Season's Very Best from M.L.Holton

Front WIndow Seasonal Decor by M.L.Holton, Canada

May your New Year be Festive & Bright! Ho-Ho!

Terrific Review of The FROZEN GOOSE in The View!

Front Cover of The View - Current Edition, Dec 2016

 Thrilled by this review (with a  FRONT COVER!) by Canadian film critic, Rachel More. 

Very complimentary, perceptive & kind. 

What a Christmas gift! 

Having trouble reading? 

Try the on-line version - Swipe thru to PAGE 13. 
Back issue: Volume 22, Issue 49. Dec 15-22nd, 2016.) 

WAAH's 'Winter's Palette' at The Cotton Factory

Happy to be included in the inaugural WAAH's exhibition at The Cotton Factory, 'Winter's Palette', juried by the Women's Art Association of Hamilton Exhibition Committee. The piece I've submitted was recently posted on this blog, so rather then post it again - I am offering up some visually warming 'iPad pastels by MLH' ... The more I work with this digital application, the greater seem the possibilities. Yes, signature "Serious Fun"stuff! -- Would make fantastic promo posters or decor art, don't you think?

iPad Pastel, Copyright by Canadian Artist, M.L,Holton - Dec 4th, 2016

 'Winter's Palette' 

Open Reception & Christmas Party

This Saturday, Dec 10th: 1-4pm

                   Please Join Us! 

WAAH logo. Established 1946.

 Where? At The Cotton Factory

270 Sherman Street, Hamilton, Ontario

iPad Pastel, Copyright by M.L.Holton - Dec.4th, 2016

Exhibition, on 3rd floor, runs until February 25th.
Come check it out in the 'Co-Work' space!
The Cotton Factory map: 

UPDATE - Great show!

New 2016 Painting by Canadian Artist, M.L.Holton

'In Flight' by M.L.Holton, 2016, acrylic on primed canvas - with gold highlights

 Not 100% sure about the title yet, but, for now, it's called, 'In Flight'. 

... It looks 'tropical', doesn't it? ...

However, the disappearance of the polar ice in the Arctic 

is an on-going worrisome reality.  I had thought to 

call this piece, somewhat ironically, 'Northwest Passage'... 

The way things are going, I still might.

If interested in purchasing this piece, please 

get in touch for final dimensions & price. 

It's now signed, dated & numbered.

I will be framing it in a black wooden frame, soon. - mlh

Very Special 'One-Time' Christmas Screening of short Canadian film classic, The FROZEN GOOSE!

 (NB: this teaser trailer is NOT available on YouTube, 

I don't know why that 'option' is on this player ... 
Just discovered it wont play on Apple products either.)

Excited to announce a Very Special 'One Time' screening of The Frozen Goose at 3 o'clock, on SUNDAY, December 18th, at Cine Starz Burlington​, located at 460 Brant Street, in downtown Burlington. Superb sound, comfy & intimate theatre! Join Director, Margaret Lindsay Holton​, and a few cast members for this unique theatrical release! First come, first served. AND, there's popcorn!

Plus, just received this nice mini review by James Gike, in Burlington Lifestyle Magazine. 

Lawren Harris, Canadian Artist breaks auction record

Mountain Forms, By Lawren Harris, Painted in 1926

The Canadian art world is all a-twitter at the moment with the recent 'price-breaking' sale of this iconic work by Canadian 'Group of 7' founder, Lawren Harris. As the CBC writes, "Mountain Forms, a renowned 1926 painting of Alberta's Mount Ishbel in the Sawback Range of the Rocky Mountains in Banff National Park, sold for $9.5 million at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Toronto Wednesday night. Including the 18 per cent buyer's premium, which comes out of the winning bidder's pocket and goes to the auction house, the total price was $11.21 million." A record-breaker.

'Vintage' Canadian painted art is experiencing a bit of an up-tick. Steve Martin, famed comedian, is not only a collector, but a promoter of Lawren Harris's works. He curated a special show of the artist's pieces at the Art Gallery of Ontario in the fall.  Harris has also been the object of several memorable biographies, most noteworthy, Joan Murray's incisive pictorial bio. 

As a practicing artist, long interested & influenced in the Harris's painting subjects and techniques, I am thrilled that the man is receiving the greater international attention his work truly deserves. 

One regret is that I know I will never OWN a Harris. His works are very much out of my price league now. However, I take some comfort that I do have a few 'Harris' of my own ...

You see, I began, some years ago, to embark on a series of 'Paint Poems' (by me) that honor the man, his techniques & his aesthetic sensibilities. I was never trying to slavishly 'copy' him, rather, I 'followed' him, in order to learn more about his sense of composition and how he captured light. The 'sizes', per se, didn't matter to me. It was his colour sense, what he SAW in landscapes,how the works moved me, that, in turn, inspired me.

I KNOW I got very close to his SENSES as a result.
A few of my 'Paint Poems to Lawren Harris' follow.
I love them. I hope you will too. :)

Paint Poem 2: To Lawren Harris, by M.L.Holton

Paint Poem 3: To Lawren Harris, by M.L.Holton

Hamilton Film Expo, Festival & Canadian Film Market in the Hammer, Nov, 2016

Friendly welcome from local filmmakers & volunteers, Christine Whitlock & Craig Watkins

The 11th Annual Hamilton Film Festival opened this weekend with an open house at Digital Canaries Studio, with the launch of the 72 Hour Film Challenge: where teams get 72 hours to make a 7 min film. They have the run of the studio, (2pm until mid-night), will receive novel props, and have the option of SFX make-up, if they want it. Next weekend, on Saturday, at the Zoetic Cinema, (on the Hamilton mountain), the results will be shown. Awards will be presented by Academy Award winner, Colin Chivers.

Teams assessing the mock two-storey house ..

Simon WInterson, (owner), gave a quick tour of the 'sets\ available, including a 'mock' two-storey house, an operating room, a mock morgue, judging chambers, period & contemporary office space, elevator shafts and a set of the Oval Office. 

Come NEXT WEEKEND to the Zoetic Cinema Theatre, (on the mountain), to see how the teams did under intense time, set and prop restraints. Saturday, 7pm  - WILL BE A HOOT!

Operating Room jitters ...

And, COME ON OUT to the Hamilton Film Festival, running all this week. Nathan Fleet & his team have pulled out all the stops to make this a memorable, exciting, thought-provoking & funny - (gore galore!) - event. 

Simon, ever the obliging ham!

Schedule, listing & prices can be found on the Hamilton Film Festival WEBSITE.

Team players taking stock of the sets

Writers hard at work ... To be or not to be ... Empty or Dressed Sets!!!

Centre - Fearless HFF leader - Nathan Fleet, 2016

Oh, and yes, my newly released short film, The FROZEN GOOSE, a classic Canadian short story post WW1, will be screened to 'Market Badge' holders (only) at the Canadian Film Market on, fittingly, Remembrance Day, Friday, November 11th, at 2:30pm in the Sheraton Hotel, in downtown Hamilton  (in the ADELAIDE Room, 2nd Floor). During that weekend, I will be actively pitching this short Canadian film about World War 1, my next narrative film & my last award-winning novel to prospective producers & buyers. - Serious Fun Stuff!