#ICONICCANUCK
LIMITED EDITION MAGAZINE | WINTER 2014
#ICONICCANUCK
LIMITED EDITION MAGAZINE | WINTER 2014 "Iconic" characterized by 'fame', culturally someone or something admired as an icon. "Canuck" an affectionate, friendly or patriotic slang term for Canadian people, when used by Canadians. 'Canadianisms' on canvas, this body of work brings into view a broad range of Canadian cultural Icons. Personalities, pastimes, symbols and the landscape, as depicted through my social commentary on being a 'Canuck'. Symbolic and peppered with my personal brand of quirky Canadian humour, these pieces are my love letter to Canada and have become somewhat of a social experiment, as they bring together both sports fans and art fans alike. Engaging in many passionate discussions; the intersection between Canadian popular culture and art history.
All images owned by The Art of Brandy Saturley - copyright 2014
VICTORIA - VANCOUVER - CALGARY - EDMONTON - QUEBEC - TORONTO - PALM SPRINGS PHONE: 250-483-5032 | EMAIL: art@brandysaturley.com | WEBSITE: www.brandysaturley.com
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"When I first put on the mask, the boys all told me I would scare the women. They wouldn't come to see the games anymore. I'll tell you something, if I went on the way I was going, pretty soon my face would look worse than the mask." ~ Jacques Plante
The Goalie Masks
A prominent part of Canadian culture showing obvious influences from First Nations tribes, I could not paint a series about Canada without referencing the masks worn by some of our greatest hockey icons. These are two of the 'goalie mask' paintings from #ICONICCANUCK.
LEFT: Tribe Called Canadiens - 48" x 60" - acrylic on canvas - 2014 BELOW: Plante Rises - 60" x 36" - acrylic on canvas - 2012
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"Keep your love of nature, for that is the true way to understand art more and more." ~ Vincent Van Gogh
Figures On The Landscape
Nature provides an escape from the day to day and a chance to refresh, recharge and explore. As a Canadian, I feel very fortunate that I have endless opportunities to explore the outdoors and breathe in the clean, crisp air of our oceans and our mountain peaks. Positioning the figure in nature expresses this enjoyment, and freedom of exploration. A couple of the more figurative pieces on the Canadian landscape.
LEFT: Saint Kanata - 36" x 48" - acrylic on canvas - 2011 BELOW: Suck My Wake - 48" x 36" - acrylic on canvas - 2014
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"We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields." ~ excerpt from poem 'In Flanders Fields'
Remembrance
Poppies seem to be a recurring theme in this body of work and with the 2014 Remembrance Day ceremonies on my mind, I paid a visit to our local Legion to make a donation and collect one hundred poppies. With the 100th anniversary of the First World War, I found it to be the right number of poppies to signify this year's remembrance. These one hundred poppies became a photography project, in which I arranged the poppies in significant patterns and painted them with light from different angles. This also influenced the creation of a new painting honouring those who have been 'on guard' for Canada.
LEFT: We Remember 36" x 36" acrylic on canvas 2014 RIGHT UP: 100 Poppies Photo Project Balancing 100 poppies in my hand. RIGHT LOWER: 100 Poppies Photo Project 100 poppies on a wall with projected lighting. 7
LEFT UPPER: Photo of poppy with superimposed Canadiens logo. 2014 LEFT LOWER: 100 Poppies Photo Project 100 Poppies attached to my bare skin, selfportrait with a family members' officer's hat over heart.
RIGHT: 100 Poppies Photo Project in the studio 'chair of contemplation' with 100 poppies pinned.
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ABOVE: Target Legacy - 36"x 36" acrylic on canvas and hockey tape, 2014
Upper right: exhibition photo from The Showroom in Victoria, 2014 LOWER RIGHT: Fear Before Glory 48" x 36" - acrylic on canvas, 2014
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The People Of Canada Portrait Project
About four years ago a journey began. It started with an experience during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. From that experience, curiosity sent me travelling, exploring, and photographing some of Canada's greatest landscapes, events, and pop culture icons. From this a series of paintings emerged, the body of work known as #ICONICCANUCK. These paintings extended my connections with people, I found myself painting athletes for Canadian Tire Jumpstart in Toronto and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary. These events allowed me to interact with more people, and continue the discussion. My journey led to a solo showing of these paintings in Edmonton in December 2013, quickly followed by a week curating the @PeopleOfCanada twitter feed. Through these experiences I had even more discussion and it is the people I met, in person and on-line, who set me on a deeper journey questioning, who are the People of Canada? Early in 2014, I submitted an open call across the Internet for photos of Canadians. From these photos I select portrait subjects, who then are asked to answer interview questions about their 'Canadian' experience. I then take the submitted photo, the interview responses, and create a portrait painting. LEFT: Canadiens Gothic - 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas, 2014 | People's Choice Award BELOW: Not For Sale - 40" x 30" acrylic on canvas, 2014
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The project continues to evolve as I go, I seem to be working almost like a film director at this point, perhaps a habit leftover from my days spent in the film industry. I first select a photo, then write interview questions, then create the painting based on answers to these questions and my sense of the subjects. The next step, I document each day of painting and compile into a video, which I post on-line showing the evolution of the painting. I then post the completed painting with the interview on the www.peopleofcanada.ca website. Shortly after, I write a statement which explains why I made the choices I did in creating the portrait, I explain the narrative or script behind the piece. It has become a process of scripting and storyboarding with the end result of a portrait painting. I am loving the process and the stories of the people, and I am enjoying painting portraits again, it has been a long time since I have committed this much time to portraits. The end goal with this project is to exhibit the submitted photos and the paintings together in celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary, coming up in 2017. I am thankful to those who have supported the project this far and have helped to get the word out there, including; AllHabs Magazine, Artists In Canada, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, Penny Rogers Photography, Independent Sports News, Visual Arts Alberta, Imagination 150, @PeopleOfCanada, and all those who have submitted photos to the project, thus far. LEFT UPPER: detail 'Futurebrights' 40" x 30" acrylic on canvas, 2014 LEFT LOWER: detail 'Welcome All Souls' 36" x 36" acrylic on canvas, 2014 RIGHT clockwise: photos: 'The Sacrificial Fan', photo of Saturley, Canadiens homage to Magritte, Saturley at giant Stanley Cup in Edmonton. 16
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Beyond #ICONICCANUCK
Returning home from my first solo showing of #ICONICCANUCK in 2013, I found myself introspective and thinking about the journey that this body of work has taken me on over the past few years. I suppose these new pieces, created right after returning home, express my journey and the adventure of driving through the Canadian Rocky mountains in winter. I am absorbing these experiences, letting them germinate and dreaming about what comes next. In this case, some dream-like and surreal landscapes were born, with the integration of some collage materials collected over the years. LEFT: There's No Place Like Home - 36" x 36" - acrylic on canvas and Canadian Citizenship brochure - 2014 ABOVE: Poppies - 48" x 36" - acrylic on canvas and 'O Canada' sheet music - 2014
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In My Splendorous Kingdom 36" x 36" acrylic on canvas & wool 2014
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Clockwise from top: Edmonton show 2013, Saturley at show, Victoria show 2014, photo at Victoria show.
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Mixed Media Assemblage and Paint.
We all seem to have things we collect. For some it is art, and for artists it is things that could become useful, at some point, for conveying our vision. Over the years I have built collections of vintage paper items of Canadiana, boxes, hockey pucks, netting, dryer lint, clothing tags, and the list goes on... This year I began working some of these saved items into my art, helping bring my painting into another dimension. These are just a couple of pieces that are becoming the blue prints for larger and more refined permanent pieces about Canada. This body of work now encompasses several mediums including; painting on canvas, assemblage, photography, film and digital art. Continuing to learn, grow and evolve, 'my' Canada. Where every day, is a BEAUTY DAY, eh? ABOVE: I AM CANADIEN - 18" x 9" wood box, rubber hockey pucks, paper, plastic, acrylic paint, cardboard, acrylic netting and linen. 2013 RIGHT: LANDSCAPE TO GO - 12" x 16" cardboard box, cardboard pieces, paper, acrylic paint, glue, leather, metal hinges. 2014 - right lower image shows detail. 22
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