Hambleton Galleries

Original Canadian Art www.hambletongalleries.com

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‘Tundra’ 36″ x 48″ Oil on Canvas by Dawn Banning

Dawn Banning is the most recent addition to our roster of artists at Hambleton Galleries.  We couldn’t be more pleased.  She’s a textural master, which doesn’t always come across online, but her brilliant colourwork and well thought out compositions along with her very visible love of the landscape comes across just fine.  You’ll have to trust us with the texture, or better yet, come in and decide for yourself.

Biography

Dawn comes by her passion for nature quite honestly. Her mother, a nurse and avid gardener, has always loved to be outdoors. With her father employed as a Park Conservation Officer, Dawn quickly came to love all the things in nature that she encountered daily in Saskatchewan’s Provincial Parks. She has been deeply influenced by the vast diversity of Canadian regions in which she has resided, from the big sky of Saskatchewan, to the vibrancy of the Yukon, the lush forests of B.C, to the colorful parks of Ontario. Dawn paints rich colourful original oil Impressionist landscape painting, with an impasto/ plein air feel. “Dawn’s canvas’s evoke a world alive with motion, resonating with life that reaches up out of the soil to the sunlight. Her images invite us to celebrate this world, to imagine that which lies on it’s outer edges, and to participate in a world moving in light” Darin Larson

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Halin de Repentigny

Top Left:  ‘To Wernecke Mountain’, 30 x 28 in.   Oil on canvas

Top Right:  ‘Cut Bank #1′, 24 x 30 in.   Oil on Panel

Middle:  ‘Untitled‘, 40 x 30 in.   Oil on canvas

Bottom:  ‘Wounded Bank’, 30 x 40 in.   Oil on canvas

Biography

Halin de Repentigny is an acclaimed artist with paintings held in national and international collections. Originally from Montreal, Halin first made his name when he moved to Dawson City, Yukon. He became well known for his depictions of life in Canada’s Klondike, interpreting the beauty and majesty of the remote northern wilderness and capturing it on canvas. Through the early years spent living on the land in the far north Halin continued to paint the world he had grown to love. His love of landscape, colour and light is now manifested in his winter home in Patagonia, Argentina while the Klondike summers continue to inspire his work. After more than forty years of painting Halin’s style is mature and confident. His textures are sophisticated, luxurious and luminescent. Halin says the “the right light is like a jewel, I know a painting works when it creates its own light.” The light Halin refers to gives his images a layered glass effect, producing tension and drama, which is highlighted by tonal contrasts accentuating the vibrancy of colour. For Halin an artist should always be evolving,“especially as a painter, you should be getting better and better, and you should see the change. If the painter is doing the same as 20 years ago, something is wrong - he’s stagnant.” The immediacy of the environment is now Halin’s canvas, and he demonstrates that in his innate ability for style, proportion, light and the courage to experiment and paint from the heart without knowing the outcome. “When I go into my studio or go outside to paint I never know what I am going to do. Most of my painting is impulsive, driven by emotion. I feel that after all this time, I am just starting to truly understand how my emotion is transferred to the canvas.”

[thecolorblockcurator]

Suzy, Edwin Holgate

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Starting May 9th the Kelowna Art Gallery will be showing “A Story of Canadian Art:  As Told by the Art House Art Collection” which will include some other incredible portraits by Holgate.  The Hart House collection also includes works by Charles Comfort, Yvonne Houser, David Milne, the Group of Seven and Tom Thompson as well as many more giants in Canadian Art History.  The show will remain in the gallery until July 19th 2015.

[artgalleryofontario]

Thomson, Tom, Canadian, 1877 - 1917 Sketch for “The West Wind “ 1916 Oil on wood panel Overall: 21.4 x 26.8 cm, 0.3 cm (8 7/16 x 10 9/16 in., 1/8 in.) Gift from the J.S. McLean Collection, Toronto, 1969, Donated by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, 1988 © 2015 Art Gallery of Ontario

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The Creativity Myth

Creativity is not what you think it is.

[terresauvage]

Peter Shostak

Mom is Baking Bread Today, 1981

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Just sharing this beautiful piece by Shostak with you today!

[museumsandthings]

Yellow Milkmaid Syndrome: paintings with identity problems by Joris Pekel for Europeana

"The Yellow Milkmaid Syndrome makes quite clear that where a cultural institution does not publish their digital collection, or very low quality reproductions, other versions can probably be found online anyway. In this scenario the institution has absolutely no control what the image looks like, the quality of the images shared, or which versions are being used."

Read More 

There’s also a fab Tumblr dedicated to victims of the Yellow Milkmaid Syndrome.

[matthewsgallery]

So, what does this painting actually look like? The web is a great resource for art history lovers, but it has created some new obstacles too… 

More art musings. 

[hambletongalleries-blog]

James E. Wood brought us in a selection of new pieces - check them out here.

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Giving Artwork as a Gift

Giving artwork as a gift can seem a bit risky, but it doesn’t have to be.    Because it takes a bit more thought than grabbing something off the shelf, it is more thoughtful and it is also received as being a thoughtful gift if you put some thought into it.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself if you’re considering buying artwork for someone this year.

Does the recipient own any handcrafted items?  Have they shown any enjoyment in or respect for fine art?  If the answer is yes, then continue reading – if not, unless they’re young they just may not be all that interested in fine art and your gift may be lost on them.

If the recipient does have any handcrafted items, what are they?  Do they have a specific style or genre they fit into (abstract, impressionist, drawings, oil paintings etc)?  Do you happen to know some of their favourite artists?  This may help you decide when looking at different artists as well.  For example, if a client likes the work of Mary Pratt and you’re not able to afford a Pratt original, check out Jan Crawford in our gallery.   Jan Crawford is an artist with her own style, but clients who love Mary Pratt always love Jan Crawford.

What is their home like?  Is it contemporary and uncluttered or is it more of a traditional and comfortable style?  What colours do they have in their home?  Warm tones, cool tones, bright colours, pastels or deep shades?  A very contemporary home, uncluttered with pale grey walls would look incredible with an Aunaray Carol Clusiau or Sara Genn.  If their home is whimsical with warm tones then Francine Gravel or Jose Ventura would be a great choice. 

What are other things the recipient enjoys? 

Hockey?  Check out some of Peter Wyse or Jeremy White’s hockey images. 

Gardening?  Take a look at Don Berger or Carl Schlademan’s florals or Ron Hedrick’s garden scenes.

Hiking?  Vivid mountain landscapes by Dominik Modlinski or Branko Marjanovic would be a great place to start.

Family?  Why not take a closer look at Bev Binfet’s family series, they’re very heartwarming.

Wildlife or Birdwatching?  The Barnes Brothers do some incredibly detailed bird paintings, Roy Hancliff has some incredible bird in flight photographs mounted onto aluminum panels for extreme colour intensity, Joan Baron and Kenna Graff do some very majestic larger animals such as bears and moose.

The list goes on and on and we have a tonne of ideas here at Hambleton Galleries.  Come in armed with a bit of knowledge about your friend and any gallery will help you find something within your budget.

This brings us to another point; don’t go overboard on size unless you know they’re looking to fill a large space.  Almost any room of most houses can benefit from one or two small pieces, but it’s much more risky to buy a large piece.

Some galleries will give you a bit of time to confirm that your recipient will enjoy the piece.  Find out the gallery’s policy on this – most galleries will allow for exchanges if you let them know what your intent is when you purchase it.  We definitely will here at Hambleton, just let us know you’re buying it as a gift – we’ll give them 30 days to make sure they like it.

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What size artwork should I have for my space?

Q.   “I’ve got a specific space that I’m looking at where I want to hang a painting.  How do I decide what size range of artwork I should consider?  Then, how do I hang the piece or pieces that I choose in that space?”

A.  The first question does not have a simple answer as each space has many factors to consider:  how busy the space is; what colour is the wall; how bright and direct is the lighting; the style of the home; what the artwork itself is like and is there other artwork around it; but I will try to break it down to its most basic components with concrete examples.  How we hang artwork is much more straight forward though it requires a bit of simple math.

Very sparsely decorated spaces generally look best exhibiting larger works, whereas spaces that have many pieces of furniture and other pieces of artwork need more “white space” to breathe.  Other than pieces smaller than 16” x 20” you generally need a minimum of 8-10” breathing space on either side of a piece to give it the space it needs.  Pieces up to 40” x 60” need at least 20” breathing space around them.  When you get into pieces larger than that it can vary quite a bit depending on the actual artwork and you’d probably want the help of a gallerist or designer.   Darker spaces or darker wall colours generally need a bit more space allowances than the “white space” mentioned above (*white space refers to blank area around the artwork not the colour of the wall). 

Diptychs and triptychs are generally hung with the same spacing between works – usually between 1” to 6” and are treated as one piece.  They are usually hung in a horizontal straight line (unless the artist intended otherwise, which would be obvious).

If you fall in love with a smaller piece, you can choose to pick multiple ones based on a theme and hang them as a series to fill a larger space.  With multiple works that are intended to hang as a series on the same wall the artwork can be hung further apart and centered on different pieces of furniture rather than being treated as one piece.  They can often look quite intriguing hung on a diagonal line.  The hanging can certainly be done this way possibly using some artworks already owned with the addition of one or more new pieces.  It must be stated, however, that if you are going for impact a strong single piece outdistances a multiple hanging every time.

A really great idea is to do a mock up with scrap paper.  I would suggest doing a mock up in several sizes and layouts that you think might work.   Just cut up pieces of newspaper or wrapping paper (patterned paper works better than solid colours) to different sizes and tape them to the location you’d imagine the piece going.  This gives you a great way to visualize how the different sizes would work.  At the end you should have a range of sizes that are acceptable which is helpful when you visit galleries looking to fill the space.

Once you decide the general size range visit a few of your favorite galleries and let them know the size range you’re looking for.  Keep an open mind to other suggestions from the gallerists as they are experienced with visualizing artwork in a space.  Generally, you’ll want to keep close to the sizes you mocked up, though.  Keep in mind that frames can add or subtract 2-10” in height and width depending on the type of frame you choose (or you may choose to hang artwork unframed).  I would definitely suggest asking gallerists for help as they have many pieces that are not on display and you don’t want to limit yourself to only 10% of the galleries’ choices.  It’s a good idea to bring in some photos of the space it’s going in if you’re going to ask for help.  A good gallery should never put any pressure on you – we are here to help you choose the best piece for your purpose.

Before you make a final decision on artwork that has to fit in a certain space, ask the gallery if you can take it home to try it before you make your final decision. 

A very important rule of thumb is to hang the artwork so that the center of the art hangs at 54” to 60”.  If there’s a fireplace or piece of furniture below, the artwork can be hung lower in order to tie the painting to the furniture and accents.

How we hang art at the gallery is straight forward.  First, measure the center height (say 60” from the floor).  Second, measure the height of the artwork with the frame (say 20”) and measure and mark the halfway point on the back of the piece.  Pull the hanging wire towards the top of the artwork (taut as if it’s hung ) and measure from the half way mark to where the wire is (let’s say 6”). 

Then we add that number to the center height (60” plus 6” = 66”) and that’s where the nail or hanging hardware should go so the middle of the artwork hangs at the center line.  If you are hanging multiple pieces the math stays the same, except for artwork may be hung on a diagonal. 

To hang multiple pieces on a diagonal lightly pencil on a diagonal line.   Do the final step of the math with the different center line numbers for each piece.  Ideally the center piece of a grouping hung on a diagonal should still be between 54” and 60”.

We recommend using hanging hardware that can be found at any art supply or hardware store (or often comes with the artwork when purchased from a gallery).  Just be sure the hanging hardware is suited to the weight of the artwork. 

Nail the hanging hardware, hang the artwork, stand back and admire knowing you’ve got the right piece in the right space.  Enjoy for years to come.

[hambletongalleries-blog]

Globe and Mail, "With a year to live, here’s what artist Robert Genn, with his family, did

After being diagnosed with cancer, he sorted through his archives with his children as a final family collaboration

[cinque-del-mattino]

Berthe Des Clayes 1877-1968

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We just love Berthe Des Clayes artworks.  We don't see them often in the gallery, but we do have one of her incredible pastel works here.

Berthe Des Clayes Biography

Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Berthe Des Clayes is the older sister of Alice Des Clayes (1890-1968) and Gertrude Des Clayes (1879-1949). She studied at the Bushey School of Art in England with B. Herkomer and at the Academie Julian in Paris, France with Tony Robert-Fleury and Jules Lefebvre. She lived in London (1906-1912) and then settled in Montreal in 1912. She spent the year traveling to England and France in 1919-20 before settling in Chorleywood, England until 1931. She then returned to Montreal until 1951. In 1967, she went to live in Devon, England, where she died the following year, at the age of 91. During her career she won the Jessie Dow Prize twice. She regularly attended the Sp[ring Exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal and the annual exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts of Canada. She illustrated the Canadian landscape in two books: Here and There in Montreal and the Island of Montreal by Charles W. Stokes and Acadia (Nova Scotia) published by the Dominion Atlantic Railway. Her works can be found in several museum collections: the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; the National Art Gallery of Canada in Ottawa; the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto; the University of Calgary in Alberta; the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the National Archives in Canada. Berthe Des Clayes was an Associate Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts.

[artmastered]

Frederick Varley, 1921, Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay

[hambletongalleries-blog]

We just wanted to share this incredible painting with you on this very fine Thursday.

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Ken Faulks

'Ashcroft Alley' 11" x 14" Oil on Board

'South of Vernon' 8" x 10" Oil on Board

'Hurricane Fog' 11" x 14" Oil on Board

We'd like to announce the addition of a new artist to Hambleton Galleries:  Ken Faulks.  Ken currently paints out of Victoria, BC focusing on plein air painting.  Ken also works as an illustrator and designer and is heavily involved with providing artists a platform to get together and paint plein air through his website http://canadianpleinairpainting.com/.  We couldn't be more excited to share his work with you.  Welcome to the gallery Ken Faulks!

[hambletongalleries-blog]

Aunaray Carol Clusiau

'A Perfect Winter Day'  48" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas

'Where the Grass is Greener' 48" x 48" Acrylic on Canvas

'Lake of Many Colours 15' 34" x 55" Acrylic on Birch Panel

'Periwinkle Forest' 48" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas

'Desert Ghost Trees' 48" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas

'Lake of Many Colours Tri 3" 36" x 84" Acrylic on Birch Panel

An Interview with Aunaray Carol Clusiau

 Q.  How did you get into painting?

A.   My father was a painter but put that aside to raise a family. He was a very strong artistic influence and all of my siblings are artistic in some form or another. In art school I dabbled in everything and actually graduated as a film major before returning to painting many years later.

  Q.   Do you have other artforms that you do other than what you are known for?

 A.  I cannot stop the flow of creativity and need a constant outlet so if I am watching a movie I am often designing some kind of dream home in sketch-up at the same time. I used to design jewellery and also had a graphic designer business.

   Q.  How does your creative process go?  What is your studio space like?  

Q.   I absolutely like to be alone when I paint. I do not like to be interrupted or distracted. Painting for me is kind of like being in meditation I want to be completely submersed in the process. I like to listen to music that moves me in a positive way and keeps me in the zone.

  Q.  Did you have any defining moments that stood out in your artistic development?  

A.  My inspiration comes from a connection to oneness, from on most high and from nature. Nature,water and trees are the most perfect example of oneness and presence. They are not worrying about tomorrow or how much money they have. Nature is just being not doing. It is that kind of energy that I like to connect to and bring forth through my paintings. Soul, soothingly, peaceful.

Q.   Do you belong to any art groups?  Are there any people that stand out in the group that you enjoy creating with that you’d like to identify?

A.   I’m flying solo.

  Q.   Do you have any favourite pieces at home by other artists you’ve collected?

 A.  I am hoping to buy a house soon and when I have more walls and when I can afford to I might have other artists work other than my own. I would love to have a Constance Bachmann painting of my dog.

   Q.  Which artists do you identify with historically?

A.   The impressionists.

   Q.  Which artists do you identify that are currently creating work?

A.   David Alexander, Sara Genn

  Q.   What is your favourite vacation place?  Why?

 A.  The Okanagan: the water, the desert landscape and the heat; Nelson, the pristineness and the hippy natural everything vibe; and Paia Maui, the surfer hippy version of Nelson.

Q.  Do you have any art tools or mediums that you particularly enjoy working with? 

A.   My favourite tools are the biggest cheapest most screwed up old brushes that have lost their shape and become round.

  Q.   Do you have any advice for up-and-coming artists?

A.   Be yourself. Know yourself. Find yourself. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing or how they have done it or any rules for that matter. Explore, experiment. Find your own way, that is the only way to be original. It hasn’t already been done by you.

  Q.  What’s your favourite reading material?  Books, Blogs, Newspaper – please expand on favourite authors and or pieces.

 A.  The most inspirational book I have recently read is Oneness by Rasha before that it was Echart Tolle’s A New Earth.

[hambletongalleries-blog]

Purchasing Art for Your Home

There is almost a never-ending list of reasons to purchase art, but here we will focus on purchasing art for your home; adding quality art to bring inspiration, enjoyment and appreciation to your daily life.  Building an art collection can be an incredibly rewarding experience that gives back to you as long as you own the piece. 

One of the most respected art collectors in Canada, Michael Audain speaks about his introduction to collecting art:  “I started collecting art... simply because I wanted pictures to hang on the wall. I noticed what a difference a picture could make to the ambience of a room, and indeed how shifting work around could change a room's whole feeling”.   Artwork adds an atmosphere, intelligence, character and interest to a room and reflects on the artist and collector alike."

The artwork displayed in your home should be a reflection of who you are as well as who you aspire to be.  Do you like the outdoors?  Are you a gardener and love florals?  Your artwork should add inspiration to your life and encourage you to be more “you”.

Although most Gallerists do not agree with purchasing art just to match the colour of their sofa (myself included), I do agree that some artwork works in certain spaces and some do not.  Some rooms will highlight the parts of the painting that you were drawn to in the first place, whereas other rooms, those parts almost disappear.  Most galleries allow their clients to take artwork to try it in their home to see if the artwork fits well in the space. 

Lighting, size, viewing distance, and surrounding space can work with a painting, or it can minimize it.  For example, direct bright light will reflect strongly on any paintings with a high gloss, or paintings behind glass and it will distort the image the artist intended for you to see.  However, a matte finished artwork often looks best with strong direct lighting.  The size of the room will also impact how the artwork is meant to be seen.  If the room is small and you’re not able to step back it’s usually not ideal to put a large painting with broad brushwork as you wouldn’t be able to see the full composition.  The opposite makes sense too, if it’s a large room and you’re able to step back you’ll probably want larger sections of colour to have a strong impact.

Generally we recommend that each piece of artwork has blank space around it which gives the artwork room to breathe.  If the area around the artwork is very busy, the artwork will often become lost in the space.  That being said, showing the artwork in a vignette should highlight the aspects of the art that you love. 

Many clients come in thinking that they should not be mixing styles of art, but we couldn’t disagree more.  Modern and expressionistic art looks incredible beside traditional and historical works and if anything it tends to bring the unique qualities of each piece out more.  Contemporary homes with traditional paintings or Traditional homes with Contemporary paintings create real interest for anyone viewing the artwork in a space.  Because art should be representing who you are it should also represent the many sides of a person – I am not a flat character and I do not want my art to reflect that.  A well rounded person has an appreciation for various forms and styles of art.  It often shows a greater understanding of art and how it fits into our lives.

Most Galleries really do have the client’s best interest in mind.  They thrive on repeat business and really do want you to be happy with the work in your home.  Both Gallerists and quality Interior Designers have been exposed to artwork in many homes and generally are great resources if you need support for making the right choice for the right space.  A great Gallerist or Interior Designer should work with you and with each other to make sure you are getting just the right piece for the space and for your budget.

Lori Parker, from Harms & Parker Homeworks, is an accomplished Okanagan Interior Designer.  She understands the tie of quality space to quality of life:

“There are few aspects of my work in design that bring me more joy than selecting art with my clients; this is when a house, the ultimate canvas, truly becomes a personal home. 

Art should not just fill a space; it should be felt...  It should make the cares of the day drift away when you look into it. It is such a rewarding journey to work with a knowledgeable gallery, learn about the artists, their style, discuss form, scale, process, but most of all seeing a client be moved by a piece and thrilled when this one of a kind selection is placed in their home....that is the icing on the cake.”

[hambletongalleries-blog]

Exhibition Notice: 'Inside Out: Works by Ken Gillespie and Robyn Lake'

'Lingering Light' 40" x 60" Acrylic on Canvas by Ken Gillespie

'View to Peachland' 16" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas by Robyn Lake

'Inside Out: An exhibition featuring the works of Ken Gillespie and Robyn Lake' opens Thursday September 4th 2014 at 5:30-8pm.  Works remain on display until Saturday September 20th.

View the September newsletter here:

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