A grizzly I met this summer in the MK

MK - three weeks and counting ...

Photo by Wayne Sawchuk

In 2008, I was heading back to Vancouver on the Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay ferry. Usually I stay in the car with my dogs for the ride over and read, but I had forgotten my book and was feeling restless. I wandered up to the gift shop and was looking through the magazines and picked up a National Geographic Magazine. Inside was an 8 page spread which included images of a place in Norther BC I'd never heard of. I don't remember paying for the magazine (though I did) and I don't remember the rest of the ride home. All I remember is intense excitement and a need to contact a man named in the article: Wayne Sawchuk.

When I got home I ran to my computer and wrote to Wayne. He was online and for about an hour we frantically wrote back and forth and it became immediately obvious we needed to work together.

A couple months later Wayne invited me to Victoria for a slide show of the MK Region, to meet others who had been on the expedition, and to share some food. It was fall and I was scheduled for the next expedition, which would happen a few months later that summer. But come November, my Dad suddenly found himself with heart trouble and needing surgery. I decided to postpone the trip, & move back to the Island to be closer to my family.

My Dad is without a doubt, one of the strongest people I know. He bounced back in no time and was off to Thailand.

Wayne has contacted me each summer, and has sent his beautiful images of the MK. Timing, finances, (INTENSE FEAR OF GRIZZLY BEARS !!!) has delayed this trip, until now.

This year, I made Wayne a deal: "You take me through this place and I'll make two beautiful solo shows plus work for the Toronto Art Fair plus the Christmas show, all on the MK." "Great !" He told me.

In a couple weeks The skinnies and I head for PG to see Paulette and the Icatcher family, then I'll drive solo another 14 + hours up to Muncho Lake BC before flying into the MK.

Something I haven't yet mentioned to Wayne: For years I have had reoccurring nightmares of being attacked by bears. Before he died, my friend Doug taught me how to track cougar and bear in the woods in an area of land called L 7 on Vancouver Island. He taught me what to look for, what to watch out for, and what to do if confronted. I bought and read a book on bear attacks to try to confront and dissolve the fear. I saw a bear movie at Science World so I could learn more about them. The bears were huge and I forced myself to sit in front of them. None of these things worked. I haven't bought a tent for this trip. I'm hoping someone will let me sleep under them in theirs.

Yesterday while hiking Mt. Seymour, the dogs found a massive pile of fresh bear poop. In all the time I have hiked this trail, I have never some across any bear poop. EVER. And it is very hard not to give this pile of poop significant foreshadowed meaning, especially with the MK expedition rapidly approaching.

11:30 am. time to begin another painting.

MK:
http://www.muskwakechika.com/waynesawchuk
http://cpawsbc.zenutech.com/node/221

Getting ready for the MK ...

I'm currently painting a body of work for a show at the Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver (October). This series is in collaboration with the conservation work of Wayne Sawchuk, and is based on the 6.4 million hectare region (aprox. the size of Ireland) of the Muskwa-Ketchika Management Area of Northern British Columbia. Two new works based on this region were delivered today.

Earth, Wind, Bone

I received an email the other day, asking which I would prefer, to be credited as "Painting Consultant" or "Painting Mentor." I didn't think much of it and quickly replied "whichever you like."

It didn't occur to me until much later while painting in the studio what, exactly, I was being credited for.

Earth, Wind, Bone is a yet to be released NFB film on Georgia Okeefe, Emily Carr & Frida Kahlo, created, written and directed by Jill Sharpe.

Being credited as a mentor in painting which helped to inform this film is not something I'm overly comfortable with. I'm very grateful to Okeefe, Carr & Kahlo for their monumental contribution to the field of painting, and of their influences on my studies in learning this craft. I'm also grateful to Jill Sharpe for her keen interest in painting and for illuminating these three so beautifully in this film.

Arrangements

Arrangements is the title of a Solo exhibition scheduled at the beautiful Foster/White Gallery in Seattle, May 5th-28th.

Happy Valentines ...

Yesterday, I dropped off a couple new paintings to the Bau-Xi Gallery in Vancouver. They were well received and now hang in the front window:
(L->R) White Light Arrangement and Roses for Tulip.

Sparrows, on the cover of Mr. Archambault's latest novel.

Available through Boreal Press...

Sparrows

'Sparrows' has been selected for the cover of a book by Montreal's author Gilles Archambault. This is his 30th novel. He had a radio show for over 30 years on jazz on Radio-Canada. He is appreciated for his moody writing that is also very soft and touching, much like a resonant jazz melody.

Vancouver Courier, August 4th 2010

Whippet good for atmospheric painter

Artist's new series of landscapes based on grounds of Riverview psychiatric hospital

BY MICHAEL KISSINGER, VANCOUVER COURIER AUGUST 4, 2010

Painter and former Nanaimoite Sheri Bakes relaxes with a couple of her harshest, tuckered out critics.
Photograph by: Dan Toulgoet, Vancouver Courier

Like this writer, Sheri Bakes grew up on the mean streets of Nanaimo. Thunderbird Drive to be exact. We attended the same elementary, played in the same school band and occasionally practised our instruments--her on trumpet, me on saxophone--at different ends of our street, performing a squawky call-and-response routine that was neither romantic nor enjoyable for the neighbours who lived between us. Bakes now lives in Vancouver where she raises weird-looking dogs, creates colourful, hard-to-describe paintings that can be seen at the Bau-Xi Gallery (3045 Granville St.) from Aug. 7 to 21, and answers probing questions via her iPhone from former classmates who've also left Nanaimo to achieve dizzying heights of greatness.

1. In the briefest, least artist-speak way possible, could you describe your upcoming art show, In Lieu of Flowers?

A number of landscapes (oil on canvas) plus three small installations based on the grounds at Riverview Psychiatric Hospital and adjacent Colony Farm.

2. Conversely, in the most pretentious, artist-speak way possible, could you describe your upcoming show?

Several loosely rendered, brooding, wind swept, dare I say "Turner longing" landscapes strategically hung and juxtaposed in white space to look down upon three small installations (or force amplifiers), which question the psychological kinetic energy of mechanical work inside the mind of the paintings and the paintings inside the mind. Ha ha.

3. Would it be accurate to describe what you do as landscape painting?

Yes and no. Yes, the work is geographically based on a specific, pre-selected location, and rendered with those physical coordinates in mind. But no because they are more about atmosphere in motion... I think my work is thought of by some as "decorative"--you know, to "match the couch." That was a running joke among friends for a while. Then again, one collector had her antique dining room table legs shortened so she could see my painting better. I intentionally don't make art to exclude people... I make work with a lot of facets, all of which can be accessed if a person wants to go into it deeply or not. I'm not interested in making work that excludes. If a tugboat captain tells me I've nailed it, that's the best feedback to me.

4. What are some struggling artist stereotypes you embody?

I have no idea. As far as I'm concerned, my job is to show up, pay attention and do the work. As long as I do my job, I've earned my keep.

5. In 2000, you suffered a stroke. How did that affect your painting?

My vision changed. I kept going back to the opthamologist because my peripheral vision was so wide. I thought there was something wrong with my sight. But it wasn't sight, it was vision. They are very different. I see the energy of things more now. Less detailed physical definition and more the internal sense of things. I can't draw anymore at all. But I can paint better. It simplified everything to me. Thankfully that's what art needs.

6. Are there any lingering effects from your stroke?

Yes. I still have trouble concentrating sometimes. And comprehending things like sarcasm and implied meanings. I take things pretty literally most of the time. And I need things to be clear, simple, organized and pretty tidy. Fatigue... There is a small list of things. It doesn't matter though, most people can't tell anymore unless you spend any length of time with me. And my dogs don't care. I think it's hard for people I'm close to sometimes. And that's hard.

7. Are there any lingering effects from growing up in Nanaimo?

Ha ha! No more than from having a stroke I suppose!

8. Judging by the thousands of whippet photos you've posted on Facebook just this week alone, you seem to have a fondness for the species. How many do you own?

Let's be clear. They own me. Luna (9), Shine (4), and Easy (13 weeks). Number four in the wings. They don't shed much so they are ideal in the studio. They are known as "the 45-mile-an-hour couch potato" (full speed or not at all), which makes them great for the studio as well. We all get out for a couple hour-long walks in a day and they are happy to lie around and criticize my work the rest of the time. They are smart, super snugly and they uphold justice like nobody's business. You just can't get away with less than excellent behavior with them. They keep me in line. I respect that.

9. Do your dogs ever influence your paintings?

Always. They help keep my heart and moods stable. They give everything more purpose in my life. They make me happy and that greatly influences the work and my ability to make it. It's tough on a person to work long hours alone in their mind, even if their body is laying paint down on a canvas. I don't think it's healthy. They help keep things in perspective. That's their job. They are my anchors.

10. Do you ever pick up your trumpet anymore?

Unfortunately I had to hock it while in university. Does that count for the previous starving artist stereotype question?



Read more: http://www.vancourier.com/entertainment/Whippet+good+atmospheric+painter/3357941/story.html#ixzz0vfQu2gdc

Special Delivery...

Today I delivered 27 paintings and 3 small installations to the Bau-Xi Gallery here in Vancouver. Tonight Riko and I will install the show. My show opens on August 7th, from 2-4. It's called In Lieu of Flowers, and it's based on the grounds of Riverview Psychiatric Hospital, and adjacent Colony Farm.

...

Easy is doing great. We are a bit worried about the congestion in his sinuses. It hasn't cleared yet, and seems to be a bit worse today. We will be taking him in to see someone tomorrow to make sure everything is okay.

...

So grateful for my life.

family

quality control: studio art critics...

painting cross eyed at 4am...

Everything has been flying along smoothly in the studio these days (and nights) as I've been preparing for an upcoming show at the Bau-Xi Gallery here in Vancouver (opens August 7th, 2-4pm).

The show is going to be a big one. Lots of large paintings. Lots of paintings, period. My studio is crammed full of canvases and I'm running short on space for things to dry.

These days, I'm up at 3:45am, in the studio and painting shortly after 4, back home between 7 and 9am, then in the studio again in the late afternoon until I can't see straight anymore. This new schedule (as of July 1st), is to accommodate my partner in crime as his new whippet puppy has arrived.

*Three weeks until delivery.*

Riko prefers me to deliver the work two weeks before the show opens, as she likes to allow time for a special interest list of collectors to be able to view the pieces before they hang. But, well, I might hang on to some of the work a little longer... Seems harder and harder to let work go these past couple years. I could never breed dogs and let puppies go, like Emily Carr did.

Everything is wet and continually getting wetter. This, by far, is the most stressful time in a show's life, yet somehow this puppy (who's name is 'Easy') with some kind of magical surgical precision, seems to have very cleanly inserted me into the very quiet center of what feels like a large swirling tornado...

Walt Whitman

Matching the Couch...

For a while, there was a joke circling about making paintings to match the couch. Or for a gallery client to find "something that go's" with their decor. A joke not among artists and gallery staff... but solely among artists. "Make a painting of a couch on fire," one artist suggested.

Instead, I've chosen not to participate in the whole thing.

The strongest affirmation I've had of this belief, is having been told of a client who purchased a very large painting a few years ago. It was a two panel piece and she wanted it in her dining room. Unfortunately, the antique dining room table stood a little bit too high, and interfered with the bottom line of the piece. Instead of choosing another painting, she had the legs of the table cut down.

This is my position: own only what you love, or, what you need.

Matching the couch is a fad. What happens when the couch is out of style in half a year, and then you have to look for a new painting to match your new couch anyway... ?

...

Lately, I've been noticing that the colours in some of my paintings and colours in other things, are similar. While drying a bathing suit on the arm of my rocking chair in my studio after swimming the other day... And eating a cantaloupe while gazing at a painting I was currently working on.

Environment impacts painting. Maybe if someone lent an artist their couch for a few years... a painting would show up to match it. Although, there would probably be a lot of paint left on it as well...

The Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria

Thank you to The Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria for acknowledging me as one of 150 significant BC women artists.

http://www.bcwomenartists.ca/living25%2B.html

Two people who help me make this work... work.

Yesterday, while painting in the studio, I felt a substantial amount of gratitude for two people here in town: Kevin Head, and Stand Rath.

Kevin Head is the master mind behind Kroma Artists Acrylics, down in The Net Loft, on Granville Island. Although I work in oils, I rely heavily on Kroma's high quality gesso and Escoda brushes from Spain. Not to mention the dose of positive calm that Kevin manages to dish out every time I see him. http://www.kromaacrylics.com/sitemap.html

Stan Rath is another person I depend on. Stan builds all my stretchers, and provides me with Holbein and Kama pigments. As well as any sketch books, pens or introductions to Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (!)

Spending long hours in the studio offers little opportunity for social interaction. I value these two people. Not only for the essentials they provide, but for their dedication and love of art, kindness and generosity of spirit they share.

Thanks Kevin.

Thanks Stan.

The new website is finally up ! Please feel free to check it out if you like. Sure is nice to be able to do things myself.

www.sheribakes.com

Looking is half the painting...