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Colour logo for the Grandview Heritage Group by Michael...
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Under Burrard Bridge, Vancouver by Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher,...
Under Burrard Bridge, Vancouver by Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher, dated 1936. Coming next Saturday is a special event to celebrate the 6th book in the series The Unheralded Artists of BC, an outstanding set of books by Mother Tongue Publishing. The Life and Art of Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher was written by Christina Johnson-Dean, and the author will be in attendance for an illustrated talk in the private back room of the Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver. The event takes place Saturday, October 5, 2013 from 5-8 pm.
Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher (1906-1994) was a sophisticated, spirited and classically educated artist, researcher, feminist, and writer, known as Emily Carr’s sketching partner and B.C.’s Special Consultant on the now famous painter but unrecognized for her own creative life. This well-researched book finally reveals Edythe’s story as a B.C. artist and features over 100 rarely seen paintings, prints, and photographs. Schooled in Victoria by the Island Arts and Crafts Society’s traditionalist Margaret Kitto, Edythe embarked on further training at the California School of Arts and Crafts and the California School of Fine Arts in the San Francisco Bay area…
The world of art history has a very selective memory, and books such as this help to remedy the art, stories, and lives that are on the verge of being forgotten. It is incredibly important work, and very much in line with what I set out to do here on this blog.
This is the second book in the series that is authored by Christina Johnson-Dean; her prior book being The Life & Art of Ina D. D. Uhthoff which I blogged about here last year. Previous books in this series have covered David Marshall, Frank Molnar, Jack Hardman, LeRoy Jensen, George Fertig, and Mildred Valley Thornton.
Cross-posted to VancouverIsAwesome.com.
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Detail from Pacific Gateway (100) - 50” x 42”, by...
Detail from Pacific Gateway (100) - 50” x 42”, by John Koerner from the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver. From his website:
The Pacific Gateway Series began after several prolonged stays in Japan. Japanese culture and art had made a deep impression on me when I first saw Ukiyo-e prints at the Louvre at the age of 15.
The Japanese concepts of simplicity and restraint resonated with me, as I had already realized that a meditative mood and serenity needs understatement of colour relationships as it gains a lot in overall strength, balance and solidity. The principle of unity is helped by emphasizing monochromatics.
The theme of this series is the Pacific Rim, which expands over peaceful tide pools of the West Coast beaches toward the sand gardens of the Nihon temples. It also deals with the peaceful arch through which we all must someday cross – from one reality to another.
Yesterday was John Koerner’s 100th birthday. Earlier this year, John was presented with a copy of his new book John Koerner: Drawings and Observations at the Burnaby Art Gallery; Gary Sim wrote about this event here. More about these celebrations from the Province:
On his website, johnkoerner.ca, the artist describes himself as “the oldest still-active member of the Vancouver School of painters, a group that developed modernism in Canadian art.”
“I’m still working,” he noted proudly, “whenever I feel strong enough.
“Then, after a session, I need a rest. I can’t work as long as I used to, but it’s still working.”
Despite some initial trouble navigated the front steps of the gallery — give him a break, he’s 100 — Koerner’s positive attitude shone through in his ever-present smile and the twinkle in his eyes.
“Early in my career I decided what the general direction of my work should be and that, despite the horrors and disasters in this world, it would celebrate all positive values,” Koerner said.
Update! John is currently having a major show at the Penticton Gallery called John Koerner: The Hidden Side of Nature. The show runs from Friday, September 20, 2013 to Thursday, November 07, 2013. At 27:11 in this 32 minute video posted on YouTube, John reflects on his series Pacific Gateways. Here’s even more about the work above from the Penticton Art Gallery:
After retiring from teaching at the University of British Columbia, Koerner bought a house with a view across Burrard Inlet to Point Atkinson, which became the focus of his Lighthouse series which comprises today of over 115 works…The 1970s and 1980’s saw the development of a further three series which contained The Garden of Eden, the colorful African series, and The Pacific Gateway Series - consisting of over 312 visionary works depicting the temporal “arch from here-and-now to another world” and juxtaposing Canadian and Japanese landscapes. Koerner was commissioned to do various murals, the largest as a commemoration of Vancouver’s Centennial in 1986 was installed in the lobby of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
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Sad day today for all of New Westminster with the loss of the...
Sad day today for all of New Westminster with the loss of the Copp’s Shoes building and neighbouring businesses.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/heritage-building-collapses-in-massive-new-westminster-fire/article14799418/
Drawings by Urban Sketcher, Won Kang; note the G&M actually featured his colour drawing in their gallery of images. Perhaps the canvas tote idea will still be made available, in memory of the great legacy that was Copp’s Shoes.
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A whole new set of electrical box wraps have appeared in...
Outside Granville station, by Amy Clare Learmonth
Between Dunsmuir and Pender
Between Robson and Georgia
A whole new set of electrical box wraps have appeared in downtown Vancouver. The collaboration with ECUAD and the Downtown Business Improvement Association began in 2011, and this is version 2.0. I see Amy Clare Learmonth produced the first illustration, and perhaps a follower can identify who illustrated the other two? More to come I’m sure! Images via Brie Weir on Facebook.
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Alliance Grain Terminal (formerly United Grain Growers)...
Alliance Grain Terminal (formerly United Grain Growers) watercolour and graphite by Dan Parke, 1989.
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PSA: Coming this weekend, Craft Council BC’s 40th...
PSA: Coming this weekend, Craft Council BC’s 40th Anniversary and conference Craft Invested: 10,000 hrs. Vancouver, October 17th - 20th, 2013.
Also part of this conference is a fundraising exhibition Invested/40at the Pendulum Gallery, opening with a gala on October 18.
The exhibition was curated by Dr. Sandra Alfoldy and explores the concept “Invested” through the prism of scale, material, process, form and place - characterizing the range of crafts being produced in British Columbia and examining why the appeal of craft continues to grow. The funds raised this evening are for our youth programming which builds appreciation for, and the future audience of craft. To purchase a ticket for the fundraiser please go to eventbrite.
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Vancouver sky-line 1995: before the wall! by Roger Kemble.
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Comic fans at Canada Place, a custom comic created for use in...
Comic fans at Canada Place, a custom comic created for use in the VanCAF 2013 VIP art books by Sam Logan. VanCAF took place back in May of this year, but with all the images emerging from NY Comic Con, and with fall on the horizon, I thought it would make an appropriate post.
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Vancouver, BC, a classic pennant depicted on this hand carved...
Vancouver, BC, a classic pennant depicted on this hand carved linocut print by District Dogs Designs of North Vancouver. As members of the Vancouver Letterpress League, a local collective of creative letterpress enthusiasts, they were out in force at the Alcuin Society Wayzgoose earlier this month. There’s more Vancouver love in their portfolio as this photo attests, so be sure to check out their wares; available at Shop Cocoon at 3345 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC.
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Vancouver from Little Mountain, Peter Ewart’s contribution...
Vancouver from Little Mountain, Peter Ewart’s contribution to the Expo 86 poster collection. Thanks to Christopher for sending me this image in the comments a while back! Since then, I’ve made contact with Peter Ewart’s daughter, who provided me with the flanking two images that made up this panoramic tryptic view of Vancouver. I’ve stitched together the three images to give an impression of the complete image. A lovely scene from a lovely vantage point in the city!
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Kitsilano illustrated by Ken Steacy, a special ghoulish and...
Kitsilano illustrated by Ken Steacy, a special ghoulish and dystopian Halloween edition! This illustration was created for the first issue of Vancouver Magazine in the new millennium, January/February 2000. This was the second issue of the magazine that Douglas Coupland guest edited. There were four illustrations that accompanied an article titled: Vancouver’s future - will it be beauty and brains or dumb and scum? Most likely a mixture. Four illustrators report back. Ken tells me his contribution was the most dystopic; the caption read:
Kitsilano, Cornwall and Yew. March 47, 2048, 853 GTX. Complete ecological and political failure: melted ice caps; a botched hepatitis-K vaccine; mass extinction. Moral Cleansing squads sent by a fiat U.S. government invade Kits to snuff out marijuana smokers and render extinct Vancouver’s 10-storey-high “Superpot” trees - a geneticists’ blend of cannabis, timber bamboo, Douglas fir and bermuda grass - that have overrun virtually all other vegetation.
Thanks for the backstory, Ken!
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The H.R. MacMillan Planetarium, a pen & ink with watercolour...
The H.R. MacMillan Planetarium, a pen & ink with watercolour submitted by Brian Hebb. Brian writes: “The H.R. MacMillan Planetarium was brand-new when I lived in Vancouver in 1968. Now, this great building is the Space Centre and the Museum of Vancouver. The big crab sculpture sits in a fountain outside the Space Centre/Museum of Vancouver. It’s a wonderful statue of shinny stainless steel sculpted by George Norris for Canada’s centennial year. I painted it yellow to depict the golden hue it exudes in the sunshine.”
You may have noticed the crab was removed recently this year for the upcoming Disney movie Tomorrowland. Here you can see the crab being returned to it’s place.
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Vancouver, Gateway to the Orient, a bicycle registration decal....
Vancouver, Gateway to the Orient, a bicycle registration decal. On April 22, 1963, Bryan registered his bicycle, but for some reason or other, the bike vanished and the decal was never applied. Now, 50 years later, I present to you bicycle registration number 14414.
At the time, bicycle registration was 50¢, subject to renewal each year. If you sold or gave away your bicycle, you were to mail the certificate to the bike registration depot on 2512 Yukon Street. If your bike was lost or stolen, you would immediately report your bike to the police with this certificate. Given that these registration decals were more like temporary tattoos, I can’t imagine they were very effective.
Today, the VPD recommends you engrave your bike with your DL or provincial ID number with their Log it or Lose it campaign. Alternatively, I believe it was the Kryptonite lock company who created Bikeshepherd.org and sister site Bikerevolution.ca which offer an updated version of bike registration. You can register online for free in their global bike database. You can also purchase 3 tamper-resistant decals for $14.95 which contain QR codes. These codes can rapidly assist anyone linking a found bike to an online directory of missing bikes.
What does the future hold? Well, there’s a whole host of new smart bike tools emerging as we speak; I just found thesethree on Kickstarter for instance. Oh, and another one! We haven’t quite gotten to the stage where lost bikes will automatically return themselves to their owners, but we’re getting closer.
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A linocut of the Woodwards W printed in letterpress by DistrictDogsDesigns, via Instagram. Oh,...
A linocut of the Woodwards W printed in letterpress by DistrictDogsDesigns, via Instagram. Oh, btw, the W was recently returned to its place AGAIN last month. Not sure what maintenance was required, but I captured the return on both film and photo.
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Towards Stanley Park, a title I’ve given this watercolour...
Painting by Gordon Kit Thorne, CPE, CSPE, FCA
VPL photograph 6193 by Leonard Frank, 1933
Detail: "From Marine Building"
Chevron Legacy by Robert Allan Ltd.
Towards Stanley Park, a title I’ve given this watercolour painting by Gordon Kit Thorne, CPE, CSPE, FCA. It was Tom Carter who pointed out to me the building in the foreground is Vancouver’s former Customs and Immigration building, previously located where the Convention Centre is now. The painting appears to say “From the Marine Building” in Gordon’s handwriting in the bottom left, along with the date July 13, 1957, and, ehr, 1956 too (it’s got to be one of those two dates!). If you compare the view from the VPL photo 6193 also shown here, you can actually see the shadow of the Marine Building!
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Vancouver, a triptych from 2012 submitted by Julia Casol....
Vancouver, a triptych from 2012 submitted by Julia Casol. She writes:
Cities are unique worlds of their own within larger urban areas. They are thriving, dense, rhizomatic centers, and everyone and everything is connected into one giant network. This triptych is a surreal representation of the city: resembling an organic form of a neuron, I emphasize the network and density present in Vancouver with the urban nucleus and the nexus of roadways, cables, and electrical wires.
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View of Sleeping Beauty from the Windows of the Canadian Pacific...
View of Sleeping Beauty from the Windows of the Canadian Pacific Railway Hotel by Agnes Gardner King
View of Sleeping Beauty from the Windows of the Canadian Pacific Railway Hotel by Agnes Gardner King
View of Sleeping Beauty from the Windows of the Canadian Pacific Railway Hotel, Vancouver, a watercolour by Agnes Gardner King (1857-1929), circa May to June, 1912. This image now appears online in the Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1990-312-21.
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The Culture Crawl, 2013, coming this weekend! Featured here are...
Bright Waterfront by Richard Tetrault
Jericho Beach by Taralee Guild
Chinatown Street by Dave Denson
Drive Dusk by Penny Eisenberg
Parker Street Warehouses by Jan Kasparec
The Culture Crawl, 2013, coming this weekend! Featured here are Bright Waterfront by Richard Tetrault, Jericho Beach by Taralee Guild, Chinatown Street by Dave Denson, Drive Dusk by Penny Eisenberg, and Parker Street Warehouses by Jan Kasparec. There is a preview Thursday evening at participating studios; the Culture Crawl begins in earnest on Friday, November 15 and runs to November 17.
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The Culture Crawl, 2013, part 2! Featured here are Lonely Only...
Lonely Only by Jon Shaw
The Drive by Lawrence Lowe
Ovaltine by Lori Motokado
Transformer 167 E. Pender by Nadia Baker
Early Morning Streetscape by Suzy Arbor
The Culture Crawl, 2013, part 2! Featured here are Lonely Only by Jon Shaw, The Drive by Lawrence Lowe, Ovaltine by Lori Motokado, Transformer 167 E. Pender by Nadia Baker, and Early Morning Streetscape by Suzy Arbor. See you there this weekend!
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