Definitely Photoshopped: Beauty and Photoshop Get a Bad Rap.

     Photoshop is getting a bad rap.

     The Apple Adobe Photoshop program is an amazing technological feat that can be used by artists and the public in so many ways it boggles the mind. It’s incredibly useful and easy to use, but often we refer to images that advertisers create in order to sell us products as “Photoshopped,” meaning we know the photographic image has been ridiculously altered.

     In the world of fashion where self-esteem issues have become a big problem for young women especially, and young men too, the term “Photoshopped” is our easiest method of referring to the creation of unrealistic representations of people.

     Twenty years ago it was harder to work an image of a person. An artist had a very hard time trying to match the skin colour to paint or airbrush on just the right amount to get rid of a blemish, or to collage an image by cutting out a section of a photo with a pair of scissors and mount it to a different background using Elmer’s glue. But now any advertising agency or magazine has the resources to manufacture a professional look and squish, cut, bend, blend, extended, erase, “heal,” and retouch to create unblemished youthful faces and mannequin smooth bodies on to any background you could imagine in order to market some kind of near useless product.

     We aren’t yet numb to the overuse of Photoshop. “Definitely Photoshopped!” we cry.

     Historically, portraits of Kings, Queens, and Emperors were also “Photoshopped” in their own time, but with paint. Surprisingly, despite painter’s abilities, quite a few paintings reveal how ugly some members of royalty really were. So they, both artists and royalty, were at times sensible.  

     Sadly, the word Beauty already has a bad rap. At least it does more so in the art world. And when you combine an intolerance or misunderstanding of Beauty with our knowledge of how much an image can be altered with Photoshop, you get a double evil, and lots of confusion about what is legitimate art and what is not.

     For centuries artist’s primary function was beautification. They created it and they defended it and they tried to explain it. With the changes and discoveries of the last 150 years, such as the Darwinian discovery of evolution, Freud’s revelations of the psychological, Karl Marx’s political theory, Science’s ability to see into space and into the inner workings of cells and atoms, the only way you could become a Great Man was to discover, to search, to reveal, to be the Indiana Jones of… anything. In the Art World, the same bug to discover, to reveal something new, to be part of Progress, was overpowering. Beautification simply wasn’t enough. So a few artists jumped on the one big opening of discovery that was left. The Truth. And it didn’t help that the discovery of photography happened at the same time, stealing work from painters. So today the modern/contemporary artist’s primary function is the search for truth. Top that.

      Beautification for many contemporary artists is seen as false, a gimmick, an unnecessary expense, waste of time and an outright lie used as a means of distorting reality for another’s benefit. The arguments against beautification have been going on for a solid hundred years.

     Some artists are so hostile of beauty that the word itself offends them, as revealed by an artist showing at the Definitely Superior Art Gallery a couple years ago. As a professor of the Emily Carr University of Art, she accused the provincial government of B.C. of creating “fascist style propaganda” with the use of the phrase “Beautiful British Columbia” stamped on every B.C. license plate.

     Oh no. The fascists are coming.

     The two ways of thinking about the value of beauty in the arts is becoming more and more similar to the political divide between left and right thinking in politics. So much so, that it’s creating a divide between artists, making them hostile towards one another. A Classical premise for a function of art was that art should and must bring people closer together. It doesn’t seem to be working.

     And when a modern/contemporary artist cries, “definitely Photoshopped” they’re saying this with the added authority and venom of contemporary art ideology that questions the value of beauty and often inverts beauty for shock value. And although the ideology often veers towards nihilism, there is value in being critical. However, the same artist who cries fowl might hop on their computer the next day and Photoshop images for their own art work.

     There are lots of reasons why some art today doesn’t bring us closer together, but the next time we use terms like Beauty and Photoshopped, we need to keep in mind that current issues although important are not the end all and be all of what is behind the incredible opportunities that come from their beneficial uses in the right hands where the intentions really are to bring people together and not divide.

Patrick Doyle at DEFSUP

     After winning the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts it’s a good bet the turnout for Definitely Superior’s next opening will be huge. The award commends the DEFSUP gang for their hard work over the years and for hosting some of the greatest shows in the region, certainly worthy of not only provincial, but of national attention.

     The three great shows to kick off DEFSUP’s new found stride and confidence ($50,000.00 sure helps), will be opening this Friday, July 26. Featured are: Patrick Doyle, Alice Massaro, and a film documentary, JR-Women are Heroes. For this article the focus is Patrick Doyle’s work. The other two shows will be reviewed at a later date.

    Doyle has been involved in the Thunder Bay art scene for many years, born into this world surrounded by artistic influences. Susan Ross was his aunt. Ross’s work has been collected internationally. Ross had influence on Norval Morrisseau’s work and  Ross showed with Frederick Varley. Doyle’s great uncle was Robert Flaherty who influenced documentary film internationally with his innovative, Nanook of the North, one of the first documentaries to introduce Inuit culture to the world.

     Doyle recalls his meetings with them regularly as a child, watching Ross paint, surrounded by piles of work in various stages of progress that Ross had in her makeshift studio. She would often give advice to Doyle in his early years. Flaherty was a regular visitor to Doyle’s family home and Patrick recalls handling Inuit art that Flaherty had collected in his travels. Because these great artists were family, Doyle is calmly laconical in his description of his encounters with them. It may be to avoid the appearance of name-dropping.

     He certainly doesn’t need to. Doyle’s work has it’s own commanding authority of individual style and a strength that comes from the power of the images. His work is also very beautiful and has been collected by many. He’s been painting for thirty years now having first studied at the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, and in an independent studies program in Italy.

     He’s spent a good deal of time learning to create his own style, expressed primarily in oil paint. He’s very grateful to the Ontario Art Council for the Northern Arts Grants that have helped support him in the last few years. The grants have allowed him to focus nearly exclusively on his creations. That breathing room had some influence, which can be seen at this show, a show with a great deal of cohesiveness and originality in each piece. “I feel that I’ve come into my own. I’m not trying to imitate anyone else’s art. I’m doing what is from myself.”

     Doyle is often asked why he stays in Thunder Bay. He replies, “I love Thunder Bay for a lot of reasons, but to make it as an artist you also have to be someone else.” That “someone else” is someone in love with the region, which he refuses to leave.

      Doyle calls his work “Abstracted Representation,” meaning he’s created work that is inevitably flat to the picture plane, without perspective, yet makes reference to actual objects. The imagery of his works are closer to Rauschenberg’s than Salvador Dali’s surrealism; containing a few more references for the viewer to look for and find meaning in should they choose to do so.

     “I like to tell a story through paint,” says Doyle. “I’m inspired to paint what happens to me in my life as a reflection of myself. And I’m not big on explaining my art. It is for the viewer to interpret what they want to get from it.”    

     Doyle works on six to eight pieces at a time, depending on space and time allowed. “I feel they have a consistency when I work on them together,” he says. His love for colour certainly makes a statement on its own. The shapes and forms he chooses have a good degree of repetition with variation to allow each work to be original.

     Richard Asham, a friend of Doyles, describes the narrative side of Doyle’s work in an essay that will appear in the show. The essay is titled, Synesthesia: The Sound of Colour. Synesthesia is a condition where different sensations might cross each other at the same time, and some people claim sounds produce colour.

     Whether Doyle has this condition or not, his work certainly claims the authority of an artist with a unique vision worth checking out, worth being inspired by, and worth collecting. Doyle’s show runs till August 24.

Hardball and Riley discuss Fine Art

Circles of Influence

As Canadians we are often guilty of not celebrating our own actors, musicians, writer’s, painters, filmmakers and many others. One reason for this is American popular culture, which certainly has easy access to our minds and hearts and most notably to Canadian children. Some of it is great, we have to admit, but the commercial junk, false and repetitive advertising, sexual morays, unnecessary violent images, extreme political ideologies, religious temperament, nationalistic zeal, economic policies, and selective world view can have an effect on how we view ourselves as Canadians with our own set of values.

     It also affects how we view our neighbors and the rest of the world. We can be transfixed, totally turned off or have a harder time being selective and knowing who we are and how we are actually different from the Americans.

     One difference, and this might be a generalization, is American style win-or-lose success as compared to Canadian, happy to make a living success. We creative types often wonder if anything we do has influence or really matters in Canada because we don’t see much of our peers in the media. We can develop an inferiority complex with the Americans and envy anyone in Canada who obtains some success without understanding what kind of luck, hard work, or change and sacrifice is involved. This actually makes it more important for artists to talk about what they do and what it took to become an artist. A realistic understanding can go a long way.

     Many artists shut down after a few setbacks because they see so many examples of overnight success on TV. Our own expectations of others and of ourselves can be too high. And we don’t know at what point we’re supposed to be happy with our accomplishments, because we often judge by other people’s success stories that are unrealistic .

     A lot of this has to do with understanding the circle of influence an artist might want and need to have. Setting realistic goals helps, and understanding that any excess success is a bonus.

    So we have two sets of problems, one for artists and one for their potential supporters that can both be met with a little effort by thinking in terms of circles of influence.   

     For the creative types the question is: contributing to what circle would make you happy? Friends and family? Your school? Your church? Your neighbourhood? The City? The region? The province? The country? The world?

     For all of us who are fans of anyone in the arts, or sports, politics, science, etc., there is a question of who we could celebrate. Of any group there are individuals worthy of attention. Can you list ten examples that are your international favourites? Ten of your country? Ten of your province? Ten of the region? Ten locally?

    Because of the mega-influence from the U.S., it can be harder to make a list of local talent. A few months ago the Walleye Magazine did a listing of various local artists. It was inspiring. There is a lot of talent in the city and surrounding area.

     Making your own lists, sharing your knowledge with friends and adding to the list by getting out there would go a long way to support local artists of all stripes. I’m trying to take my own advice and get out more often. See you at Summer in the Parks, Wednesday nights. That’s a start. 

Jon Nelson's Photography in Atikokan

     In Atikokan, Jon Nelson is showing about 30 of his amazing photographs at the Pictograph Gallery, www.atikokanpictographgallery.com, from July 6 to August 3.

     Jon Nelson worked in Quetico Park with his wife Marie as a ranger for 12 years beginning in the 1970s. They spent their first years living with their children in an Interior Ranger Station accessed by floatplane. The family would arrive in May for walleye season and leave after “ice-out” in September when the season’s tourist traffic ebbed.

     The more time Jon spent in the park, the more he became interested in photography and plants, with the help of Shan Walshe, a park naturalist. Jon took a particular liking to lichens and wrote an entire chapter on lichens for his book, Quetico: Near to Nature’s Heart.

     The title for Jon’s book comes from a young woman’s journal. She wrote in 1898, while travelling with her husband and four native guides, “Sad to leave Quetico, because Quetico is near to Nature’s Heart.”

     Working with a digital camera for the last eight years, Jon fell in love with High Dynamic Range Imaging photography. The process starts with quality multiple photographs, over and underexposed so that the detail of both light and dark areas become exaggerated. The contrast range is limited when a computer program combines the digital shots. This maintains the detail from each shot. The results can be very stunning.

     For example, in his image of the canoe shed at Old Fort William, the detail is fantastic, and the added detail of the raindrops on the window are a real contrast to the wood textures of the interior.

     Setting up the camera on a tripod and taking time to get the shots right, Jon works with a variety of lenses, using the same Olympus camera he’s had for eight years. With only 8 megapixels, he prefers the Olympus to other cameras, describing their sensors as being better able to pick up lively and vibrant colours.     

     The lens has to be open for a few seconds, depending on the lighting. On an overcast day the lens will be open for two seconds, 1/125 of a second to 2 seconds to get all the overexposed and underexposed sections. Clouds tend to blur, but details, like raindrops and sand, etc, will have their textural qualities truly revealed. Jon takes a minimum of three shots and up to seven shots of the same image.

     A regular photograph can only cover one quarter of what the eye can see, and apparently the HDRI process represents more of what the eye has the ability to see. That is only because we have the ability to adjust our eyes. We don’t see this kind of detail in one glance. We have to squint, block the sun, move closer, or get accustomed to the dark. So, the result of the HDRI process can be a little off-putting, as the photos can look 3D without the glasses, or like photorealist paintings. Objects and entire landscapes glow as if a light were behind the photos, much like seeing the images on a computer screen, but better.

     Part of the reason for this, in Jon’s case, as there are other photographers in town using the HDRI process, is that Jon prints his pictures on aluminum plates. Without glass or a frame to obstruct the view, the photos practically glow and the colours are incredibly rich, more so than when printed on paper. Some images can have a glossy unreal look, while others like the caboose image, look like amazing paintings where the artist spent a year working with high quality oil paints.

     Jon’s landscapes and rock images are fantastic. These works really grab the landscape for you, and create the desire to go to Quetico Park to see the wondrous beauty for yourself. Some images have that photojournalist appeal, with a story to boot.

     The photo of Charlie Brooks holding his antlers is one example. The antlers are 11,000 years old. Steep Rock Mine was constructed in the 1940s. In the 1970s a lake was drained to further the search for iron ore. At thirty feet below the silt and sand, caribou bones were discovered. Charlie had the only pair of antlers from the dig. Atikokan is Ojibwe for “caribou bones.”

     Inspired by Lacque Lacroix native guides, who got him interested in the native history of the area, Jon went to Trent University in Peterborough in his mid forties and got a Masters Degree. He returned to Quetico to do archeological research. Later he taught biology and chemistry at Confederation College.

     Now, he’s continuing his love of photography with passion. Aside from his show in Atikokan, his work can be seen in Thunder Bay at the Fireweed, and the Baggage Building at Prince Arthur’s Landing.

Something for Everyone, Nothing for Anyone

     This year marks twenty-five years of activity by the Definitely Superior Art Gallery. Again this year DEFSUP is a finalist for the Ontario Premiers Award for Excellence in the Arts. Their current shows are a good amalgam of current members, former members who are now professional artist/musicians in Montreal, and young people who are part of the Die Active Art Collective and may become future members. Having produced and presented over 800 exhibitions, events and activities DEFSUP has supported over 12,000 local, Canadian, and international artists.

     Last week I covered the Die Active 2-Pact show. Two other shows running currently are the 25^th Anniversary Member’s Show and a show called Something for Everyone, Nothing for Anyone, featuring two Montreal Artists, Tyler Rauman and Adam Waito. The two are former Thunder Bay artists.

     The Member’s Show is always an eclectic collection of styles and approaches for painting, drawing, multi-media, and sculpture. Such is its nature as the members featured are a mix of novices and professionals who do commercial and fine art.

     In Gallery One, the bizarre creature, a soft sculpture that will first grab your attention is Kathleen Twomey’s “Protector.” Half dog, half human, the thing is carrying a child. Spooky. Not far from this creature is a group of ceramic yellow ducks, by Katie Lemieux, where one duck is missing its eyes. Spooky-cute.

     Christian Chapman plays with the Queen’s head. Mark Neisenholt plays with Mayan hieroglyphs. Sam Shahsahabi’s and Janice Andrew’s acrylic paintings explode with colour, while Henry Hajdinjak’s is a tsunami of textures like you wouldn’t believe. Candace Twance goes for a little serenity in her painting, The Seer. Breanna

Bakkelund does a little classic piece in pastel called, Girl With Braided Hair. Kathleen Baleja’s Pod is made of “waspnest” material. And there’s much more worth checking out.

     In Gallery Three, Tyler Rauman and Adam Waito share their fun and lowbrow art, work that is a cross of commercial and fine art. They are both premiere poster makers for the music scene in Montreal. And they make their own music, so their affinity with what works and what the scene wants aesthetically makes them very current. Google their names to check out their amazing music careers.

     Their images are a mix of 1960/70s cartoon styles similar to Robert Crumb and Peter Max, and that of 1990s artists, Robert Williams and I, Braineater. It’s very much the kind of fun and edgy work popularized in Juxtapose Magazine.

     This art takes real skill and imagination, and mixed with its function of promoting bands and concerts these works are very effective at delivering a message and making the images memorable.

     Tyler Rauman’s work is hyper, manic, colourful, fun, dark, jazzy, and unrelenting in forcing you to look deeper. The mesmerizing quality comes from a great deal of colourful and strong repetition of simple shapes and images. His paintings can seem cluttered at first, but Rauman’s drawing abilities use the detail well.

     Adam Waito uses strong black contours to clearly delineate characters and objects. They too jump out at you, and for all their simplicity they are rich works, stronger in impact than the average political cartoon and resembling traditional woodcuts that have an association with dignity that is a bit jarring for the bizarre subject matter.

     Renee Terpstra says she and David K. brought this work to Thunder Bay in part because these two artists are both examples of how “this gallery has seeded artists throughout the country,” states Renee. “They’re here to help us celebrate our 25^th anniversary.”

     And you can too. These shows are up until July13. And cross your fingers and hope this year that DEFSUP wins the Ontario Premier’s Award.  

Modern Cave Painting at DEFSUP Gallery in Thunder Bay: 2-Pact Die Active Art Show

     The oldest cave paintings in North America are dated between 9,000 to 12,000 years old. Their meaning and function have never been fully resolved, but two distinct functions can be determined; our native ancestors said, “We were here,” and the images made them feel good.

     The paintings most likely performed the basic function of giving their makers comfort through mimesis, the copying of the things they loved and needed, primarily the animals they hunted for survival.

     By painting animals repeatedly the mass of images gave them feelings of plenty, which was especially important if the animals migrated to other parts for long periods of time. Those feelings of plenty became a necessary tool for survival, giving psychological comfort and reminding our ancestors that the animals would return.

     Having plenty, like our modern version of being materialistic, makes us feel good. We get status and security by owning lots of stuff. And for artists and others who collect art, art can be a substitute for the real thing. What we can’t have we make real in images, like lonely men painting women, poor people making vision boards, rich people collecting art supposedly imbued with deep meaning from some kind of guru artist, or a prisoner painting landscapes. Your fruit and flower curtains replace the winter view when everything outside appears dead. Your curtains remind you of better times. Lonely people watch lots of television.

     Having plenty of visual substitutes of what we can’t have makes us feel better.

      That’s why having art is so valuable in Thunder Bay, especially for young people. In our little community what we don’t have we can get surreptitiously through art.            

Witness the modern version of cave painting at the Definitely Superior Art Gallery currently on display in gallery two created by the Die Active Art collective. The imagery is a cross between graffiti and cave art where the art allows for a perfect blend of two desires most important for young people, acceptance and variety.

     The need for acceptance by ones peers and the need for freedom to be oneself may seem contradictory, but here at the DEFSUP gallery both meet perfectly in an expression of organized anarchy.

     Around thirty-five artists were involved in one week of work, which included two workshops to teach graffiti and how to use wheat paste. The only limit to the creative individual expression of the members was the colour palette. Limiting the colour helps give the show some cohesiveness.

     A few members to note are, NoHart, a graffiti artist with ten years experience, Vivike Knutson, a recent grad from OCAD, David Hotson, a talented low-brow artist, and new members, Nick Van Skahl, Sam Piche, otherwise known as “Fish,” and Saskia Pateman, who at fourteen years of age also did a musical performance piece at the show’s opening last week.

     Two former Thunder Bay residents, returning from Montreal, Adam Waito and Tyler Rauman, who have their work in Gallery 3, also contributed to the show.

    Die Active is in its fifth year of operation, coordinated by the talented Laura Northway. Membership is free. They always welcome new members.

     This Tuesday Die Active is having a yarn-bombing workshop at 3:30, and on Thursday, July 11, from 1 – 4 they are working on their Cook Street graffiti project. Lora can be reached at 344-3814. You can get more info from their Facebook page by searching the Web with “Die Active Art Collective.” 

Damon Dowbak: Meditations on Colour and Form

     Damon’s work at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery is immediate and fresh, combining professional craftsmanship with brilliant presentation. He worked for three years on the stained glass pieces and two months on the design and creation of the panels for this show.

     Damon states, “Rather than a boring square frame, I tried to take some of the elements from the pieces themselves. Some of the pieces were irregularly shaped and needed to be tied into something.”

     So the stained glass pieces are set away from the walls. The light from the overhead spotlights bounces off the walls and is captured and reflected by the panels that hold the works.

     “Light traversing through glass produces a colour you can’t get anywhere else,” says Damon. “It’s so vibrant and alive. It really speaks to me, more so than painting. Paint reflects light and isn’t as immediate.”

     Damon used kiln form and fused glass, which is ordered from France and Germany, cut, assembled and fused together in his kiln. This glass is mouth blown/hand made glass, which is silica, soda ash, and lime with metal oxides, which gives it unique colours. Iron is added to make green glass, cobalt and manganese for blue, cadmium, selenium and gold to make yellows, reds, and oranges. He doesn’t make the glass himself. In Europe the glass is made into sheets that are 2’ X 3.’ There are very few companies in the world that produce this kind of glass. “It’s called Antique Glass because the methods of making it go back hundreds of years,” says Damon

     He also painted directly on some works to modify the colours and to diffuse the light with varying thickness of paint. Some of the black and white textures are similar to etchings and there are influences from filmstrips, with amber and red colours glowing, and framed in black. Damon’s influences come from all over, primarily nature, but also from urban settings.

     Damon loves working with glass. He’s created glasswork for more than 35 year, running his Kleewyck Stained Glass Studio on Simpson Street since the late 1980s. “Glass is a unique medium, an amorphous material, not a crystalline substance, so it can be a rigid liquid and change from a molten state and back to a solid state. But it’s not actually changing, it’s always glass.”

    In his works there are hints of 1950s abstraction, a time when art critic Clive Bell’s term “significant form” was used to describe the elements in a work of art that created emotional experiences. The idea was that you could appreciate objects or shapes as pure form and as an end in themselves not requiring recognizable objects in order to influence emotions. This explanation gave artists choices, allowing great freedom to play with different materials. The term fell out of favour because it was all encompassing, and was used to defend some pretty bad art. 

     However the term can be successfully applied to Damon’s work as the forms and colour really are the focus and they really do generate emotional, if not spiritual experiences for the viewer. This is due not only to the forms and colours which are well thought out and planned on paper, but also due to the materials used and their presentation, which is really quite wonderful and very classy.

     Damon is also an accomplished painter, photographer, and musician, having performed with great local and international talent. He has his own Damon Dowbak trio. For the production of work in this show, Damon is thankful for support from the Ontario Arts Council through the Northern Arts Grant. All works are for sale, but you will have to contact Damon directly. This show’s reception opens at 7:30 this Friday, where Damon will give a talk. The show runs from June 14 to September 8. 

Figure Drawing Sessions at the Baggage Building

     Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, had trouble when it came to artists. He hated Wagner’s mega-opera, The Ring, and he had a lot to say about painters, including wondering why they had nude models. Why couldn’t they be drawn with their clothes on, he wondered.

     The answer is quite simple. For most, it is very difficult to draw the human body. As a result there are lots of benefits in attempting to do. One major benefit is that if you can learn to draw the human body, with feet and hands and face and figure, you can draw ANYTHING!

     Why is it so challenging? Because a normal object of any shape is rather predictable. A square, a circle, a triangle, a tube shape, etc. can be depicted easily in your mind and as result is fairly easy to draw. If we picture a hand, a foot, a face, a belly, an arm, etc. what comes to our minds will vary dramatically. And we know that the shapes are complex, so when we try to translate body parts in two dimensions by drawing on paper, our minds revert to preset ideas, something like a template of what the parts should look like. Yet perspective, reflections and the ability to measure with your eyes get in the way of translating 3D into 2D.

     This is why some artists pretend that drawing doesn’t matter. They hate that being able to draw a human figure acts like a discerning element in the arts, that it separates those artists who can do art from those who talk about it.

     Some contemporary artists say emotional expression is more important, or new and modern aesthetic challenges are more interesting than the old human body. For decades one particular director of the National Gallery of Canada had a hate-on for drawing. The Gallery purchased not one drawing during his tenure.

     For most of us that template of what a person is supposed to look like is too strong to overcome. For example: draw a nose. You will most likely draw a line from a corner of the eye to the nostril. Take a look in the mirror and tell me if you see a line. You might see a line if you turn your head at an angle and there is a harsh shadow cast on your face. That line is evidence of the template, because in most instances there is no line, but very subtle shadows. And of course, shadows are difficult to draw.

     Thomas White, a professional artist and a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design is running a figure drop-in session Tuesday nights beginning at 7pm at the Baggage Building in Prince Arthur’s Landing. It’s open to everyone, and he’s willing to give instruction, so if all you’ve ever drawn were stick people this would be a great opportunity for you.

     Thomas has built the studio “horses” in which to sit with a board to accommodate up to ten students. Unlike other drop-in sessions he provides the boards, the paper and the charcoal, but you’re welcome to bring your own materials. He’s built a professional model stand and has lights set up to cast interesting shadows. He can teach a variety of approaches, and he’s very proficient with the “deep anatomical” approach to drawing “where the bones are like the foundation of a house,” he says.

     More than just rendering an accurate likeness, Thomas sees drawing as a way of “Exploring the human condition through the act of drawing.” He believes that similar to the way a human face tells a story of a person’s life, so does the body where there is also a great deal of expression involved. 

     Thomas, who once worked in the area as a tree planter and crew boss, moved to Thunder Bay from Toronto five years ago, graduated from teacher’s college and bought a house in the country with his wife. He has two children. He loves the accessibility to the forest and laments the distances from nature in Toronto. Locally he’s become more involved in the arts, doing auto body painting as seen on his own motorcycle. He’s also producing fine art, working towards an art show in the future.

     Thomas prefers the models avoid static poses, which results in the models being more animated. The drop-in students start with warm-ups of 30 second poses to a minute, then five minute and up to half an hour.

     His model for last Tuesday night, Julia Postigo-Rombola has modeled for 3 years at LU and at the Painted Turtle. Julia got into modeling inspired by a fictional book character who did the same. Julia thought it was incredibly brave. Challenging herself she gave it a try.

     “I don’t really mind being naked. It’s not sexualized. And everyone has the same body. Our North American culture is pretty afraid of nudity. I never really understood it.”

     Julia says she constantly fidgets, so she enjoys the challenge of sitting still. She uses the time to meditate and think of the next pose. “It’s fun and it’s like you get paid to learn, because you listen to the instructor and you can try it at home.”

     Julia studied sculpture and is now an outdoor recreation student.

     Thomas is still looking for more students, and looking for people of all body types and ages to pose for the sessions. It’s a paid gig for the model. Portraiture is also taught in his sessions. You can email him if you would like to join the group, or pose for the artists, at disorder@fastmail.fm. You can also register through the Baggage Building Arts Centre: 684-2063.