The contemporary art in Canada is still undergoing a certain process of self-determination. Since Canada is composed of many ethnic groups, many regions with diverse artistic orientation and specific areas are recognising the influence of different externam factors in arts, the Canadian scholars are still leading a debate on the question is there a distinctive Canadian art movement and particularization.

To oppose the ones who Canada to be a country with a mixture of foreign art trends rather than having its own cultural and artistic sceleton, a certain example can be given - the modern day art of Canada has been internationally recognised by the work of Micheal Snow - one of the most influential and experimental filmmakers of the past several decades. It was not only his films, however, that gained the internatioal recognition for the artists - he was well - known for enriching the Canadian culture with a different approach towards the arts of sculture and design. The interior of the famous Eaton Centre in Canada has become quite famous among the other countries with its scultures and innovative design approaches to pop up display stands adopted by Micheal Snow.

Another example that would counterattack the idea that Canada has no distinctive art culture is the establishment of the Nova Scotia Colledge of Art and Design and more importantly its recognition as an international art and design centre for reseach and creative work. Thus the college attracts thousands of students from abroad, develops new and innovative approaches in art and has been largely recognised as a unique and quite important institution within the world of art.

Because of these two reasons mentioned above, Canadian seems to be closer to recognition than ever - the distinctive Canadian arts culture is obvious and claiming the opposite seems a complete absurd since the recognised international achievements of Canadian artists and organisations are more than anough to prove the uniqueness of the Canadian arts culture.

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However curator have kept the original idea of the still life in mind when accepting exhibits. After all the dead rabbit film still does have a peach in shot. Although the rabbit dead its definitely still so I suppose comes under the modern term of still life.

If you are curious enough to visit these exhibits and more they are showing at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver, Canada showing from June 4th until August 22nd 2010.

The Rabbit exhibit has been offered by artist Sam Taylor Wood and is a film courtesy of White Cube 2002. It features an upside down dead rabbit with its legs up in the air. Sort of looks like its attempting a handstand whilst lighting down at the same time. Maybe it was thinking about eating the peach before its time was up. Its been placed on a table and is still an nice colour of a variety of browns with a white bushy tails so it appears to be. Would certainly make an interesting exhibit to take the family to see. Something for everyone.

Other exhibits include Brad Philips offering of what can be describes as a picture of the back of a picture frame. The picture is all in black with the yellow outline of a picture frame showing. To make it more interesting, surreal even its called “Dead beat Dad”.

If you find yourself in the UK, I have just happened upon and excellent gallery that you may want to look into visiting. Check out the website at (www.friarsgallery.com).

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It is often movers and shakers and at least those with insider know how and drive that can get the ball rollling, have it pick up speed and with it lots of funds to keep things moving along smoothly. It should come as no surprise that Mary Hofstetter comes from a teaching background, where she has taught in everything from universities to primary teaching jobs. It takes a lot of drive and crativity to have the belief to make changes and then to actually follow up on making those changes.

In order to succeed one needs to be armed with lots of informations and be able to build relationships with those that have the financial power to keep projects running as well as those that have an improtant part to play such as members of the facility, workers and artists.

It is a precarious balancing act that not many have the vision, experitse and teambuilding skills to see projects through. Project management takes careful planning and researched strategies need to be put in place in order to reach an organizations aims.

Today due in major part to the efforts of Mary Hofstetter the Banff Centre is a major thriving arts centre in Canada and continues to grow and benefit the surrounding community.

This success could be due to Mary’s ethos or as she puts it “The bottom line is making a difference — making a legacy, creating an impact. Influence is not static. It has to be a call to action and creating and creativity is what the Banff Centre is all about and it’s kind of what life has been all about as well.”

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Apparantly there are lots of grants an artist can apply for. The only problem is finding them. For all you would-be artists who would like to know if they can make a living at art without having to sell your gold, there may the niggling question of why would an artist need grants if its a lucrative field? Good question.

The answer is like a lot of things not so straight forward.

Some artists survive by getting to grips with and studying how to apply for grants. It is an art form in itself. There are not many grant applications that are short simple forms. Never mind what the guidelines say. A warning sign would be if the outline for the “short and simple”(their terminology) is itself about thirty pages.

Once you start to actually get positive answers to the questions for obtaining a grant, the route can be much easier if you haven’t given up already after the first few “now write a 3000 word essay"on why you need the grant whilst interweaving at least ten of their points upon which they give grants. No Joke.

Not into grant writing? Other ways to make it as an artist are:

Teach others how to create art

Hold worldwide exhibitions

Become rich and THEN invest in being an artist

Open a gallery display your art and charge commisions on sales for selling the work of other artists

Enter competitions and get your name out there

Develop a following of clients who collect your artwork and pay good money for it

Attend art trade fairs

License your art

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Finally, I got to see the Paul Nash exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery, among its final days. Previously, I was aware of Nash, but didn’t know enough about him to call myself a fan.

The publicity used a reproduction of Totes Meer, perhaps one of Nash’s most famous works, but not necessarily one of his best. The painting is not without merits however. It is a very powerful piece, full of atmosphere and sadness. I think it was a very intelligent decision by Nash to depict the sea as some kind of crazy jigsaw puzzle made of broken bits of aeroplane. This painting, which I was familiar with prior to my visit to the gallery, was called to mind as I stood on a beach in Cornwall at new year, looking at the angular, harsh waves with their tones and hues of cold blue and as I stared out to sea, Totes Meer is the painting that I was remembering.

Painted as the Blitz was at its peak, to me, this work shows us the utter devastation of war. Nash was appointed an official war artist and instead of offering us representations of what was happening in our skies, on our land or giving us portraits of the heroes of war, his depiction the broken, fragile, useless segments of aircraft as a metaphor for the waves of the sea, somehow manages to instil a feeling of desolation, of loneliness and of the futility of war. Standing in front of this painting meant that I was no longer just located in a gallery, I could practically smell the kerosene oil he used as light to paint by. Instead I was living in an emotion, and that, to me, is the essence of “good”art.

There are plenty of paintings in this exhibition that don’t depict or relate to the war, of course. His photographs, prints and sketches all make for fascinating viewing. I must confess though that I didn’t like everything included here, but each to their own. It was still a very worthwhile exhibition, and one that over a week later I’m still thinking about.

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So, you’ve finally got a few pictures together of which you are suitably proud (among the seeming thousands of other ones that you have tucked away in storage units). Now all you need to do is to find someone who will sell them for you; and this is usually where the problems start. The first stumbling block is finding someone who likes your work and is prepared to put it on display. Many galleries will have no free space and some will dislike your style.

When you finally do come across a gallery that will take some of your pictures, they may want to frame your work themselves. Unfortunately, they will also be quite pricey a lot of the time; the sort of set-up you would never consider using under normal circumstances…

Most galleries will also take a substantial amount of commission if they sell any of your work. This will vary from place to place, but fifty percent is certainly not out of the ordinary. This seems vastly unfair; after all, it was you that created the picture! All they have to do is hang it on their wall and wait for it to sell (hopefully).

The biggest problem with all of this is that if there are framing costs and an extortionate amount of commission to cover then you are will need to put far higher prices on your work. That is great news when you finally sell a picture, but by making them too expensive, you are dramatically reducing the amount of people who can afford your work at all.

You can see why so many artists become disillusioned with it all, can’t you?

If you are just starting out then the best way to get your work seen is online. Choose a good website such as http://www.artgallery.co.uk/ and put as many pictures as you can on there. By approaching it all in this way, you will avoid any framing costs at all and you will be charged far less commission. ArtGallery.co.uk will charge you around thirty-five percent, which is a whole lot better than most offline galleries.

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Previously Sophie’s work has been exhibited widely around the world with exhibitions in Canada, the United States, Eire, Belgium and the Netherlands, not to mention in the UK of course.

Many of the works will be available for purchase but there is more to this exhibition than Sophie’s remarkable works. The house itself is a building of architecturale importance as it was remodelled in the early 19th century by the architect Sir John Soane. Soane found fame as a devotee of plasterwork and the house clearly demonstrates this with beautiful domed ceilings, arched hallways and rooms. Owner James Perkins has devoted himself over the last six years to return the internal character of the house back to the way Soane would have wanted it.

For the fortunate visitor it doesn’t stop there. James has aquired over the years the largest private collection of plaster statuary in the world, with over 3,000 pieces. Many of these works are on display in the house and you will be able to see copis of works by Donatello, Michelangelo and others, not to mention a plaster copy of The Elgin Marbles!

Tours of the exhibition and house,(about 4 miles south of Banbury) will be available by pre-arranged booking at a cost of £8.00 per person.

Aynhoe Park, Aynho, OX17 3BQ. Tel 01869 811618

Sophie Ryder exhibition 1st - 28th May 2010

House available all year for tours and other events by pre-arrangement. www.aynhoepark.co.uk

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With studios, performing arts centres, record companies, and theatres dotted around the great expanses of fairly untouched wildlife. There is no shortage on inspiration for artists who are just starting out their career or for those who are already prominent in the arts community. It is a welcoming place for one and all, and we just want to show the world it’s hidden talent!

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