Painting of House 652, James Bay (Victoria, BC). Image copyright Martin Machacek 2009.

I have been very busy over the last number of weeks creating commissioned paintings and preparing for upcoming displays. Here’s what’s new for this month:

New displays

1. I am pleased to be displaying my artwork at the Black Stilt Coffee House on Fort Street (1769 Fort Street, across from the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria). Currently, I am showing a number of original landscape and tree paintings there, as well as a few limited edition giclées. The display will be up until the beginning of the New Year, and I am planning to rotate the pieces towards the end of November.

2. I am also excited for my upcoming display at the Moka House in the Cook Street Village (345 Cook Street). The Moka House is always booked well in advance for local artwork displays, and it will be great to display there again in time for the holiday season. My artwork will be on display at the Moka House from December 1-31, 2009.

Changes to existing artwork displays

1. After a year displaying my artwork on the bright walls of Serious Coffee in Campbell River, I will be making way for a new artist’s exhibit as of this Saturday, November 14th. I’m grateful to Linda and all the rest of the Serious Coffee staff for welcoming my artwork so enthusiastically during its time there.

2. I will also be traveling to Calgary for a few days at the end of November to change my pieces on display at Cadence Coffee in Bowness. For those of you living in the Calgary area, you can look forward to some brand new 12″ x 16″ framed posters of local scenes, including Cadence itself, Muse restaurant, Bowness School, Bow Cycle, and the Kensington Pub.

Update on commissioned paintings

Finally, I would like to mention that I am now booked for custom pieces until around February 2010. I am also planning some time off early next year, so the February time frame could be pushed back even further. Please contact me directly with any inquiries about commissioning a painting. Thank you for your support!

–Marty

I am proud to be included in the 4th Annual Vital Signs Report, released today by the Victoria Foundation!

House 1595 painting, on p. 22 of this year's Vital Signs Report

The Vital Signs report measures and grades Greater Victoria in a number of key areas every year, including Health, Environment, and Economy. The report helps to highlight the issues of the local community and, ultimately, to steer philanthropists and other policy-makers in the direction where need is the greatest.

This year, the Foundation decided to feature local artists in the report for each of the key indicators. A diverse group of artists was selected to represent all eleven indicators (one artist per indicator), and each artist was photographed holding one of their original pieces of artwork. The photos have been artfully arranged in the final report, and I think they really complement the survey findings. Kudos to the Victoria Foundation for their creativity and support of local artists!

My artwork was chosen to represent the section on Housing. Unfortunately, Victoria only received a ‘C-’ grade in this area, not to mention a few ‘D+’s for some of the sub-indicators. Overall, Housing was the indicator with the lowest grade in the Vital Signs Report, pointing to a real need for more concentrated philanthropy and resources in this area.  The full report, including the photos of local artists, can be viewed as a pdf here.

A few weeks ago, I received my panel for the Kunamokst Mural Mosaic in the mail:

Panel 102, Kunamokst Mural Mosaic

Even though I had selected this panel as one of my ‘top 3′ choices to paint, I was still surprised when it was shipped to me. It suddenly seemed very purple! (I scanned through the paintings I have completed over the past 7 years in this style and realized that only a small handful have ever had purple in them. I would need to expand my palette for this project, it seemed.)

I knew that I was going to paint either an historical ‘west coast’ building or a boat of some significance on my panel. Given the strong diagonal lines cutting across the panel (not to mention the purple!), I decided it would lend itself better to a boat.

The SS Beaver

The SS Beaver has been on my list of things to paint as part of my ongoing Fisherman’s Wharf series. I am drawn to the boat, which is actually a replica of an earlier vessel that was shipwrecked in 1888, because of its storied history and charismatic features. The SS Beaver was instrumental in the founding of Fort Victoria and, later, in chartering much of British Columbia’s coastline (over 1500 kilometres). More information on the history of the SS Beaver can be found here.  The current vessel has been extensively (and beautifully!) refurbished and now docks at the Fisherman’s Wharf in Victoria, BC.

A rendering of the 1888 shipwreck at Prospect Point in Vancouver

I started the process of making my mural panel by doing a quick sketch of the SS Beaver, with the basic composition of my particular panel in mind:

Initial sketch of the SS Beaver, copyright 2009 Martin Machacek

Next, I added a smooth foundation of acrylic paint over top of the roughly painted base layer:

Although the artwork should adhere to the tones and basic shapes of the original panel, the creators of the Kunamokst Mural Mosaic ask that no original background paint be showing in the final piece.

Once the new ‘base layer’ was dry, I painted an outline of the SS Beaver onto my panel, and then I gradually proceeded to add more details and depth to the painting:

The 'ghost' of the SS Beaver. This photo was taken in different lighting, so it looks much darker and foreboding than the panel is in real life.

... and out of the mist, a ship appears! The features of the SS Beaver become more distinct as the process goes on. These colours are much more true to the painting in this photo, although the SS Beaver itself is black, not deep purple.

Et voila! "SS Beaver", completed panel #102 of the Kunamokst Mural Mosaic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of contributing to this mural project. It was a challenge at first to simultaneously ‘be original’ but to stay within the panel’s lines and colour schemes. However, I found this challenge to be very exciting and inspiring! It is truly an honour and privilege to be part of such a great collaborative project, in the company of so many other talented visual artists. I am looking very forward to seeing the completed mural!

Me with the "SS Beaver" painting, for scale. The mural will consist of 231 panels, each measuring 12" x 12".

The “SS Beaver” painting, step by step:

As many of you know, I normally accept commissions for custom paintings on an ongoing basis throughout the year. This fall, however, my schedule has filled up quicker than expected. I am both thrilled and sorry to announce that I am completely booked for commissioned pieces until early 2010.

I am happy to discuss ideas for custom paintings to be started in January. In the meantime, please feel free to view and purchase my existing works, which can be seen at the Blue Fox Cafe and Vic’s Steakhouse in Victoria, or at Cadence Coffee in Calgary.

–Marty

I will be participating in a spontaneous celebration of the arts in Downtown Victoria this Saturday, September 26th!

Organized by the Downtown Victoria Business Association, the Local Colour event will have numerous artists stationed around the downtown core, creating artwork based on their surroundings. Some artists will be painting landscapes or drawing portraits of people. Not surprisingly, I will be focusing more on the Victoria’s urban/architectural landscape, but instead of painting an historical or charismatic building this weekend, I will be working on a piece of the much-discussed Johnson Street Bridge (aka the Blue Bridge).

Conceptual drawing for the Johnson Street Bridge painting I will be starting on Saturday morning. Image copyright Martin Machacek 2009.

I will be stationed on the east side of the Johnson Street Bridge (corner of Wharf and Johnson Street) from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on Saturday. A full list of the participating artists, as well as their approximate locations and time frames, will be posted at the Legacy Art Gallery & Cafe, located at 630 Yates Street. Please feel free to stop by and say hello!

The DVBA plans to host an exhibition and sale of the artwork created during this event at some point in mid-October. More details about this exhibit will be posted when they become available.

A number of you will already be familiar with the breathtaking Mural Mosaics, designed by Lewis Lavoie and created by hundreds of fine artists in collaboration.

The idea behind these murals is both simple and groundbreaking: one large image is conceptualized and painted roughly onto a large mural surface. The surface is then divided into hundreds of 12″ x 12″ panels, which are given one at a time to fine artists and used as canvases for unique pieces of artwork. The catch? None of the participating artists know what the final image will be. Each artist essentially uses the colours and (largely indistinguishable) shapes on their panel as foundations for an individual piece of their own. It is only when the hundreds of finished panels are re-assembled together that the overall picture becomes clear.

A number of incredible mural mosaics have already been created. The large images range from Noah’s Ark to horses to kings to Remembrance Day tributes. Through the project’s interactive website, each mural can be searched by panel. It is truly mind-boggling to see how each artist used their respective panel to create something entirely unique yet connected to the theme as a whole.

In any case, I am beyond thrilled to be participating in the one of the next mural mosaic projects, which is entitled Kunamokst or West Coast Inspirations. I was approached by the producer, Phil Allain, while down at the Harbour this summer and have since selected and been shipped my panel (#102, for those of you checking out the active grid!).

I will be using the next few weeks to design and paint my panel, and once I have shipped it back it will be added to the active grid. Stay tuned to my blog to see the work in progress!

One of the many sunsets, seen from my booth this summer at the Victoria Harbour downtown

It has been an incredibly busy summer for me down at the Victoria Harbour. Victoria had one of the warmest and driest summers in over seven decades, and that meant there were precious few days off in July and August! It was a wonderful experience, being able to interact face-to-face with people and to get direct feedback about my artwork– quite different from displaying in a venue and wondering how my paintings were being received. Thank you once again to everyone who stopped by, talked with me, and brought others to see my booth. As always, your support is invaluable.

Most of the work on this painting of Glenlyon Norfolk School has been done outside during painting demonstrations.

Now that September is here and the Labour Day weekend has passed, I will be down on the causeway much less (still weather permitting), and I will focus on creating original paintings once again. (I will set up at the Harbour intermittently throughout September but will most likely take a break from October to next April.) There are many pieces that I have been itching to create this year, but it has simply not been possible to fit everything in to my already busy Harbour schedule. Hopefully the cooler weather will help to ease me back into my regular studio practice!

Glenlyon Norfolk School II: closer to completion

As a final note, as of early September, I am no longer displaying original paintings at the Artevo Gallery in Victoria. My pieces can still be viewed on my main website: www.martycultural.com, and many of them can also be seen in person and purchased at the Blue Fox Cafe further up Fort Street in Victoria. Please contact me directly with any questions. Thank you!

–Marty

Thank you to everyone who visited my booth at this year’s Bowker Creek Brush Up! The Show & Sale seems to be getting bigger and better every year, and the 5th Annual event certainly did not disappoint.

Fortunately, after a series of leftover raindrops were shaken from the trees above us, the day turned out warm and clear!

I took advantage of the sunshine to work on two new paintings in my Glenlyon Norfolk School series. I am planning 5 or 6 paintings in total of this school– it is just such a beautiful building!

Glenlyon Norfolk School (Beach Drive Campus): In progress 2009

I am looking forward to participating in next year’s event, and I’d like to extend my warm thanks once again to everyone I met and chatted with during this year’s Brush Up. I appreciate your support!

–Marty

I am delighted to be featured on the cover of this week’s Oak Bay News, distributed by Black Press in local communities! You can read the whole article, written by Vivian Moreau, here. (Please note that the article mistakenly lists the date of the Brush Up as Saturday the 8th. It is actually taking place on Sunday, August 9th.)

I will be displaying the first of my Glenlyon Norfolk School paintings at the Brush Up event this Sunday (pictured above), and I will also be using the opportunity to work on my second piece of the school. Designed– and at one point inhabited– by notorious architect Francis Rattenbury, this school is truly a beautiful building and I have many paintings of it planned and in various stages of creation!

See you on Sunday starting at 11 am!

–Marty

The 5th annual Bowker Creek Brush Up takes place on Sunday, August 9th from 11 am to 4:30 pm. This show & sale event runs along peaceful Bowker Creek between Hampshire Road and Oak Bay High and features demonstrations and art sales by over 35 Oak Bay Artists, myself included.

Once again, I will be located at Booth #2 just off Hampshire Road for this event (beside guest artist, Ted Harrison). I look forward to seeing you there!