It was a whirlwind weekend, driving down to Boston for the PodCamp conference, where I met lots of great people who had much to share about how they are using social media, and got lots of great ideas about how to incorporate this into what I do at the gallery. Many people expressed how much they like hearing the stories of artists and seeing what they are like as people. This blog is a great way for me to share my stories and my artists with you.
While in Boston I visited the studio of tinku gallery artist John Guthrie. John will be making his Canadian gallery debut with a solo exhibition at tinku gallery September 4 - 30th. If you have not already signed up to be on our mailing list, please do, so you can get an advance invite to our opening reception.
John works out of a studio in the South End of Boston, in a building where my friend and fellow tinku gallery artist Brigid Watson works. Brigid in fact was the one that introduced us and also came to join me as I previewed John's work for the September show. John has a really interesting background, starting his career as an aeronautical engineer before deciding to go back to art school. I can see the engineering influence in his drawings and paintings, one of which you can see below.
John also is well known for his series of "drip" paintings that use colour remarkably - I loved them instantly when seeing them. You can see one of them behind Brigid in this photo:
John has moved from doing the colour drips using acrylic paint to a black and white palette and watercolours, which result in the paintings having additional texture and complexity and mysticism. I don't want to talk too much yet about his new work, so stay tuned for future blog posts on that.
I am blogging about my visit because I know many of you are curious to see what he is like as a person and what his studio looks like. And because art is about expression and a part of that expression can be enriched for the viewer by hearing the stories behind the paintings.
I cannot mention John without talking about his sweet little pug Penny who funny enough is best friends with Pele, the little pug owned by Brigid, whose studio is just down the hallway. I knew they were friends but I had no idea they were also a duo in a band...See below as Penny and Pele sing the blues. You may want to turn down the volume on your computer a little... And be prepared to laugh!
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