The way the wind blows

The last week of June brought heavy rains and high winds to Winnipeg and surrounding area. According to news reports, there were several hundred incidents of trees and large branches being casualties of the storms. The tree in front of my own house was among those, with a large branch, at least 8" in diameter being snapped from the tree. Although having 20' of tree branch blocking the driveway and street was a bit disconcerting, we got off really lucky compared to others. The awesome forces of Mother Nature inspired this painting, called Splinter.

Splinter
Acrylic on 10" x 30" canvas

Fallen tree branch that inspired Splinter

Distracting Abstracts

The Piano Nobile Gallery is an amazing space, located on the mezzanine level of the Winnipeg Centennial Concert Hall. For the months of June, July and August 2014, it will be featuring the abstract art work of 18 local abstract artists fromWinnipeg (and other locations within Manitoba), myself included. The show is called "Distracting Abstracts".

The Centennial Concert Hall is home to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet,  the Manitoba Opera and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. It is also used as a venue for several other concerts during the year. Guests attending any of these events are able to enjoy the gallery during the events, but otherwise the gallery is normally open to the public by appointment only.

On Thursday, July 19th, between 7:00-10:00PM, a reception will be held for the Distracting Abstracts show, and you are invited to attend. This will provide an opportunity to take in some great abstract art in a very elegant setting for those of you who aren't planning on attending any events at the Concert Hall between June and the end of August.

The Winnipeg Centennial Concert Hall, located at 555 Main Street in Winnipeg is a wonderful example of the modern architecture built in this city during the 1960s. The acoustics in the actual concert bowl are nothing short of amazing.

With it's soaring ceilings, the mezzanine level that houses the Piano Nobile gallery is an extremely impressive space, and serves as a wonderful setting for showcasing local artistic talent.

I am proud to have two of my pieces included in the Distracting Abstracts show, along with the works of 17 other very talented Manitoba abstract artists.

The photo above shows my piece "Another Chance", second from the left. That piece is fairly large, at 36" x 36", yet it looks tiny within this majestic space. The photo shows only a small portion of the gallery space, which is probably close to 80' wide, with a soaring ceiling that appears to be more than 30' high. The space has to be seen to be appreciated.

If you happen to be attending a function at the Concert Hall between now and the end of August, please be sure to check out the show. If not, please feel free to take advantage of the opening reception to get a glimpse of some amazing home grown Manitoba artistic talent in an amazing setting.

Another Chance
Blake McArthur Abstract Art
Acrylic on 36" x 36" canvas

Thirteen
Blake McArthur Abstract Art
Acrylic on 22" x 30" canvas

Mona Lisa April 2014

I've always enjoyed having my work displayed at Mona Lisa Ristorante, 1697 Corydon, here in Winnipeg. Not only is it one of Winnipeg's most highly acclaimed Italian restaurants, it is also known for being a huge supporter of the local art scene. They have gone out of their way to provide local artists with an absolutely awesome venue for displaying art. When they renovated the restaurant in the spring of 2013, they went out of their way to ensure that the lighting would be able to highlight the art on display. The result is nothing short of awesome. In a traditional gallery, viewers are exposed to any given piece for a matter of moments.  While dining in an upscale restaurant like Mona Lisa, viewers have the opportunity to fall in love with a piece over the time that they are enjoying their meal. I have been fortunate enough to have had my work on display twice since their renovations, with both showings resulting in sales. I am looking forward to having my work displayed there again in December 2014 and January 2015.

I have been experimenting with iMovie to create video montages of my paintings. Here is one of my first attempts, showing my paintings from the April Mona Lisa show, and featuring original music from the extremely talented Dave Swiecicki. Not only is Dave an accomplished musician, but he is also an amazing abstract painter and one of the most awesome portrait photographers you'll ever find.  He has very graciously given me permission to use his music in my videos, and I'm sure that you'll agree his music is amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N99nw5owXhg


There must be something "in the air" here in Winnipeg, because we seem to have more than our fair share of artistic talent. I've also received permission from the very talented Justin Waterman to use his music for my videos as well. Here's a link to a "Kolidr Marquee" of my art with his amazing music as the backdrop.

http://www.kolidr.com/marquees/17937-blake-mcarthur-art-mona-lisa-ristorante-display

Metal Art

Several months ago, I had been approached by a company called "All My Walls - Art & Decor". They sell really cool metal reproductions of contemporary paintings, and had asked if I'd be interested in having some of my work made available to their clients. I checked out their web site, liked what I saw, so I decided to give it a try and sent them some sample hi-res images of some selected pieces. It has taken a long time, but they now have metal reproductions of five of my pieces available for purchase through their web site.

My favourite of the five is their 7 piece reproduction of my 12" x 48" canvas piece called Time Flies. The metal version is a bit larger, at 23.5" x 66".

For some reason, the multiple piece ones appeal to me, so my second favourite is their 3 piece reproduction of my 22" x 30" paper piece called When I Look To The West. Their version of this one is close to original size.

The other three pieces are all single piece reproductions. They include my paper pieces Shockwave and Sooner, as well as my piece on Yupo Paper entitled Needle In A Haystack.

These pieces can be purchased directly from "All My Walls". The link to my items on their site is here.

Mona Lisa - April 2014

Mona Lisa Ristorante in Winnipeg is a huge supporter of the local art scene, offering local artists the opportunity to have their work displayed on a monthly rotation basis.

My work, along with the work of my good friend and fellow artist Catherine Emile, is scheduled to be on display later this year. As the result of a cancellation by the artist who was supposed to show in April, we were asked to fill in, so our work is also on display there from April 6 through May 4, 2014.

I have updated my web site to include photos of the dozen pieces that I have on display. In addition, I have created a "Kolidr Marquee" that allows viewers to see the paintings included within the display while listening to some amazing music from Justin Waterman, a local Winnipeg musician who has graciously allowed me to use his music as a backdrop for my art.

Please click here for the Kolidr Marquee

Or here for my website.

Happy New Year 2014

Happy New Year 2014 !!

I find it hard to believe, but my tradition of starting a painting in one year, and finishing it in the next year, is now 5 years old.  It seems like only yesterday that I started painting, but it will be 6 years in April.

The tradition also involves creating one final piece for the year just ending. As 2013 drew to a close, I created this piece, which I call "Warmth".

The piece that I started in 2013 and finished in 2014 is called "Restraint".  It is a bit more "lyrical" and "flowing" than most of my work, however I feel that it still comes across as one of my works.

Blast From The Past

For people my age, the best part about Facebook is allowing us to re-connect with people from our past. A few years ago, I had reconnected with an old friend from grade school through Facebook, and we have since gotten together when he's been passing though town (Hi Ed). More recently, Facebook reconnected me with Laura, a good friend from my days at RRCC. Based on conversations started through Facebook, we were able to reconnect in person, and had a wonderful time reminiscing and catching up on what had transpired in our lives over the last 30 years. An afternoon of great conversation culminated in the chance to paint together, and this is the result.