If there be such a thing as truth, it must infallibly be struck out by
the collision of mind with mind. -William Godwin, philosopher and
novelist (3 Mar 1756-1836)
The Joy of Painting Lecture @ Penticton Museum Speaker: Paul Crawford, Curator Penticton Art Gallery: Topic: Exploring the legacy of Bob Ross in pop culture, art history, and the art marketPaul Crawford’s journey into the world of art has been anything but a traditional one, one that has built the belief that a work of art is a piece of social history and its cultural and commercial value lies in the stories it tells with each piece serving as a bookmark in time, documenting the life of its creator and the world in which they lived and worked. Growing up in a household with little interest and engagement in the arts, Paul’s education came through firsthand experience starting with a string of inspiring teachers, public art installations, community public art projects, stamp collecting and the connection between an object and its story. It’s been a non-conventional journey and one that when I started reached back to the foundations of our western tradition of art here in British Columbia right up to the present day.
Since I was planning to attend the Brown Bag Lecture Series at the Museum, at noon, I spent the morning catching up on correspondence and playing soccer with Duke, for a few minutes, every time he came inside from his explorations of the neighbourhood. Paul Crawford, Curator of PAG, was talking about three coming, related exhibitions: Bob Ross: Happy Little Accidents; En Game Air: Connor Kenney, Clifford Miller, and Dr. Merlin Seller; Speed: The History of Speed Painting in Canada, focusing, in the main, on Bob Ross himself.
You’ve seen him before. He’s the soft spoken guy painting happy clouds, mountains and trees in about twenty-six television minutes, using big brushes and cooing soothing “you can do its” to the audience. His Joy of Painting program is the most recognized, most watched TV art show in history. The Penticton Art Gallery is hosting the largest Bob Ross exhibition in history, featuring 32 of his original paintings, and the first of its kind in Canada.
That being said, he provided an absolutely fascinating backstory to his own particular interest in an artist called Levine Flexhaug whose works he stumbled across in Value Villages! Flexhaug, born in 1918, on the family farm outside of the small town of Climax, Saskatchewan, began roaming across Western Canada, peddling his wares. But Flexhaug was not an average travelling salesman—rather than hawking miracle creams or toasters, Flexhaug dealt in paintings. Or, more aptly, a painting, which he replicated hundreds and hundreds of times. During his career, which stretched beyond two decades, Flexhaug repeatedly produced this landscape scene, a rendering of a tranquil lake framed by mountains. There were, admittedly, variations. At times the scene included a cabin, occasionally a canoe, a single animal, or perhaps a blasted tree or a waterfall. But now Flexhaug is being re-evaluated, his works re-examined for their "odd blend of midcentury kitsch and earnest passion" and pointing to his surprising legacy on the painting of the prairies.
Paul's is a wonderful speaker and his presentation was both highly informative and often side-splittingly hilarious, amusing the audience with both details of his own personal life, in pursuit of "Flexies", as well as many of the facts of Flexhaug's life and those of related, so-called "speed painters". I had never even heard of Bob Ross before so I was completely enthralled with learning about his life and times, his place in the commercialization of pop art.
Pics: Lecture: Paul; Bob, Flexie; Bob in US Air Force in Alaska where he fell in love with rugged landscape. He painted scenes on pans used to pan for gold, for $5, at bar where he worked part-time. Now if you can find any they sell for between $3,000 and $30,000! "Three" of his TV show "speed paintings": first was done earlier, for reference; second was painted in real time, using first as model, off camera; third was final version which found its way into company's catalogue. Tony Only "speed painted" these in twenty minutes. Paul asked the question: Which are better, Bob's or Tony's? For the viewer to decide.
Bumped into a number of friends from the hiking group so was fun to catch up with them. Then to Chloë's to change battery in smoke-detector. Just as I arrived the chap who had been hired by Mike to put in the sound-proofing the basement ceiling came out the front door. He and his helper were just cleaning up and he very kindly helped me with the detector as he had similar ones in his home. That done I went downstairs to see what had been done and he walked me through what they had done. Am hoping Mike will start putting up the drywall in the next day or so as I'd like to start painting the suite as soon as that stage is finished.
By the time I was back home it was shortly after 2:00 pm and by the time I suited up and headed out, closer to 2:30 pm. While it was really quite warm, [First time, since late Fall, that you could actually feel the heat of the sun on your cheeks!], the wind was fierce as all get out, out of the SW at 22 km/h gusting to 44 km/h, according to PenAir. Since I was starting so late in the day I knew it was going to be a return to the Hamster Cage if I was going to discharge my basic distance. Wind hurled me down Ellis and when I reached the marina parking lot I was met with a firetruck. Department had launched their fireboat and it was just pulling out of the marina as I circled lot. Spring has arrived!
Along Lakeshore, not far from The Peach, I noticed that a huge pine, [I estimate it was over a hundred feet tall.], was being limbed, in preparation for felling, I presumed. Arborist, outfitted with climbing spurs and safety rope, chainsaw in hand, had removed all of the branches about a third of the way up the massive trunk, when I first rode by. Using a series of ropes he would lower the severed limbs to the ground where a waiting crew fed them into a chipper. Had I not had to touch the Dreaded Burning Ground I would have stopped to join the crowd of people, on the boardwalk, watching the rather exciting spectacle unfold. Duty called, however, and I set about singing the Gravol Blues on the streets off Power, fighting, like crazy, standing up in the saddle when heading directly into the headwind, on Dynes, Churchill, etc.
By the time I'd finished the four mini-circuits there I swung through the Riverside Mall and made my way back along Lakeside as I was very curious to see how the tree work was proceeding. By this time the "tree surgeon" was working on the last third of the trunk. As I quite wanted to see some of the trunk itself, being felled, I decided to ride to PTC and then return, without any mini-loops in the marina parking lot so that I could follow the on-going limbing.
Made about three or four circuits, between PTC and the roundabout near the SS Sicamous, before I realized that the tree would not be felled that day. Felt somewhat disappointed as the climber had returned to earth and was busy collecting his equipment when I rode by for the last time.
Nevertheless, I had clocked the distance I needed by then so I headed home, fighting my way back up Ellis to White and then a bit of relief as the continuing gale pushed me home. First time I have been logging, right here in town. And, in spite of the furious gusts I was able to maintain an AVG of 19.2 km/h! Cheers! Garmin, Map and Stats for ride:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4616866919#.Xl8UGxBoFEk.email
AllTrails, Map and Stats for ride:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/recording-mar-03-5-47-pm-1d94108?p=-1
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