Tuesday 31 May 2016

Colours

Spring seems to have been suddenly chased away by hot sunny days of 30C and warm nights reminiscent of a typically humid July. The tulips are gone now, but the colours remain.

Arthur Shilling (1941-1986) was born on the Rama Reserve in Ontario to Ojibwa parents. His art depicts life and the local Ojibwa people on the Rama Reserve, where he built an Art Gallery to encourage local talent. He held his first solo exhibition at age 26. His oil portraits of First Nations people were exhibited at the Peterborough Art Gallery so I paid a visit, and WOW! I loved these paintings. The colours really pop.




Sadly, Arthur Shilling died at age 45 a couple of years after open heart surgery, a complication of childhood rheumatic fever. I wasn't aware of his art before seeing this exhibition.

9 comments:

  1. Nice association of two types of colours.

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  2. Love that tulip photo - just excellent!!

    And with re to Mr. Shilling: I've not heard of him (which means nothing at all) so I'm glad to see these paintings. I like the way he uses various colors to alter facial expressions, especially in the first one ...

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  3. Brilliant and beautiful colors.
    He was quite an artist gone much too soon.
    Those tulips are gorgeous.
    I sure wish they lasted longer.

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  4. Love this work! Great post! Thank you for bringing his work to our attention!

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  5. Stunning. I love them, but it is the second which speaks loudest to me. Not sure why.

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  6. A very interesting art style, combining very real and natural shapes and vibrant colouring. I actually like this, which is unusual for me. I am not a fan of modern art styles, largely because it often seems to lack actual artistic skill. But this is skilful. Sad the artist is no longer with us, I wonder what he would be producing now?

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  7. I especially love the last one. thanks for the tour.

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  8. The colours of the tulips are gorgeous!

    Great exhibition! These oil portraits are very expressive!
    I am sorry that Arthur Shilling died so young...

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  9. In my part of the world, too. Summer comes abruptly while we enjoy springtime. However, since rainy season set in, we’ll have relatively cooler days (though humid) before summer comes with full force. Thank you for introducing us Arthur Shilling and his works. He must be missed but is alive with his works.

    Yoko

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