Bruce Trail Conservancy Celebrates 50 Years of Volunteering

Despite periodic torrential downpours, 500 + intrepid volunteers, from Tobermory to Niagara, gathered to celebrate 50 years of the Bruce Trail. Suited up in 'all weather' gear, a massive BBQ got underway with entertainment by Juno Award winner, Ian Thomas,  & some gal whose bellowing pipes raised the rain spattered roof! On hand, with brief speeches, were Honorable Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism, Culture & Sport for Ontario, and Honorable Ted McKeekin, Minister of Agriculture. But by far the most moving and witty speech was given by Dr. Philip Gosing, who, at 84 years of age, and one of the founders of the ever-wonderful Bruce Trail, recounted the 'early efforts' of getting this massive trail up & running ...

The Bruce Trail has been completely built and maintained by dedicated volunteers from the tip of Tobermory to the river's edge in Niagara. Akin in concept to the Appalachian Trail, the Bruce is dedicated to preserve & protect the globally unique biosphere of the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario.

I was, and remain, very lucky & happy to have served for 5 years as a Trail Captain volunteer on the Ian Reid Side Trail, (off the Bruce Trail that runs on top of the escarpment at Kerns Road & Dundas Street in Burlington.)  Ian Reid, a delightful & dedicated sprite, was one of the principal organizers of the 'Hamilton Chapter' of the Iroquois 'section' of the Trail. The side trail, named in his honour, is a moderately difficult loop up and down the escarpment face. It is a very familiar trail to 'locals', young & old.

All in all, the festival, held at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area off Governor's Road in Dundas Ontario, was a great and fun event - albeit it, a bit 'damp'. This occasion also stands as a key 'marker' of growth for the Conservancy. The Bruce Trail legacy has now been firmly established. Soon it will be up to the next generation to carry on this important NATURALIST philosophy & tradition - and work - of protecting and preserving this patch of 'wildlife' that runs throughout Southern Ontario  - for The Future.

I am mighty proud, and also very humbled, to be a part of this Great & Good on-going effort.

HRH The Queen, Her Diamond Jubilee & Some Idiot's Underpants

I was watching the wonderful BBC coverage of the River Thames River Pageant in honor of HRH The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and was kinda stunned by some relatively famous British actor remarking how he was wearing underpants to celebrate the occasion. What a yahoo.

Meanwhile, the Queen, the most stately & precious national 'pearl', is standing in the bitter cold & pouring rain during the final rendition of 'Rule Britannia'. The crowd, for the most part, had dispersed during the latest downpour. Yet, it is she and her 90 year old husband, Prince Philip, surrounded by her grandchildren, who stand stoic against the elements. By so doing, yes, they are honored, but more importantly, STANDING THERE as they do, they pay to tribute to the country that they - and she - so dearly love.

UNDERWEAR????  Psffffft. Dumb dufus. And honestly, BBC, sure, levity to gravitas, but come-on.
Who gives a rat's ass about some idiot's underwear??? 

Queen Elizabeth is truly a most remarkable woman. She has performed her 'duty' unflinchingly for six long & turbulent decades. A global leader and inspiration, she stands head & shoulders above some petty pouncing by a forgotten prat. Nota bene.

Tom Waits Narrates John Baldessari VIDEO

Another item to consider.

How BIG NAME contemporary artists 

collaborate & promote each other using 

MOD MEDIA

  -

Tom Waits Narrates John Baldessari: 

a Bio-Pic, on YouTube

 - HERE.

NEWS from STUDIO of MLH - Spring 2012

 'The Clearing', oil painting

Here it is, my spring newsletter for 2012, click on the link below:

 'NEWS from STUDIO of MLH'

As an added incentive this year I am adding a special 'SALE' item. I am offering the above 2010 oil painting, 'The Clearing' ( 'as is' in a simple black frame, 27"W x 20" H ) at 40% OFF list price.

It can be yours for just $3200. (CDN) 

I am doing this because I need to find a new studio soon. In simple terms, I need the funds to go towards a 'good place'. So, if you are here now, and do like what I do, please consider this, or another, purchase NOW. If you do buy the above item before the end of May 2012, I will absorb the taxes and the shipping costs (in North America) on this work alone. Contact me for payment details: mlhpro at hotmail dot com.

I also intend to have a late summer-fall auction, the MLH 'New Studio' Fun-Raising Auction, to raise additional funds for my 'new' studio space. If you would like to be on the mailing list for what promises to be a fun on-line event, please let me know. I'll be sending out more details about that later this summer.

Thank you for your on-going support!

Mona & Munch: Portrait

'Mona & Munch'

Arguably the two most famous portraits of our times, da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' &  Edward Munch's 'The Scream'. (There has been some debate recently whether Leonardo did actually paint Mona.)  A version of 'The Scream' is coming up for auction this week in New York at Sotheby's. 

Who will buy it? Institution or 'private'?  

Will report back after the results are in ...
DONE. Sold for $119.9 million, 
buyer unknown as of 9: 20pm, night of auction ...

In the meantime, hope you enjoy my playful little composite and
Peter Watkins' 1973 film about Munch is well worth a gander.

Update: November 16th, 2012 -
Looks like Andy Warhol was onto this very early on ...
See below, from Christie's Private Sales venue - 

New Oil Paintings, Spring 2012 - Full Moon

'Borer's Falls, Dundas'

... the moon has been SO BRIGHT ...

'Over Lake Ontario, Burlington'

If interested in purchase, please contact the artist.

Kehinde Wiley - Yes/No?

'Sleep' by Kehinde Wiley

now in the Rubell Family Foundation, Miami 

You either like it or you don't. 

 Processes are 'secondary'. 

Did he actually paint it? 

Who cares.

Yes - or - No

?

Earth Day Every Day

Earth Day Every Day - Get Involved 

Incomplete Manifesto for Growth 

by fellow Canadian, Bruce Mau

 HERE 

Where it all began, 
the 1969 Santa Barbara Oilspill

Have a good 'un!

New Oil Painting - 'Spring Creek'

 'Spring Creek' 

- oil on primed oak plywood -

SOLD

Contact zee artist for trim size & price.

Photo Sketching: Yes or No?

As an artist who has used a pencil for as long as I can remember, it is a tad unnerving to use a 'photo sketch' software program to 'render' my photos into 'sketches'. Overall, yes, kinda cool, but without question something is lost in the translation. I think mostly it is the capriciousness of the human hand. These compositions are pleasing enough in their own right, but again, something is missing ... like the ACT of putting pencil to paper and integrating with THAT eye-hand synergy. The above 'illustrations' have been calculated by the push of buttons - and, again, yes, kinda interestin', but also, no, not really. Photography 'documents' moments in time in a way that is very different then a REAL pencil sketch. This effect -  like so many other 'special effects' now available with and for digital photography - are just gimmicky. There, said it.

The issue of our age seems to be the whole concept of TIME: past, present & future, finite, infinite, nano-seconds, clock watching TIME. It's taken me a few hours to get these 'photo sketches' to a state that I am willing to publish them on the net as 'digital renderings' that can now be 'reproduced' ad infinitum globally. Enough TIME, in fact, to have done at least 4 finite paper sketches from start to finish that would stand as tangible material culture from this spot on the planet.

.... hmmmm. Not convinced. ... Are you?

Postscript:  For fun, I linked this item through to the Fine Art Photographers Group on LinkedIn. The response was very interesting. If you are a LinkedIn member, you can access the dialogue/debate here.
(I'm not sure what happens if you try to access the thread if you're not signed up.)

Conversely, Paul Cadden is pencil drawing images of photographs. Samples here