Michael R. Gaudet

About me:

Just put the finishing touches on a pen and ink drawing. I am calling it "Resort Village of Manitou Beach (An Architectural Archive)"



I am going to see my friendly neighborhood printer in a bit to confer on replicating it. Last summer I discovered that I have some best-selling images on my hands, ie: the "Historic Manitou Series" postcards so I would be remiss not to carry on in this vein. Especially considering that Sharon and I are opening the Gallery here at the beach next spring. This is a perfect prototype for the type of work I would like to see at the gallery.

So happy to have finished my latest big mural project this fall, working around and through a few "weather events". I call this "9-Figure Sports Homage". Recognize anyone?



I got back to the city last week and made sure to take some overlapping close-ups of the "9-Figure Sports Homage" mural, so you can a better sense of the intense amount of detail and expression in the figures and faces:



Starts off on the left with Georges St-Pierre (Ultimate Fighting Champion), Sandra Shmirler (Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion curler), Gene Makowsky (MVP Offensive Lineman, Grey Cup winner, Saskatchewan Roughriders)...



...Catriona Lemay Doane (Olympic Gold medalist, speed skating), Michael Jordan (Basketball All-Star), David Beckham (Soccer God), Sidney Crosby (Captain, Pittsburgh Penguins)...

...Sidney Crosby (Captain, Pittsburgh Penguins), Michael Phelps (Olympic Gold medalist swimmer), Tiger Woods (World's best golfer).

There, that oughta give you a pretty good idea.

I must say that my patron, or client for this commission, gave me a very loose rein on creativity. This was a great opportunity to paint in a very physical style, with athletic muscularity.

After all my friends, this mural is well over 900 square feet. There is no doubt that the vast majority of the surface received no less than ten or twelve glazes. You might say then that there is about 10,000 square feet of painting action bound up and invested in the piece.



Shows a detail of my latest big (over 900 sq. ft. or 31 sheets of 4'x8' of Cresone!) mural, "9-Figure Sports Homage", featuring Katrina Lemay-Doane and Michael Jordan. Jordon's shoe is over three ft long; he stands over 16' high.



I invested a lot of energy in creating very expressive portraiture in this mural and Tiger Woods was no exception. You can sense the deep concern on his face regarding the trajectory of his just-shot ball. Note: Tiger's portrait is not quite finished in this photo, but his expression is fully formed.



SK. Rough Rider Offensive Lineman Gene Makowsky is portrayed hoisting the 2007 Grey Cup in this 'work-in-progress' photo. Victory is sweet!



"9-Figure Sports Homage" detail: starting on the west side of the wall, the artist can be seen on the roof of the building. Gives you an idea of the scale of this mural.



"1st View of Little Manitou Lake."



"Portrait by Sharon Gibson July 12th, 2009."

Year two of the Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail.. was a great success for all fifteen of the artists involved. There was a bit of a change from last year: a few artists opted out while a few different artists opted in. End result is that the trail is now more condensed so it’s easier to make it around to all the spaces within the allotted time-frame. (Two days, 10 am to 7 pm on Saturday and 12:00 to 6:00 pm on Sunday.)



"Converting from Studio to Gallery"

Quick synopsis: The weather on Saturday was frightful, rainy and windy. Turns out peole like being indoors on days like that as we had a good 70-80 visitors. Sunday it was very nice out, there were fewer people than on Saturday. Can’t blame then, I wanted to be outside myself.



"Just about ready to go!"

There were fewer visitors than last year but three times the sales. Sold three of my original six of “Historic Manitou” Series, and many six-packs of postcards Also sold lots of “1st View of Manitou Beach” postcards and prints.

..

"Historic Manitou Series 1-6, 2009"

One of our members (Daryl Bashuk) said at our de-briefing after the Trail, “The Studio Trail gave me results beyond my wildest dreams!” I would echo the sentiment. A friend of mine is involved with a Northern Studio Trail that’s been up and running now for over five years. She says that the Trail is her biggest retail weekend of the year, and is growing in popularity every year.



"Pre-Show Sale: A Good Omen"

TheSpirit of Manitou Studio Trail .. has grown substantially in its second year and I imagine it will continue to enjoy more success in the coming years. We have an excellent roster of artists and artisans this year. We talked about putting a shout out for a few more artists to fill in some long stretches on the Trail. The thought is to specifically target folks in a certain area to balance out the two-day drive.



"First Sale of the Show"

Another year has passed, we are now getting ready to greet visitors to the Second Annual Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail here at Manitou Beach! Check us out at www.SpiritofManitou.ca

To celebrate and commemorate the fact that 2009 marks the 90th Birthday of The Resort Village of Manitou Beach, I am working on a 'progressive series' (meaning an indefinite number of works...there is no shortage of archival material to draw inspiration from!) called "Historic Manitou Beach"

Here is a sneak preview of the first six paintings in the series. You can view the originals when you visit the Gallery!



"Waiting for a Ferry Ride." (SOLD!)



"Lake Manitou Bath House Circa 1920" (SOLD!)



"Shoot the Chute!"



"It's Nice Once You Get In!" (SOLD!)



"Old-Time Danceland."



"Bustling Day at Manitou Beach" (SOLD!)



"Art lovers congregate to see the new "Historic Manitou" series."


"Candid shot of visitors to the 2009 Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail enjoying the new artwork and mingling with fellow art lovers."

Here are three new paintings that were finished over the winter months and into the early spring of 2009.



"Yummy Berries" (16" x 20", Acrylics on canvas) is based on an idea of living in the "Land of Milk and Honey", or more specifically, "Land of Abundant Berries"! Last year we enjoyed a bumper crop of wild Saskatoon berries here. I will just say "here" and leave it at that. Don't want to publicize the exact location of these prized bushes.



"Maple Seedlings Caught in Sunlight" (16" x 20", Acrylics on canvas)is an example of 'seizing the moment'. My wife Sharon had just dug these volunteer seedlings up out of the garden and had put them for a couple of days in a glass of water so they would grow nice strong root systems. The object of this exercise was she wanted to re-plant them in certain spots around the yard. One morning I was walking by the window ledge in the kitchen where they were sitting and noticed the lovely effect of light and shadow, especially in the clear water. I liked the symbolism of the little scene:these delicate seedlings were poised to go back into the Earth and to perhaps grow to offer shade, beauty and habitat in our yard. Such promise!



I have always loved winged creatures, delighted in watching them in flight, so it was natural that this handsome dragonfly would make a perfect subject for a painting. "The Gossamer Effect" (16" x 20", Acrylics on canvas) is an affectionate rendering of one of my favorite 'good bugs'.



The working title is "Languid Sunset" but that might change.

As predicted, I have cleared away a few projects out of my studio so now I can work on more of my own artwork. Here's a picture of one that I have just finished called "Landing Pad".



GREAT NEWS!...This coming July, a group of artists and artisans from this area (Watrous-Manitou) in Saskatchewan are putting together our Second Annual Spirit of Manitou Studio Trail, where the public is invited to tour a variety of studios and meet the host artist(s). We have formed a group called "SPIRIT of MANITOU Studio Trail" and you can check us all out at ..www.SpiritofManitou.ca..



Our most recent gathering in Watrous. Shown Left to Right: Helen Herr, Janice Schlosser, Toni Ambrose, Michael Gaudet, Linda Leslie, Edie Marshall, Shaun Macomber, Frank Wilson, Jean Shantz. Missing: Dave and Loa Titman, Maureen Inviarity, Who New Creations, June Jacobs.

We had a little design competition to choose an official logo and I was pleased that the majority chose my design. Wow. I never win things like that. The world must be shifting a bit in my favor. Maybe my time is coming? I've included a link on that site to my "ArtistShmartist" MySpace page so I thought I had better post a notice here and start grooming this site a bit to welcome visitors. And to tell you a bit more about the Studio Trail.

My (first) design for the logo actually got voted in and approved in the heat of the moment...here's what it looks like:



Looks pretty cool, eh? The problem is, as it was pointed out at our last meeting, it's not that easy to read. Legibility is rather critical in the case of logo design We discussed the idea of making the "S" and the "M" look more like an "S" and an "M" by noodling around with it a bit.

After I started working a bit on it I realized that I wasn't 100% happy with it. Seeing as how we are a very new group, and made up of very creative people, I thought we could all stand the strain of scrapping the 1st logo and coming up with a brand-new approach. So that's exactly what I did! After a few more rough sketches and a flurry of e-mails to the membership, this is what I came up with:



There! That looks MUCH better! Now you can see, if you look carefully, just the slightest hint of a "Thunder-Bird" in the 'negative space" (the golden yellow) on the left-hand side. Now that works for me. Kinda echoes the theme of "Spirit of Manitou" quite nicely. It's amazing what you can do when you're a bit sleep-deprived!

Please note: just as soon as I clear my studio of the next few projects, I will be hitting the brushes to create a whole brand spankin' new batch of paintings. I'll post sneak previews of these new works here so you can keep abreast of what's NEW at ..Gallery Gaudet..

Remember, I do live at The Resort Village of Manitou Beach. As the name would imply, we are only a stone's throw from the...beach. The above image is, as you can imagine, gleaned from what my eyeballs actually gazed upon, not that long ago.

Seeing as how the leaves are turning and the garden is almost in (we leave the carrots in the ground till after the first heavy frost to sweeten them up...) I thought it would be appropriate to post a seasonal painting called "Pumpkins in a Pick-up".



Kinda folksy, eh?

I better stick one of my latest paintings on top of the page. Sort of showcase it. Called "I am the Owl-Man" AKA "Who gives a hoot?" this painting is really a portrait of the Northern Sawhet Owl that dropped in for a three-day pit stop last fall on a holdover. He was flying south. He was a fierce little bird, only 7" high and stood his ground against birds twice his size. He wasn't going anywhere until it suited him! I admired his plucky attitude considering his size.

He agreed to pose for some great close-ups so I was able to create quite a detailed rendition. But see for yourself:



"I am the Owl-Man" AKA "Who gives a hoot?"

Slowly but surely I am developing this page...I have gone ahead and built a new slide show that shows the touching-up and UV-blocker varnish-ing of my latest big mural project at Nipawin SK. Called "Nipawin CPR Station c. 1948" (What an exciting title, eh?) This mural was a lot of work but major fun to paint. Here's the slide show:

........

I guess I will go ahead and post pictures of some other murals just to give you a taste. I have painted over 60 actual murals all across Canada over the years so I will share a few more selected works as we go.

Here's a photo of a detail of the Railway Station mural that shows four of the 4' x 8' panels set up temporarily in the Nipawin Liquor Board warehouse. Shown from left to right are Ken, Mngr of the store, myself and Sandy, president of 'Murals of Nipawin Inc.', who commissioned the project:



The Town of Maple Creek in South-western Saskatchewan contracted a mural to show a "sweeping panorama" of the famous Cypress Hills with various portraits overlayed in a sort of montage:





"ESPortrait"

The idea of working together with other creative people on collaborations has always interested me. I have designed and painted this picture to symbolize this process in action:





"The Power of Three"
Michael R. Gaudet 2002, re-visited 7-7-07

Believe it or not it is still possible in this day and age to be successful as a full-time professional artist. At least that's what my eternal optimism tells me. I imagine there are a lot of artists out there who would really love and appreciate their 15 minutes of fame. Especially now with how huge it can be with the web. You know, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Blogging,. et al.

It's funny, I never really considered putting together a website that focuses exclusively on my more artistic side. It's probably a good idea, seeing as how I have spent a huge chunk of my time here on Earth thinking of myself as an 'artist'.

A few years ago, I got quite sick and ended up pretty much confined to bed for about three months. Not only did I start to go a bit stir-crazy after I shook off the daily morphine habit, I also started to re-evaluate my commitment to being an artist. I realized that my time here (just like everyone else's) is rather limited. You could say that I had a close encounter with my own mortality that shook me up a bit. As well, I realized that I had better start making my own art more of a priority.

The old expression "Do or Die" suddenly took on a more intensely personal meaning.






"Burning to Paint"

I decided that I would start painting for my own personal pleasure, or follow my muse. The thing is, up to that point I had fallen into the habit of allowing the vast majority of my creative time to be taken up with commissioned work. Not that there's anything wrong with that, other than I felt that I had better get things into a more healthy balance.

You might even say that I went into a little period of mourning over all of the lost paintings that I DID NOT DO. I guess this sounds a bit silly now, but once you see all of the work that I have done in the meantime you will perhaps understand how I felt.





"Up the Garden Path"

....

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

MySpace Contact Tables by MySpaceLayoutSupport.com
Get your own Free MySpace Layouts at MySpaceLayoutSupport.com

......