2007: Vincent van Gogh - Wheatfield with Cypresses
Oliver Chronicle, August 15, 2007
Arts Community Catches the Insanity by Penelope Johnson
This Saturday, the Oliver arts community takes their inspiration from famous painter Vincent Van Gogh at a multi-media event that promises to be, like the artist, both crazy and brilliant.
The idea for the event began as a case of art inspiring art. Months ago, a painting by Van Gogh inspired local collage artist Marion Trimble to create a mixed media piece. Fibre artist Terry Irvine happened upon Marion's handiwork at an exhibit. She wondered if a single Van Gogh painting could in turn inspire artists from a variety of media to create new works.
Irvine envisioned a day of frenzied artistic activity, with artists collaborating and encouraging one another to complete new work in a time limit of six hours. One intent was to foster connection between the artistic disciplines. 'I thought it would be enlightening and entertaining to get together for a creative day with talented people, most of whom I usually only see across a table at arts council meetings.'
The second intent was public education. Invited into the studio while work is in progress, the public gains a rare insight into artists’ various styles and techniques from start to finish.
Once Irvine shared her brainchild with others, the idea caught fire. Participants include Marion Trimble (collage), Thea Haubrich (encaustic art), Enid Baker (quilting), Dianne Birnie (quilting) JoAnn Turner (painting on wood), Kurt Hutterli (3-D), Terry Irvine (fibre), and the Oliver Art Club. .
The participants have selected Van Gogh’s landscape “Wheat Field with Cypresses” for their inspiration. “The piece had many elements that we were looking for: the swirling sky was
reminiscent of his famous 'Starry Night', the wide range of colours give an Okanagan feel, his different painting techniques lend themselves to the different techniques that will be used by our artists, “ explains Irvine. Each artist will work in their own medium, giving their unique impression of the masterpiece.
All the artists have had an opportunity to plan their artwork ahead of time. “I’ve chosen my wax colours,” says Haubrich, "and I’ve decided to stay close to Van Gogh’s original in style. I’ve even made a sample to try out possible techniques. But I haven’t done too much. I don’t want to lose the freshness or my edge on the day.”
The Oliver Art Club divided the painting into a grid, with each square painted by a member. This 'patchwork' painting will be pieced together and on view at the start of the Challenge. Other artists will be working from scratch and rushing to complete their work in the allotted six hours. To give early visitors a sample of their style and techniques, all artists will display a finished piece, modelled after one of Van Gogh's crescent moons, an element that appears in many of his paintings. Visitors who drop in more than once during the event will see various stages in the artistic process.
Although wielding brushes, palette knives, hot painting tools, and soldering irons, the artists are taking special care not to recreate Van Gogh’s famous self-portrait. They promise there will be no missing ears.
The Van Gogh Challenge runs Saturday August 18 from 9:00 to 3:00 p.m. The public can catch the insanity at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre 34274 95th Street.
Arts Community Catches the Insanity by Penelope Johnson
This Saturday, the Oliver arts community takes their inspiration from famous painter Vincent Van Gogh at a multi-media event that promises to be, like the artist, both crazy and brilliant.
The idea for the event began as a case of art inspiring art. Months ago, a painting by Van Gogh inspired local collage artist Marion Trimble to create a mixed media piece. Fibre artist Terry Irvine happened upon Marion's handiwork at an exhibit. She wondered if a single Van Gogh painting could in turn inspire artists from a variety of media to create new works.
Irvine envisioned a day of frenzied artistic activity, with artists collaborating and encouraging one another to complete new work in a time limit of six hours. One intent was to foster connection between the artistic disciplines. 'I thought it would be enlightening and entertaining to get together for a creative day with talented people, most of whom I usually only see across a table at arts council meetings.'
The second intent was public education. Invited into the studio while work is in progress, the public gains a rare insight into artists’ various styles and techniques from start to finish.
Once Irvine shared her brainchild with others, the idea caught fire. Participants include Marion Trimble (collage), Thea Haubrich (encaustic art), Enid Baker (quilting), Dianne Birnie (quilting) JoAnn Turner (painting on wood), Kurt Hutterli (3-D), Terry Irvine (fibre), and the Oliver Art Club. .
The participants have selected Van Gogh’s landscape “Wheat Field with Cypresses” for their inspiration. “The piece had many elements that we were looking for: the swirling sky was
reminiscent of his famous 'Starry Night', the wide range of colours give an Okanagan feel, his different painting techniques lend themselves to the different techniques that will be used by our artists, “ explains Irvine. Each artist will work in their own medium, giving their unique impression of the masterpiece.
All the artists have had an opportunity to plan their artwork ahead of time. “I’ve chosen my wax colours,” says Haubrich, "and I’ve decided to stay close to Van Gogh’s original in style. I’ve even made a sample to try out possible techniques. But I haven’t done too much. I don’t want to lose the freshness or my edge on the day.”
The Oliver Art Club divided the painting into a grid, with each square painted by a member. This 'patchwork' painting will be pieced together and on view at the start of the Challenge. Other artists will be working from scratch and rushing to complete their work in the allotted six hours. To give early visitors a sample of their style and techniques, all artists will display a finished piece, modelled after one of Van Gogh's crescent moons, an element that appears in many of his paintings. Visitors who drop in more than once during the event will see various stages in the artistic process.
Although wielding brushes, palette knives, hot painting tools, and soldering irons, the artists are taking special care not to recreate Van Gogh’s famous self-portrait. They promise there will be no missing ears.
The Van Gogh Challenge runs Saturday August 18 from 9:00 to 3:00 p.m. The public can catch the insanity at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre 34274 95th Street.