SATURDAY FEB 25 7 PM ART SHOW

I am so grateful for the interest that you have shown in my work before. I am pleased to be among several artists invited to display our paintings at this coming Saturday evening's Coffee House Art Show entitled "Soul Cravings" hosted by Breakthrough, a division of Power to Change here in Langley. The admission is free as are the catered refreshments and the start time is 7 PM Saturday, February 25. This is being held at 20385 64th Ave. Please come to enjoy the paintings, and the silent auction opportunities which include one of my paintings. Auction proceeds are donated to a special project. Four more days to our Soul Cravings Art Show! We are looking forward to live music with Jenni and Sam, twelve artists sharing their beautiful work, good coffee and goodies, conversation and laughter, optional table games, and words of encouragement through our free Spiritual Insights for those who request it. All of this is a demonstration of the kind of coffee house atmosphere we would like to see established in a location in Langley. We invite you to come, bring your friends, and experience this evening with us.

Some of my artist colleagues will be: Jeanie Shilton, Alison Philpott, Donna Leavens, Meghan Bustard, Brian Buhler, Daniel Giesbrecht, M.J. Reah, I.J.Baerg

 

D'Angelo Estate Vineyard Painting

D'Angelo Estate Vineyards

I had an opportunity to present to D'Angelo Estate Vineyards, a large painting depicting their vines stretching toward a knoll that overlooks Lake Okanagan. It suggests the rolling hills on both sides of the lake that are now covered by vineyards both large and small. It is a beautiful part of the world. In the images here, the painting itself was done in oil on canvas and the canvas was 24X30 inches. I have situated the viewer between the rows looking to end of the row with an awareness that rows move out to the left and to the right. Even the hills ahead have rows of grapes. The far side of the lake is visible and a light hazy appearance under a mid-afternoon sun. The second image is me holding the painting as I stand with my back to the scene that I have captured here. I am standing on one of balconies of a B&B that is located on the estate.

I am standing with the image of my painting behind me

first draft in acrylic and from a high viewpoint

 This painting involved a process made complicated by my dissatisfaction with the early version. I painted it initially with acrylic on canvas and painted it as though I was standing on the balcony and at first I though I would like the lofty viewpoint but the painting did not draw the viewer into the painting. So I decided to overpaint it with oil and at the same time change the vantage point. When I finished it I was much happier with it and eager to go to the location to see how the painting matched up with the venue.

I am very pleased that the Vineyard owners are pleased with the outcome.

D'Angelo Estate Vineyards

SEMENTZEFF - AN EXTRAORDINARY FRENCH ARTISTE

This is a nostalgic revisit to the art of a French painter in whose son's home we serendipitously over-nighted. This is the third time that I have posted this because I enjoy the man's art so much and so do many art lovers. His is such a different style and subject matter from my own. This noted artist Michel Sementzeff has contacted me with appreciation for this exposure and I am grateful.

Michel Sementzeff is considered one of the greatest contemporary figurative artists. I could not believe my good fortune when I stayed in his son Didier’s guest home in 2009. Throughout the home were these exquisitely executed paintings. He paints landscapes and portraits that are colourful, playful, dreamlike, romantic and he does it using a knife to paint heavy oil passages that accent the creativity of his themes and style. While this genre is not my customary choice, it was irresistable. It is so good. Didier presented me with a book of his father’s paintings which I treasure. That’s as close as I will get to owning one of Sementzeff’s expensive originals.

Of Russian origin, Michel Sementzeff was born in Boulogne-sur-Seine. He entered the École Supérieure des Arts Modernes at the age of 15, and has subsequently forged a highly successful career as an artist, exhibiting in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, United States and Canada. With his well chosen palette of colours, his light strokes as well as his heavy impasto touches he emits light and happiness and nostalgia. He has chosen to paint faces that always reflect a childish innocence and surprise and anticipation.

His son Didier, the retired professional photographer that I mentioned yesterday, captures his father’s images so clearly to make every book of art a masterpiece collector’s cache.

I am enamoured by Michel's success and jealous of his signature. Michel's work makes the viewer happy.

Here is Michel's website. The best site for viewing the quality and luminosity and brush strokes is Galerie Internationale

BERNIE MAJOR, LANGLEY ARTIST & FRIEND

Bernie Major Bio Photo

Back in June 2009 I wrote an appreciative blog post about Bernie Major. That post was on my GPS blog which has subsequently been devoted the advocacy for the return of Paul and Zabeth Bayne's children. Since that time I have come to know Bernie a bit more, through sharing an art show with him in 2010 and talking occasionally.

He has a distinctive and consistent style with oils that make his work easily recognizable. He makes international trips that he turns into series of wonderful paintings that evoke for others the memories of people and places and exotic scenes.

Today June 11th 2011 he has held a one man show at Frames West in Murrayville (Langley) and he has displayed there his impressions of his recent trip to Egypt. His available work today is very appealing, colourful, attractive brush work, and you will enjoy it I am sure. You should visit Bernie Major’s art website. Bernie is an interesting man who served with the British military and the London Metropolitan Police Force as well as the Scotland Yard detective branch. After emigrating to Canada in 1969 he opened a private investigation company from which he retired in 1999. He then devoted himself to his painting. While he enjoyed watercolour, he transitioned to oils and thus emerged a distinctive colourful and textured recognizable style. Bernie is an active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists with numerous juried competitions to his credit.


Frames West is owned by Sandra Craig. Sandra purchased this store one year ago and has been gradually transforming this framing outlet into a gallery showing original art. Local artists have been showing here. You must drop in and look at the pieces or bring in a painting or photo that you would like to have framed and see the selection of framing material. You will find several paintings of my works available in her store as well.  Frames West is located at 105-22259 48th Ave., Langley, B.C. with phone 604-530-9015

Take a look at Bernie’s enjoyable work.

GATHERING SEASIDE WILDFLOWERS

I have been painting a series of bicycle paintings in numerous sizes. I have thoroughly enjoyed doing them. And I am intrigued by the interest that people show in the theme. People enjoy riding two wheelers and the idea of taking one to a sunny beach, parking it, walking through warm sand, finding flowers among the grasses and taking some of them home (no signs saying this was prohibited), is a comfortable image. It could be anywhere couldn't it?

This painting is 16X20 in in oil in canvas and my daughter Cari is the owner of this one.

'Jammin Cuban Style 16X20 in, oil on canvas, 2010 ©

I have just completed and framed a new painting. This was a commissioned piece.


The scene depicts a backyard band of Cubans playing a creolized fusion of Spanish and African music that is distinct to this Caribbean island. Two of them play guitars and one is providing a rythmic beat by hand-slapping his trousered legs, and the fourth standing man is playing an instrument unique to and common to the island. He uses the guiro, an instument crafted from a gourd, featuring properly spaced grooves for a percussive sound when rubbed by a stick.

The large yard invites neighbours in and out to enjoy the music. The setting is humble among abandoned buildings with fallen bricks and debris on the ground. American cars of the forties and fifties are everywhere in the cities and here one sits under a modest tin roof cover. The day is sunny, warm, slightly overcast so the shadows are subtle.

This is a holiday memory preserved as a commissioned request for Mark and Mary Ellen Kragh.

 The Montreal Review published a tribute I wrote about Alex Colville a couple of years ago. I stumbled upon recently and thought I would place it here.

 "I do have a fear of chaos and a strong sense of the fragility of civilization." Alex Colville 1983

"Like T. S. Eliot's ideal artist, Alex Colville interprets,  revalues, absorbs, and transforms the spiritual and aesthetic heritage of his predecessors. His precise realism is inspired by--and achieves much of its resonance, meaning, and value from--his vital connection to great artists and writers. His lively intellectual response to painters who showed him new directions enhances his originality and gives him a sense of freedom. Colville's work, like Eliot's, represents a humane continuity of past and present." Antioch Review

PROUD OF ALEX COLVILLE

Ron Unruh
Alex Colville does not expect anything beyond this life. In the end we are all dead would summarize his view. Perhaps he might say that he has received honours and tributes enough to compensate for an afterlife. Do I wish that Colville embraced a biblical view of heaven. Of course I do. Colville is 89 years of age, has struggled with prostate cancer and bowel cancer and has a valve replacement in his heart.

He has said that his lifework is his effort to ask one question: What is life like? As Colville puts it, "You spend your whole life telling people what it's like to be alive." In order to affect this Colville has examined his surroundings of the Annapolis Valley, the shores of the Minas Basin , his home and his family. His children have been some of his models and Rhoda, his wife of 60 years has been the subject of many paintings.

He is very much aware of his age, the imminence of death, the legacy he lives and the manner in which his mortality inspires his paintings. He understands that his work has stirred interpretation and sometimes controversy, telling the CBC's Life and Times "what troubles people about my work, in which they find mystery and intrigue, may well be the idea that ordinary things are important."


The author of this short tribute is Ron Unruh, a British Columbia artist. The Rocky Mountains rise within view of Ron's Cloverdale home studio which is minutes from the Pacific Ocean. His drive to White Rock and Crescent Beach waters takes him through agricultural land reserve with blueberry and raspberry fields, cranberry bogs, vineyards and flourishing wineries as well as hobby farms, secluded private estates and sprawling golf and country clubs. Ron Unruh enjoys painting scenes with a range of idyllic landscapes and fascinating people in celebration of his idyllic and productive environment in the lower mainland of British Columbia. He also takes pleasure in recording memorable scenes from his international travels, scenes which frequently evoke fond memories for other global tourists. If you want to see RON UNRUH'S ONLINE GALLERY and to read his blog, please,

Works of Alex Colville at Studio 14 ( 114 Highfield St., Toronto ), Mira Godard Gallery ( 22 Hazelton Avenue Toronto ), and Zwickers's Gallery ( 5415 Doyle Street Halifax, Nova Scotia )

THE MONTREAL REVIEW OF WORLD POLITICS, GLOBAL ECONOMY, AND CULTURE
The Montreal Review is an online publication on the current global affairs, books, art, culture and ideas.

Santorini 24X30 in, acrylic on canvas, private collection

The island of Santorini, Greece was a favourite tourist stop for two friends of mine. They wanted a reminder of their vacation which they could hang prominently in their home. I was pleased to provide this painting for them.

A SUCCESSFUL SURPRISE FOR FATHER'S DAY

David Hoens obliged his wife Diane by coming with her to an art show called Emergence in which seven other artists and I displayed 100 art pieces. David did not know that Diane had commisioned me many months earlier to paint an image of David aboard his Cal 20 sailing craft as he enjoyed a solo day off the Vancouver shoreline. I worked on canvas with acrylic, and after some preliminary sketches showed Diane the start with the image of David's head somewhat developed. She approved the likeness and I went on to complete the painting. She wanted to surprise him, so she pretended not to know me as she brought David into the show. She passed through rooms of paintings and then she arrived at one of my panels of paintings and immediately his recognition of his image overwhelmed him. It was a delightful memorable moment for all of us. We shared the delight of Diane's gift to him and he could not get over what she had managed to accomplish.

EMERGENCE ART SHOW June 4th and 5th

A CLIENT AND HER DESIGNER

This is a first for me. A client and her interior designer came to look at the works I have in my studio/gallery. The designer is advising on colour and decor and hangings for a total renovation of the client's home. They walked away with two paintings and may come back for others. Christine handles the business end of our lives and is experienced with placement and framing preferences and does an admirable job of talking with prospective clients. One of the paintings that this client purchased is called 'Toward the Light' (16 x 24 in.)and is a busy scene of strewn branches in the foreground and an old growth stump and fallen tree and then in the distance through the trees one can see the way to the light in the meadow outside.

The other scene is 'Mykonos - Little Venice Sunset,' (24 X 36 in.) which is a place that captivated me and to which I would love to return. On this Greek island, an entire stretch of buildings sit with foundations in the sea. It is quaint. I have pictured a restaurant on the second level close to the viewer. Someone sits in an alcove in the foreground. I loved capturing the reflected light from the sunset upon the walls of the buildings, and the sparkling light on the water.

MOUNT BAKER FROM POINT ROBERTS - Sold

This beautiful scene has been sold. People in Alberta saw my website and contacted me to inquire about a print of this painting. A little encouragement to them to consider purchasing the original led to this. It will be shipped to them tomorrow. One of the new owners biked around the Point Roberts area as a boy and is familiar with the appearance of this shoreline and the distant mountain across the Pacific waters.

I mentioned this painting in a previous post in December. The scene is of Mount Baker in the distance seen from Point Roberts, that quaint little peninsula of United States soil detached from the American mainland and stuck at the end of Tsawassen. You actually cross an international border to go there from Tsawassen. I always think it's worth the trip.

RECOVERING A POSTPONED PASSION

I wanted you to know about an opportunity. Perhaps you live nearby and can attend at no cost to you.

Thursday Artist Talk with Ron Unruh
Subject: Recovering a Postponed Passion
Time: 7:30pm
Date: Thursday, February 4
Location:

Surrey Art Gallery
13750 - 88 Avenue
1 block east of King George Hwy
Cost: free
Information: 604.501.5566
Description:

As a child, artist Ron Unruh was consumed with drawing and as a youth he planned a visual art career. A divine interruption summoned him to a life of service to others so brushes and palette were set aside. Hear Ron's story of recovering a postponed passion, and see some of his original work.

MOUNT BAKER FROM POINT ROBERTS, 16X20 in acrylic on canvas, espresso frame and cloth liner,

This is my most recent painting as of Friday December 18/09. The scene is of Mount Baker in the distance seen from Point Roberts, that quaint little peninsula of United States soil detached from the American mainland and stuck at the end of Tsawassen. It is a brisk day, crisp wind, sunlight is bright above the bleached and dry lumber that has washed ashore over a long time. These kinds of scenes always captivate me inexplicably. This painting was done with acrylics on canvas. I am actually engaged in a personal experiment. I am also working on an oil on canvas version of this identical scene and one on watercolour, same dimensions. I am seeking to learn what medium makes me most comfortable and yields my most satisfying result as well as the best appreciated by others. It's the evidence of a still emerging artist who has not quite found his way but the looking is enjoyable.

Domestic Designs

Occasionally I am called by a unique company called Archetique that scours the country for unique architectural features like doors, windows, fireplaces, mantels etc., and incorporate these into new house builds or renovations. I have been surprised at the volume of business there is. Many people desire a piece of the old world in their homes. Well let's face it, many of styles of fifty or more years ago are not being repeated.


When I am called it is to do drawings that show how a wine cellar can be designed or a gothic door can be placed into a wine cellar door opening, or an old Quebec country door can be placed into a main outside door opening with new glass panels or pillars. This is an enjoyable side light for me.

MY OPEN HOUSE ART SHOW

I held an Open House Art Show in my home on October 18th from 2-5 pm and was pleasantly surprised that about forty friends came to look around. Christine had displayed 27 of my paintings within the three primary rooms of our main level. People entered and were handed a page listing the painting titles and information in the sequence in which they were displayed clockwise around the rooms. The layout of the home lends itself to this flowing traffic which worked well. Refreshments were available when they arrived in the third room. Bowls of nuts were located in the other rooms. I had so much fun talking with people, catching up and also speaking about the art. Christine was amazing as she serviced people inquiring about the paintings. Of the 27 paintings, ten were moved and found new homes. That is a good response and a great encouragement to me. People chose paintings from my French collection, my local collection, my Greece collection and from my archival collection of watercolours dating to 1989. I greeted everyone at the door in my beret. Some thought it cute and one woman laughed. Wonderful response.

Bicycle on the Beach 16X20 inch, acrylic on canvas

As we move into autumn, it is so much fun to paint a scene reminiscent of an idyllic summer. I painted a small watercolour study of this scene earlier and it has already sold. This time I enlarge the format to 16X20 inches on canvas using acrylic paint. The format permitted me to include the distant shoreline. With this painting I listened to some counsel that I have recently received from well known artist Peter Etril Snyder. Customarily I anticipate what I will put on a surface by sketching the scene, making a plan. Then of course it becomes a fill in the blanks exercise - kind of a glorified colouring book. I haven't wanted my paintings to look like that. Snyder calls this front loading and he encouraged me to move away from this tendency. Here I painted in the sky and sea with solid colours which I mixed to suit my warm summer light. I decided not to detail the water at all. Then I scrubbled in the grasses that would be behind the fence. I covered the water with a towel and then shook a brush wet with paint on the grasses to create the impressions of flowers. I proceeded to paint in a solid sand colour for my path to the beach. I then again covered water and grasses with a towel and did what this inferior photo does not show. I covered the sand with tiny multi coloured spots of sand and stone drops of paint that I made by tapping a wet brush above the canvas sand. I scribbled a couple of bicycles on paper, cut them out and tried them on the canvas for size to see which size would look best in the frame. Then I pencilled in the rear wheel where I wanted to position the bike and I began to paint a bicycle. It's the kind of rusty handled old bike I saw at the beaches on the north coast of France, Normandy and Guernsey. Once the bike was completed I painted in the fence posts, the dark shade colour first for the entire post and followed that with a light colour to give the impression of sunlit sides. The last thing to be painted were the shadows of posts on the uneven sand - shadows cast from the posts on the opposite side of the path. It's a simple painting but the actual piece is compelling and hangable. Colours are vibrant. The online photo does not do it justice. In one of my gallery frames, 2 1/2 inch espresso colour with a 2 1/2 inch white liner, it will be impressive. I like it.
8X10 inch watercolour below

More of my Paintings from France

For the past weeks I have been working on some paintings reflective of some of most appreciated memories. I love the people of France engaged in varied activities as you can see. I am hoping to produce many more before I hold an Studio Open House Show during the week following Canadian Thanksgiving. I will be sure to inform you of the exact dates and times. My Ron Unruh Online Gallery contains a collection of visual art images.

Beggars are everywhere. Some are disgusting with their abrasive and manipulative approaches. Others, like this mother, who sits outside an historic church in the city of Arles, are genuinely needy people. One looks for an opportunity to help with a small gift. She was neat and clean and sat all day and evening on a small green mat as she leaned against the ancient church walls with plastic cup in hand.
"Mother Begging in Arles," 20X24 in., acrylic on canvas, priced at $600.00 unframed.

Of course French patrons love, perhaps even live for their food and their exquisite wines, and everywhere music serenades and delights. Buskers are talented musicians and these three positioned themselves in late afternoons at a corner in Lourmarin where folk sat outside two bar/cafes enjoying the warm air and the music.
"Buskers at Happy Hour in Lourmarin", 20X24 in., acrylic on canvas, priced at $600.00 unframed.

Images are the property of the artist and must not be downloaded without seeking permission from the artist.

I am Considering Leasing My Paintings

A NEW LEARNING
I am considering leasing my paintings. The practice is not new in the art community. I have hung paintings in public locations thereby providing a decorative service to the location as well as exposure to my work. Having examined the practice of some galleries to rent paintings to clients I have been struck with the potential this option may provide to me. Granted it’s an arrogant assumption that someone will want to rent or lease my paintings to decorate their home or office suite, but such vanity is characteristic of any aspiring artist or he/she would never venture to offer the work for sale in the first place.

There are many reasons why leasing might work for me. Sometimes a prospective buyer is uncertain that a piece will fit in the home or office area for which they are seeking an art piece. Sometimes buyers are cautious because of the price. Providing an option whereby the client may hang the work for a period of time to determine its suitability may be of interest when the cost is reasonable. My paintings are relatively low priced because I am still emerging as an artist and even though I may do some good work I have an undeveloped reputation. When an artist’s reputation garners higher prices, from $3,000 - $8000 a potential buyer may be reluctant to purchase but may be interested in renting the piece for $100 per month. An artist must sort our personal feelings about this practice. As I consider it now, if I were to have ten paintings leased to clients, each garnering $25 per month for a three month contract, it would have some appeal to me. I just had eight paintings hanging in a member of parliament’s constituency offices for free.

Galleries and artists who lease paintings customarily use three month rental contracts. Some offer year long contracts with new pieces being offered every quarter. Some Galleries allow people to borrow artwork for a dinner party. Making it possible for lessees to lease-to-own may result in some art sales eventually and typically the option puts 50% to 60% of the rental fee toward the purchase.

I Painted in France

Inexperienced as I am with plein air painting, I didn’t do much on the spot work while Christine and I were in France. I believe she expected me to paint more during our seven weeks. I took acrylic paints along, a small watercolour container, a sketchpad with heavy watercolour paper, brushes, one 11X14 inch frame on which to mount canvasses, and twelve 11X14 in. canvas sheets which I cut from a large sheet of primed canvas before the trip.

Here are pictures that I completed while I was in France and they are described on my website.












I think part of my reticence at plein air painting is not only inexperience but the need to be less exacting. I must reassure myself that it is okay to paint simply and without great detail and to do it quickly. Usually such paintings serve as resource for later more developed paintings, but most artists are willing to sell these uncomplicated works and I have them modestly priced on the website as well. Someone has already asked for one of these precisely because it is minimalist. I daily learn something new.

I think that I will try more outdoor painting now that I am home.

IT'S CLEARING 20X24 in, acrylic on canvas, SOLD

This is a scene of the White Rock marina at the end of the pier. It was an overcast morning but the skies were promising fair weather and at least a couple of sailors were out early preparing to leave their mooring. Technically this painting was one severe pain. The perspectives were ridiculously challenging. It sat for weeks untouched at one stage because I couldn't muster the courage to try to correct what I didn't like. It is as finished now as I will make it but I am still not satisfied with the outcome. Others see it as a nice work. My challenge was the angle from which I was trying to render this scene, standing on the deck of the pier looking down with the dock slanting away from me into the distance and the many boats tethered together. It was too complex a painting for me at this stage. I will do a better job next time I am certain but I will limit my subject.

MAKE IT SKIP DADDY, 11X14 in., acryilc in canvas, private collection

I am thrilled with the outcome of this work. I wanted to dip back in time a bit to recapture a scene in which my grandson Kale was about two and half years old. He is four now. In this painting Kale has found a stone at Crescent Beach. He has seen his dad and Papa (me) throw stones into the water to make them skip. He has yet to master the art. He needs a little more strength and speed to make it happen. Here he is pictured saying, “Make it skip Daddy.” It’s a father and son moment to be treasured, and now it can be. I painted this for my son.

The painting marks a stylistic change or adjustment I made with this piece. The canvas is small, 11 X 14 inches. My style was more precise on this smaller area using a small brush to capture physical similarities as well as the bright colours of sunset. Whereas I have been using larger brushes and larger strokes for a realistic yet impressionistic result, on this canvas I used small brushes for more detailed outcomes. I also accented the lights and darks without feathering the edges. It satisfies me because I am a good drawer and I can retain the penciled features with this more careful approach. I will see as time goes on but I am surmising that I will retain the precision work for the main subject of larger paintings while giving myself liberty on the supportive backgrounds.

This sequence shows you the sketch, then some paint application and the final product.

©2006 Ron Unruh

Blueberry Workers, acrylic in canvas panel, 11X14 in., $150 without frame, $250 with frame

Christine and I came upon a group of workers doing some autumn blueberry bush cleanup. Their work is tedious and routine. I took some quick photos and used these reference shots later in my studio. I have portrayed two men from this group. I chose to compose a close-up of their partial concealment in the bushes. Blueberry leaves turn a bright red in autumn. I respect these men and women who have emigrated often from privileged lives and now do mundane tasks in order to live in their adopted country.

Dark frame with two inch linen liner
©2006 Ron Unruh