No one would ever look out a window, clutch their chest and gasp, breathless with awe, ‘what an awful, ugly view’. No one’s looking for ugly. What’s on our minds is beauty. We want it, seek it and chase it. It’s everywhere and it’s nowhere; we’re obsessed yet we won’t confess it. It’s our greatest […]
Author: jjill
beyond repair
Sometimes a painting is so awful it’s beyond repair. I spent the morning studying a phone; an old-type phone, pink, pretty- interesting. I studied, sketched, re-sketched painted and repainted. Detail, highlight, shadow, shape; I was getting to know this phone and yet (ugh) – everything went to pieces (torn to shreds) and into the garbage. […]
and so I paint
“Life obliges me to do something, so I paint.” ~Rene Magritte Colour. Draw. Paint. (digital) Create. An excellent obligation.
processing / girl with bowl
Girl with Bowl shows four versions of one story. The same image four times; each created with different medium, each version a stepping stone to the next. Returning to the same image again & again reveals cumulative insight and detail about the base image and the possible stories hidden within it. Each version shows a refined […]
destroy it
Have you seen Season 3 of House of Cards? (don’t worry- no big spoilers here). On Episode 6, as Claire and Francis race through the chaos of their Washington lives, the White House hosts, in its public space, the activity of four buddhist monks. Over the course of the show, the monks create an extraordinary […]
how do you feel
From the moment we are born, every human feels. Whether it’s cold, hunger, warmth, joy- feelings are there, unlearned & basic; emotions that drive our every action. The purpose of ‘feelings’ (physical senses), as evolved over millions of years, is to alert us (all humans) to threatening situations that may impact our survival; the evolution of […]
![sample standard [three women] / paint & photography digital edit / print / 16″ x 20″](https://janetbright.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Sample-STANDARD-iiii-2-LR.jpg)
sample standard [three women] / paint & photography digital edit / print / 16″ x 20″
sample standard (three women), digital photo print, 16″ x 20″
get the job done
There’s an old song from the eighties about words getting in the way (Words Get in the Way, by Gloria Estefan) Gloria says, “…There’s something I’ve been trying to say to you / But the words get in the way / There’s so much I want to say / But it’s locked deep inside…I tried […]
ART Catalogue
Contemporary Canadian Art . Janet Bright LANDSCAPES . Land & Sea . April 2015 Click the image to view the LANDSCAPES Land & Sea catalogue
i know nothing
Last month I went to an art show that knocked my socks off. What I saw was the work of Jean Michel Basquiat (at the AGO), where close to 85 large-scale paintings and drawings from private collections and public museums were exhibited. Every piece in the exhibit expressed a clear and precise message; true, honest and unselfconscious. This is art […]
does it matter?
If I told you my name was William B. Duke, would you read (or see) my work differently than if I had another name? What if my name were Elizabeth? Elizabeth B. Duke. In the first chapter of the book, “How to be both” by Ali Smith, the main character is asked to consider a […]
it’s PERFECT!
“It’s perfect! “ …said almost no one about anything because, come on- NOTHING is perfect, though not for lack of trying. From elementary school and beyond we are urged enthusiastically to “exceed expectations” (a common report card credential) and differentiate from the crowd. To surpass, transcend and excel; to be better than anyone else such that […]