Photo Karen Graham.
The image in this painted panel by John Ireland looks familiar as it is just south of the village.
Next month an art show exhibiting work from two local artists will open at an unconventional location: the Edward Jones Financial office located at 3 King Street West in Cobourg. Jo Ellen Brydon and John Ireland will come together in a display of their work reminiscent of the days of the former Millbrook Gallery on King Street, a gallery in which both artists were founding members.
John is better known for his custom furniture and cabinet making, but has recently branched out into painting panels of wood. During the Millbrook Gallery days, he enjoyed experimenting with different media and methods, and he began to produce smaller painted work because furniture pieces were big commitment items both for him and the customer, who often wanted it just a bit different from the exhibit. During this process he produced a series of painted boxes, which were the inspiration for this recent venture into producing painted panels.
These are produced on pieces of wood or medium density fibreboard, and John begins creating textures with a combination of power and hand tools to carve out relief images. Paint is applied in layers, with some of it abraded off by hand or tool. Some of the better results, in his mind, come from his willingness to harness happy accidents, but also from his exercise of control- it’s a fine balance. In one panel of a stormy sky, a crack in the board serves as a lightning bolt.
He enjoys this freedom, explaining that in woodworking projects, there are no happy accidents, only accidents. In that line of work, the plan takes shape in a drawing which is the blueprint for the project. This is particularly critical in custom work, as the drawing serves effectively as the contract between builder and buyer.
There are two types of painted panels in this series of pieces: one capturing the landscape from local scenes as well as photographs, and other focussing on weather. Both use texture and colour, and the weather panels use looser markings to illustrate dramatic weather systems.
Paintings by award winning artist Jo Ellen Brydon of Mount Pleasant will also be on display in Cobourg. Her work is presented in galleries in Toronto, Chicago and the United Kingdom but will find a more intimate display space in Cobourg alongside John’s panels, reuniting this local talent and taking them back to their Millbrook Gallery days. This exhibition opens Saturday April 8th from 2 to 4 pm and runs to the end of June regular business hours from Monday to Friday. For more information, contact John Ireland at johnireland@nexicom.net.KG
