2017 Procreated inspirations
observed, reflected and revealed
Ian Bateson; artist, art director and graphic designer
2017 Procreated inspirations observed, reflected and revealed
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January 2017 was the start of an all consuming process of planning, designing and production for a major two man exhibit with my friend, John Sharp—who lives and works in Manchester, UK—in our old art school gallery in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. In the last segment of this book I go into more detail about this wonderful, exhausting experience we were both thrilled to experience. Whilst in the UK I travelled throughout the Northwest and Yorkshire, distributing flyers and posters wide and far to promote the exhibition held June 1-14. My 91 year old Mother accompanied me and together we covered 1,500 miles. A lot of the images in this years volume where created in Vancouver, although a trip to Cornwall supplied me with a wealth of images for ongoing work in 2017. v
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All works are Copyright Ian Bateson © 2017
Observed fig 1 and 2; Community and Salvation: a play on words visually represented from images taken at the North Vancouver Arts Centre and their neon window sign and the Salvation Army signage in upper Lonsdale. Other images taken randomly whilst walking the streets of Vancouver.
fig 1; Community 12� x 12� - 30.48cm x 30.48cm.
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fig 2; Salvation 12” x 12” - 30.48cm x 30.48cm.
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fig 3; Spiritual moment: Having returned to Vancouver in early 2017, my friends Alex, Graham and I attended an early music concert in St Philip’s Anglican Church. Late afternoon shadows played through the ornate stained glass windows and became the background inspiration for this piece, juxtaposed by the introduction of an ancient ritualistic knife from South America shot whilst in New York’s Natural History Museum. fig 4; Garstang reflections: The years have shot by since loosing my Dad in 2012 and as wandering one morning through the village, I came across this lovely door window in a weind off the high street, hence a five year reflection.
6 fig 3; Spiritual moment, 12” x 16” - 30.48cm x 40.64cm.
fig 4; Garstang reflections, 12” x 12” - 30.48cm x 30.48cm.
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fig 5; Empires fall: Like most, I was stunned when Donald Trump actually won the Presidency of the US and watched daily the resulting chaos his isolationist policy started to present on the world stage, much like the inevitable fall of the Roman Empire, the US is stuck between it’s own pillars of financial insecurity and powerful lies and deception of its media and leaders. fig 6; Stepping out: In the series started in 2015 of people observed in our rushed urban centres where the majority of the worlds population now lives, works and plays. The subway in New York and images of people in my home town of Vancouver went into making this work.
fig 5; Empires fall 20” x 14” - 50.8cm x 35.56cm.
fig 6; Stepping out 16” x 11” - 40.64cm x 27.94cm.
fig 7; Plant 1: A photo taken with the iPad on my deck turned into this multi layered painted piece. fig 8; Rose 1: 2016, a year where my wife and I travelled extensively in BC, visiting Victoria, Mission, Whistler and the Rockies with visitors and friends from abroad. The summer was beautiful with plants, flowers and resplendent fauna, providing many opportunities for artwork.
fig 7; Plant 1, 18� x 18� - 45.72cm x 45.72cm.
fig 8; Rose 1, 16” x 11” - 40.64cm x 27.94cm.
fig 9; Rose 2: What stops you in your tracks during the short, wonderful and amazingly powerful growing period of the summer are flowers, plants and fauna. How can you not respond through images that capture that short moment you’re lucky enough to be part of. Colour, form and sheer abundance until fall casts us all into a wait and see mode until the next season. fig 10; Plant 2: I saw this hiding in an alley whilst visiting Steveston in late July. A simple cabbage parading in such an astonishing outfit, it said take me and I did.
fig 9; Rose 2, 12” x 16” - 30.48cm x 40.64cm.
fig 10; Plant 2, 16” x 11” - 40.64cm x 27.94cm.
fig 11; Plant 3: Here on the Pacific West Coast, palm trees flourish and this particular one was taken in Stanley Park during a beautiful summer afternoon walk. fig 12; All seeing: From many trips to the small fishing village of Steveston, South of Vancouver I have captured images of the variety of sea life caught by local fishermen. I’ve also seen an increase in pollution in this part of the Fraser estuary. Plastics are the biggest threat which this piece speaks to.
fig 11; Plant 3, 16” x 12” - 30.48cm x 40.64cm.
fig 12; All seeing, 16” x 12” - 30.48cm x 40.64cm.
fig 13; Aquatic 1: During a visit to the BC Museum in Victoria I came across wonderful early 19th century diagrams of local star fish and a Nautilus shell. With two layers of paint this assemblage was born. fig 14; Aquatic 3: A metamorphosis of a sea shell photographed at the Beaty Museum and a tank of jelly fish from the aquarium along with numerous layers of paint made up one of my favourite pieces from the 2017 collection.
fig 13; Aquatic 1, 12� x 16� - 30.48cm x 40.64cm.
fig 14; Aquatic 3, 18” x 18” - 45.72cm x 45.72cm.
fig 15; Wild coral: Three acrylic paintings combined with a shot of found coral. fig 16; Shannon Falls: One of my favorite trees on the West Coast— the Aspen—creates a wonderful display of colour combined with a late fall shot of the spectacular Shannon Falls, made for this compelling piece.
fig 15; Wild coral, 19” x 25” - 48.26cm x 63.5cm.
fig 16; Shannon Falls, 12” x 16” - 30.48cm x 40.64cm.
fig 17 and 18; Crab collision and Aquatic 2: Studio shots of crab carapaces and shells from a long ago collection made with my son Julian during his childhood rummages on the beaches of Vancouver and lots of painting within the Procreate app.
fig 17; Crab collision, 16� x 12� - 40.64cm x 30.48cm.
fig 18; Aquatic 2, 25” x 19” - 63.5cm x 48.26cm.
fig 19; Nautilus meld and fig 20; Head to Head: Developed after a wonderful day spent in The Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC, Vancouver. The collections include over two million specimens collected between the 1910s to the present. I recorded a fascinating group of images to play with that have kept me busy since Christmas. There are more pieces on the following pages from that visit.
fig 19; Nautilus meld, 12� x 16� - 15.24cm x 30.48cm.
fig 20; Head to Head, 12” x 16” - 15.24cm x 30.48cm.
fig 21; Sabbatical Goat: Another group of images captured at the The Beaty Biodiversity Museum, played a part in creating my version of the legendary Baphomet, first attributed to the Nights Templar who where accused of worshipping it. There is far more to this symbolic beast and you can learn more here: https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baphomet
fig 21; Sabbatic Goat, 31� x 12� - 78.74 cm x 15.24cm.
fig 22; Disorientated: Staying in Garstang, UK, at the golf course hotel, I captured a wonderful shot of their heavy exterior oak sitting chairs that just couldn’t sit still in my presence. fig 23; Birds 1: One of a series of captured images of birds both alive and stuffed for exhibit, play a role in my Procreate artwork. In this case a playful Raven caught whilst traveling through the Rockies late in the Summer.
fig 22; Disorientated, 16” x 12” - 40.64cm x 30.48cm.
fig 23; Birds 1, 20” x 14” - 50.8cm x 35.56cm.
fig 24; Birds 2: Abstraction of a stuffed Pelican from the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC and a fossil from the American Museum of Natural History, NY, along with painting and manipulation in Procreate. fig 25; Birds 3: A stuffed Common Redshank found in the Beaty and another fossil from those photographed whilst in New York.
fig 24; Birds 2, 11� x 16� - 27.94cm x 40.64cm.
fig 25; Birds 3, 18” x 18” - 45.72cm x 45.72cm.
fig 26; Birds 5: A Bald Eagle captured at The Beaty Biodiversity Museum, along with a shot of a blue sky and multiple layers of painting, smudging and deletion make up this piece.
fig 26; Birds 5, 31� x 12� - 78.74 cm x 15.24cm.
fig 27; Birds 6: A graceful Heron captured at the Victoria Museum becomes a haunting image in the context of twisted roots photographed in England. fig 28; Birds 7: Again images of a Cedar Waxwing and a Black-Headed Grosbeak captured whilst visiting the Beaty in July comprise a playful geometry.
fig 27; Birds 6, 16� x 12� - 40.64cm x 30.48cm.
fig 28; Birds 7, 20” x 14” - 50.8cm x 35.56cm.
fig 29; Birds 8: A Kingfisher photographed in the Betty Museum inserted into a shot taken at the River Stour in Canterbury, UK. A meeting of beaks. fig 30; Birds 9: This Eurasian Jay was taken at the Betty and reflected on a shot during Fall in Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver.
fig 29; Birds 8, 16� x 12� - 30.48cm x 40.64cm.
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fig 30, Birds 9, 16” x 12” - 30.48cm x 40.64cm.
News during the later part of 2017 centred around sexual abuse cases filed by women towards those–male–in power within the film, television and music industry. I’m sure this has always been an issue in these industries even stretching back since the inception of female entertainers and their male counterparts. This small series where created with the hope of empowerment versus what some males perceive as an opportunity to take advantage, celebrating the strength of women in the entertainment industry, multi-talented and strong, walking through the doors of success unencumbered. All the celebrities where photographed in the NY Madame Tussauds Museum.
fig 31; Beyonce, 31” x 12” - 78.74cm x 15.24cm.
fig 32; Josephine Baker, 31” x 12” - 78.74cm x 15.24cm.
fig 33; Lady Gaga, 31” x 12” - 78.74cm x 15.24cm.
fig 34; Rihanna, 31” x 12” - 78.74cm x 15.24cm.
reflecting fig 35, 36, 37; A series of head portraits started in acrylic, scanned and reflected in Procreate. ‘The consubstantial kindreds known as totemic groups include both human and non-human kin.’ or Three persons in one consubstantial Godhead … — Richard Meux Benson
fig 35; Totemic 1, 14” x 20” - 35.56cm x 50.8cm.
fig 36; Totemic 2, 14” x 20” - 35.56cm x 50.8cm.
fig 37; Totemic 3, 14” x 20” - 35.56cm x 50.8cm.
revealing a 2017 two man exhibit in England This exhibition incubated during a discussion with an old art school friend, John Sharp, in June, 2016, whilst we took a tour down memory lane in our old art school town of Lancaster in western Lancashire. When finally we stepped into the Storey building, that housed our original art school gallery—now managed by the local council—John suggested hosting a two man show. The logistics for me seemed overwhelming, how would I get enough work to fill half this amazing space from my home 7000 miles away in western Canada at a cost I could afford, whilst John, who lives in Manchester, is only an hours drive on the M6. On returning home—and doing some research—I decided to show my digital work, employing the services of a Berlin company called White Wall who could manufacture high quality, giclées on dibond aluminium from my Procreate art. I would show pieces produced using this app from 2013 through to 2016 along with a representation of my concrete poetry as my contribution. Left is the promotional poster to market our show. Right the gallery info panel about me and the work displayed and John’s panel is on the next page. continued…
John and I decided to commit to hosting this show in September 2016, then the real work began. Planning, budgeting, but more importantly marketing our two man show. We had some discussion about the name of the exhibit—John loved two words, I loved one—to express our partnership in this enterprise. We finally agreed on ORIGINS, as it spoke to two boys—now men— returning to their roots in Lancaster. The work of designing the brand fell to me and during that winter I crafted some graphic ideas and a list of things we needed for marketing the event. I also spent four weeks selecting, colour proofing and deciding on images that would reflect the four years I wanted to represent. White Wall supplied proofs and sample packs to help make my final decisions for ordering the pieces. John worked on quotes for print of the marketing items such as flyers, posters, invitations, etc. John’s sister, Helen did a wonderful job of marketing, by cold calling the BBC—who did provide us with an interview—galleries and others interested in the arts throughout the North West, to promote our show and John began the arduous job of mounting and framing the 30-plus pieces that would comprise his side of the exhibition. The two images—centre—are the information panels we produced for the entrance, introducing visitors to our history, work and experience.
I arrived in the UK two weeks prior to hanging the exhibition, spending that time distributing our printed posters and flyers over a six hundred mile radius throughout Lancashire, Cumbria and West Yorkshire with my Mother (pictured left) as help, and our ORIGINS ambassador. May 30 arrived quickly, time to deliver our art to the The Storey Gallery, where we would have two days to mount and display it in time for the opening on June 1, 2017. Friends and members of John’s family volunteered, working long hours to help install the exhibit. Pictured inset on the next page, from left to right are; Ian Bateson, Peter Marsland, John‘s son-Will Sharp and John Sharp. Not pictured but just as important to mention are; John’s sister Helen Fernandize, brother in law Tim Ashworth, Kevin Malloy and Andy Tomlinson. John had some very large pieces—charcoal and pastel drawings—which would have been difficult to hang, so he had collected rocks throughout the winter and spring in anticipation of showing these on the gallery floor, a central focal point that garnered lots of attention and praise from visitors. Pictured is my 91 year old Mother who accompanied me tirelessly for 10 days in May to deliver marketing material announcing the exhibition.
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Exhausted we left the Gallery late on May 31, locked the doors and looked forward to opening the exhibition the next day, June 1 and anticipated a successful—by invitation only—opening night that same evening. We both agreed to share the task of invigilating the show, with John taking the morning shift and my Mother and I the afternoon, where we could meet visitors and talk about the work. It also turned out to be useful when securing prospective sales. June 1, 2017, the doors opened at 10:00 am. We received 20 visitors during the first day and entertained over 50 visitors for the opening evening. Total number of visitors over 14 days, 325 which, according the Storey staff, had been the most successful show since they took over management. Just a sample of the many visitor comments we received during the opening:“ A really great exhibition, very thought provoking and relevant.” Anna Wolnik, Morecombe. “ Beautiful show and a lot of effort” Angela Archer, Nateby, Garstang. “ Inspirational, excellent contrast of styles” Diane Hesketh, Chester. “ So powerful it struck an emotional chord, that’s rare” Mayur Panchal, Liverpool.
As we approached the end of the exhibit and the inevitable job of taking it all down, both John and I celebrated the fact we had pulled it off, 300 plus visitors, sales, future commitments for sales and a possibility of a commission, it struck both of us that the experience was what counted. Not every day was filled with the wonder of meeting people, we did occasionally experience times where only a trickle of visitors appeared. An interesting observation made by John—more people wanted to see the show towards the end— we both felt another week or two might have drawn more in, but there does come a moment when you’re ready to take it down and move on. I think the show was a success on so many levels. It reignited my friendship with someone who was instrumental in my desire as a very young man to pursue art, design, illustration and a creative career. An end note that I think John will appreciate, this experience enabled both of us to realize we are artists who have the confidence in our skills, a love for creating what we can, using those skills and an ability to show it successfully when given the opportunity. The only thing we can’t judge is if the critics of this world would be accepting of our art. Some will, others will be dismissive. Both John and I were lucky to sell some work and continue to enjoy the process of creation. A portrait of John by his son ©Will Sharp during the hanging of our group show ORIGINS 2017.
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outcome In the second week there was a flurry of activity of sales both real and promised. Many had drifted into the exhibit sad to learn we were closing on June 14 so they hurried back to take a second look. Possibly many more may have turned up through referrals had we stayed open for another week. 1
I covered my expenses through the sale of four pieces and John’s work continued to gather interest long after we vacated the gallery. Such a story surfaced during the middle of August when a couple contacted him wishing to purchase “Hawthorn and Cotton Grass” pictured bottom right, #5. The buyer, Fiona had visited the gallery at the beginning of our second week of the exhibit and showed an interest in one of my works “Night scare 7” which she later purchased for her boyfriend. John and I are happy to have found the same good home for both of our works. Pieces I sold: 1 Shanghai Passing, 2016 2 Orchid, 2015 3 Bear Skull, 2013 4 Night Scare 7, 2015
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– Radiated in Steveston, 2014, not shown became a swap with John in exchange for a piece of his art.
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ABOUT IAN BATESON EDUCATION
INFLUENCES
1970 – 1974 Lancaster College Of Art. Graduated with Honours, Illustration and Graphic Design.
During his extensive travels, lan has visited some of the major world galleries; the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the Tate in London, the Lourve in Paris, the National in Washington and Biennale in Venice. Through these collections, from the 18th Century William Turner to Picasso in the 19th Century and Willem de Kooning and the American abstract expressionists in the 20th Century, Ian discovered wonder and amazement when in the presence of such exceptional works of art.
EXPERIENCE During the 1970’s and early 80’s Ian worked in the field of illustration and graphic design, building a solid reputation with the publishing industry as an illustrator of children’s books and a designer and illustrator for academic publications. Ian worked with Douglas & McIntyre, UBC Press, Harbour Publishing and various other international houses. From 1986 to 2012, Ian helped build Baseline Type & Graphics Cooperative into a thriving creative design studio, working for major corporations, businesses, government agencies and NGO’s telling their stories through well crafted design and marketing solutions. Ian now uses the skills he gained over 35 years, to apply his thoughts and imagination through personal, interpretive art. Ideas expressed through sketch books, photographs and finalized as digital art, output to either giclée or limited edition laser prints.
The art of typography is also a keen interest influenced by; William Caslon, John Baskerville, Frutiger, Max Miedinger for their wonderful type designs and Ian Hamilton Finlay, Dom Sylvester Houédard and Edwin Morgan, for their amazing concrete poetry.
ARTISTIC
EXPRESSION
Ian creates an impression, mood and emotion through use of colour and form. He takes from his immediate environment and reflects a visual metaphor. Assemblage and painting, for example, will turn into an expression of questioning or perhaps anger or maybe a moment reflecting on the environment. v
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PUBLICATIONS:
FROM
IAN BATESON’S STUDIO 2012-16 I began 2016 in England, visiting my Mother who turned 91 that October. The fifteen pieces I completed from that period are not included in this book but published separately in; A month of Procreating in England. As the year progressed, I photographed many of the images used to create the rest of this body of work. I also returned to images captured whilst in Venice in 2013, New York in 2014, China in 2015, England during 2015-16 and of course here at home in Vancouver, BC, Canada. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/2016procreated_inspirations
A five week Christmas break spent with my Mother in North West England, allowed for some downtime between our extensive trips—in a hired car—to produce these fourteen pieces using Procreate. The book portrays the finished artwork accompanied by notes and the raw photographs used to create each piece. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/ a_month_of_procreating_in_england
An exciting and sad year, April saw my wife Jean and I fulfill a long wanted trip to China and we were also saddened to learn of the death of a good friend and writer Mark Budgen. These were the experiences that shaped these works produced both in Canada and England. View the book here: http://issuu.com/icreate/docs/2015_procreated_inspirations
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Twenty eight pieces – by no means the entirety of my output – from my remaining 2014 volume of work representing the themes of air, land, water and other. Many are derived from my travels to England, the US, Europe and Canada using photo’s, p ainting and effects to create the multi-layered art work. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/2014procreated_inspirations
Whimsical interpretations of fossils, skulls and bones – photographed at the Natural History Museum during a trip to New York – positioned within environments I had visited and photographed in other parts of the world. You can review the original photographs, descriptions of my process and the final art when using an iPad and the Procreate app. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/2014_iprocreate2b
A trip – September, 2013 – to Alaska, photographs taken at the Fairbanks Museum and also during a five day tour of the Denali Park. My first ISSUU book of work, completed in 2012-13 using an iPad and the Procreate app. View the book here: http://issuu.com/icreate/docs/i_procreate
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I wanted to utilize some of the many photographs taken with my second digital camera—before obtaining an iPad—these are a series of sixteen specific Vancouver images that I converted into art using Illustrator and Photoshop in 2012. This series won an adjudicated place in the Ferry Building Gallery and my first group show in 2013. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/my_views_ from_vancouver I’ve struggled for some years to open my stored illustration work (and there are lots) done back in the early 80’s. This is a legacy for my sons, Julian and Kim to experience what I did to both live my dream as an illustrator and feed the family. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/2015_a_ book_about_a_book2
To celebrate twenty five years of work at Baseline Type & Graphics Cooperative on November 19, 2010, I began a blog containing a history of our studio and the work we carried out before and during the adoption of a digital workflow.
EXHIBITIONS: Dec 2013: North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Anonymous Show. Mar 2014: Ferry Building Gallery, West Vancouver. Abstracting Colour Photography. Nov 2014: Federation of Canadian Artists, Digital art show. Dec 2014: North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Anonymous Show. Dec 2015: North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Anonymous Show. Dec 2016: North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Anonymous Show. Jun 2017: The Storey Gallery, Lancaster, Lancashire, UK ORIGINS; a two man exhibit with John Sharp.
As Baseline no longer exhibited a web site in 2016, the only record left was a Wordpress site which I have edited to fit this format. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/a_2011_ blog_a_2016_book
All works are Copyright Ian Bateson © 2017
Ian Bateson, artist, art director and graphic designer t. 604 984 9283 c. 604 809 8409 ibateson@icloud.com www.ianbatesonstudio.com facebook.com/ian.bateson twitter.com/ibateson