painters palettes
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from april 3rd to june 5th i am participating in an exhibition at the museum st. hilaire in st. hilaire, quebec:
http://www.mbamsh.qc.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=33
this exhibition will feature palettes and paintings from over 30 artists. all of the palettes in the show are from the collection of claude bouchard, a really good friend of mine. claude started collecting palettes in the 1970's and currently has over one hundred from artists all across canada. some are exquisite paintings in their own right. when i visited with claudes daughter, jo-anne who is organizing this event, i had the opportunity to preview some of the other artists palettes: graham metson's was really vibrant and informal - colors everywhere...no apparent order to it. ken lochead's, on the other hand, was very formal and organized, had an almost mathematical or scientific structure to it. joe plaskett's palette was enormous, very old fashioned looking, a real classic painters palette designed with elegant curves and cut to fit snugly into the crook of arm and wrist. my own palettes are round and simple, ceramic plates from the sally-ann. i like plates because i like holding my palette in the palm of my hand and i like it that they are designed to hold food, with a slight bowl-like quality so nothing slips off of the edges. when my palettes get too thick to hold any more paint i play a game with myself: i will keep using them until i see, by chance, an image that i like...in the one above, for example, i put it aside after spotting a small, yellow pointy beaked bird in the upper right side.
claude is an old-school art collector and art critic. he reviewed art exhibitions for ottawa's french daily newspaper le droit for years and has been collecting and promoting art in the ottawa region for decades. when claude finds an artist that he believes in, that he has some affinity with, he will visit with that artist in their studio many several times, as often as possible. he engages with the entire creative process that artists go through...he is not exclusively interested in the final product. he'll turn up without notice at any hour of the day, usually with a bottle of bordeaux and an apple pie. something always good, something always fertile comes out of being with claude. he will often introduce artists to collectors, curators or other artists...he is a really good friend and i have been blessed to have known him during my own life.
thanks claude, you're the best.
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