Category: Uncategorized
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I knew I was going to paint this the moment I saw it. It somehow reminded me of an Edward Hopper painting as a shaft of sunlight cut between the buildings and illuminated a lone person. I’m sure the lone person was probably on his way to the butcher shop or to take in a…
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Every time I see a fair or carnival I think about painting some aspect of it. I don’t know if it is about nostalgia (likely) or the colour experience (also likely) that pushes me towards such subject matter. Up until now it was only a thought. Working on a series of “smalls” — 12″ x…
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It’s still on my bucket list. Madrid’s Museo del Prado has a problem many galleries wish they had — overattendance. Last year the Prado broke records hosting 3.5 million visitors to the gallery. Of those visitors, almost two-thirds were “overseas visitors” — um, people like me. When I hear attendance caps, I do wonder how…
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I was rather shy as a kid. While I had friends, I was okay with my own company too, playing with my Corgis, gluing together model airplanes, flipping through a book or making a drawing. My mother said I was an easy kid. Most introverts likely would be. When I went to art school I…
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Why is it the public in the UK likes to watch television shows about its artists, unlike, say… Canada? Last night I stumbled across yet another UK art series streaming in Canada. Extraordinary Portraits has been around since 2021 and continues to issue new episodes. In each episode a noteworthy individual is matched up with…
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Years ago I responded to a call for entry to a show at the Eastern Front Gallery that explored the colour blue. The invitation came through my involvement with the Riverdale Art Walk, having participated for several years in a fundraiser for them. I recently signed up for the Artists’ Network, the same group of…
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When I entered Toronto’s Scarlett Heights Collegiate Institute in the early 1970s, I thought it was normal that a significant proportion of the school’s art program was in art history. I loved it, and the education I got in grades nine and ten set me up for my eventual enrolment at the University of Ottawa’s…
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My focus has always been on our (human) interaction with the world, and lately, I see stories emerging with each painting. I’m coming to see that the landscape is not just out there, that we are very much part of that landscape. Even the one I just started today… which is actually about cows. Albeit…
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It is the end of summer. The calendar has barely flipped and yet the leaves have already begun to change, no doubt aided by a long period of very dry weather. We’re in a bit of a frantic period preparing to go abroad to the UK and taking care of all the tasks involved in…
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When I was at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, everyone was aware of US conceptual artist John Baldessari’s work at the college. In 1971, unable to afford to bring Baldessari to Halifax, students from the college worked on an exhibition based on Baldessari’s instructions delivered to them remotely. The idea was simple:…
Rick Janson Art Studio 