custom framing:http://jhff.ca/
<
New Work on Display in Calgary
I am one of the ten artists asked to do a portrait of a Canadian Athlete for MOCA Calgary. This project is a fundraiser for the Museum of Contemporary Art Calgary and I hope that it is successful and contributes to a healthy future for this important institution in our city. The exhibition is called Olympian Heights and the athlete assigned to me was Alexandre Bilodeau.The work is oil on canvas and it is 36x48". The paintings will be on display at MOCA until July 1st 2013: http://shopmocacalgary.org/. My dad-John Hall- also has a portrait of Hayley Wickenheiser there! He is a genius creative and painter: http://mimesisfinearts.com/HTML/paintings-n.htm
<
Portrait of Alexandre Bilodeau-In my approach to portraiture I like to include subject matter beyond the subject’s body or face. I find simple storytelling elements in the image very satisfying for myself as a painter but also to the owner and others who will eventually view it or live with it. Seems to add richness and fulfills the part of our minds that builds stories.So when I received the photos of Alexandre Bilodeau I was happy to see not only studio portraits of him but also a couple of him skiing. Right away I set about combining the two. I choose this image of him laughing that spoke of joy, satisfaction and dare devilling paired with a freestyle move for maximum energy and celebration of his accomplishment. Another very important element for me was environment for the subject and with paint I designed layers of snow, sky, mountains and winter air acknowledging that nature and that winter season is the theatre in which the winter games are played.
Latest Portrait
My experience with oil painting is that although it has moments of ease and "magic" it is very hard work and somewhat mystifying to me when a piece comes together in the end. I know the basic principles and steps of my process but there are hundreds or thousands of decisions and actions that make up a painting. It really is an act of faith that any of it will amount to anything that will have a life of its own at all. Dozens of times in a work there is a moment when a passage I am working on suddenly "pops" into being, or into its illusion. Sometimes that moment comes quickly after a short amount of work and sometimes after many hours of hard work. My process and is not nearly as predictable as I would like to think and the only thing predictable about the grand moment when the work as a whole "pops" into its finished self is that it will indeed come if I give it my faith and sit there long enough working.Here are photos of my latest portrait. It is oil on board and it is 26x46." This is the third of a set I have been doing for a single family and so they all share the same size and similar compositions. The first two are in the portrait section of my website. I have included some images of the work in progress as well. Click on any of the photos for a closer view(thanks to Wordpress).
Fallen Angel
Happy New Year to everyone! Here is the first work from my studio in 2013. I've set up a small still life box by my easel and my intention this year is to do more studies from life.Here is a photo of the still life and then the painting from it. Yes the light is very bad on the one photo so you can't do any comparing :). I have found myself a proportional divider and so the next piece will be much more accurate for measurements- I won't have to depend on my shaky hands as much...The final work is oil on board, 11x14" and it is titled Fallen Angel.I will post more very soon about where you can see it and more about what I am up to these days...
My latest Painting is on view in Calgary
So here is the latest painting to come out of my studio. It is a self portrait done in a few days- just me, my headphones, the paint, the canvas and mirror... and coffee, of course.
Everything that I've learned up til now about painting is represented here I think. It is oil on canvas and 24 by 30". The title is Mars Return 2012. When a transiting planet returns to the degree it stands in ones natal chart there is an ending and beginning of the cycle symbolized by the planet. This moment is an opportunity to take what one has experienced in the previous period and move into the new with a refreshed vision based on the planetary function. The action of doing a self portrait at the Mars return in the very early moments of the new cycle manifests a blessing for the new or an initiation of the new vision in a ritual sort of way, infusing the painting with meaning as a talisman for the cycle. I believe very strongly that painting can be used productively in this way to make things "real"
This painting will be up at jarvis Hall Fine Art for August in his exhibition Summer Survey ll. Here is Jarvis' announcement for the show:
"It is time again for me to have a look outside of our regular roster of artists and curate an exhibition inviting artists that I admire to hang on our walls. Last August our first Summer Survey Bring The Noise was a great success and a point of conversation throughout the year with collectors and artists alike. It is in this spirit of thought provoking exhibitions that I present to you Summer Survey II, featuring: Paintings by Janine Hall (courtesy of the Weiss Gallery), Becky McMaster, Elena Evanoff, Marianne Gerlinger and Leslie Sweder. Drawings by Debra Rushfeldt. Sculpture by Donna White, Kim Bruce , Jen Somerville and Shelley Ouellet. Photographs by Angela Inglis. We are not having a title for this year’s summer survey show. I had intended to come up with a clever or insightful title referencing the fact that all of the exhibiting artists are women. I have decided that gender is not the point of this exhibition at all. The art is, as it should be, the thing. During studio visits I realized that while the energy was coming from a feminine place the impact of the work did not rely on this information. I was encouraged as a curator, to realize that I was looking at commanding artworks. To say that I am attempting to curate an exhibition that opens a feminist dialogue would be wrong. This exhibition is an honest survey of what is happening in the studios of artists that I admire. The hope is for the audience to be inspired by the variety of vision these artists bring to this exhibition. "
Jarvis Hall
The information to get there is:
Jarvis Hall Fine Art
403.206.9942
617 – 11 Avenue SW
Lower Level
Calgary, Alberta
403.206.9942
617 – 11 Avenue SW
Lower Level
Calgary, Alberta
Latest Portrait
Here are pictures of my latest portrait, Boy on a Ladder. It is oil on canvas, 18x24". You can click on the images for a closer look.
Thanks so much to Ted Marshall for the opportunity! I've included images to the portraits of the other grandchildren which Ted has. All of the kids were painted around 6/7 years of age with the first one completed in 2006. All are 18x24" with the first two oil on board rather than canvas.
I am so grateful to Ted and to all who have me do commissioned portraits, their support means I can stay working in my studio fulltime.
Happy 2012
I hope all of you are having a wonderful start to a Happy 2012.Here are some images of the last portrait completed in my studio. The size is 33x37" and it is oil on canvas. Here also are shots in progress and some of the preliminary drawing which is graphite on paper.
I've begun the next ones and so there will more to share within the month.Thanks for looking!