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| First solo art show at Gallery ArtPlus |
| Local News - June 11th, 2009 |
Posted By LUKE HENDRY, THE INTELLIGENCER
Brian Lorimer has spent his working life as an artist, but it's taken until this month for him to get his own exhibition.
The Belleville native and Cloyne resident, 47, will on become the first artist to have a solo show at Gallery ArtPlus. He's been involved in group shows, but never had his own.
"It feels a little awkward but in a good way," said Lorimer. "It's pretty exciting."
Lorimer's work has, however, been seen on very large scale.
Now retired as a commercial artist, he decided early in his career to avoid the starving artist life.
"I don't really like Kraft Dinner much," he said.
After attending Moira Secondary School, Lorimer won a scholarship to study at the Art Gallery of Ontario, then attended what is now the Ontario College of Art and Design from 1979 to 1981 before dropping out in his third year.
Lorimer did odd jobs until 1985, when he began designing corporate exhibitions. That worked well until 1989. He then headed for the family cottage on Mississagagon Lake in North Frontenac Township to concentrate on painting.
Just as his cash flow got scary, though, Lorimer was commissioned by restaurateur Peter Oliver to paint a mural for the flagship location of his Oliver's Restaurant and Bakery chain.
Eventually the artist would need to hire staff to help him complete the giant murals that followed.
He credited his father, Bill, with instilling in him the need to look after the business side of art.
Lorimer Studios produced more than 200 custom murals on canvas. Clients included the Toronto Zoo, the Hard Rock Cafe, Labatt Breweries, and restaurants in the United States.
"That's where I really honed my chops because those murals were 80 feet long and we have to do two of those a month," said Lorimer. "We did a hell of a lot of painting."
Lorimer would later let 10 staff do much of the painting while he managed the business.
He said he was successful enough that in 2003 he could afford sell the business and build a permanent home on the same lake as his parents' cottage, where he has retired to do his own painting.
Lorimer met Gallery ArtPlus owner Brant Cowie last year when the artist stopped at the building to pick up a magazine. They began talking and Cowie invited Lorimer to show his work; Lorimer convinced him to make it a solo show.
The exhibition is entitled Landscapes of Solitude and is inspired by the secluded environment.
The solitude he feels there is expressed honestly in his work, Lorimer said.
"I don't think you can truly make that statement without living it."
Paintings in the show include but aren't limited to landscapes.
The canvases aren't murals, but some are about five feet across.
All the show's paintings were done within the last year.
"Almost nothing I paint is an actual location," he said. "I don't want it to be just a representational piece.
"The backgrounds I just make up. I go into it with no preconceived ideas and see what happens."
As work on the show progressed, he said, the muted tones were replaced by brighter colours and simpler shapes.
"Brian has fooled us all -- his work looks totally spontaneous," Cowie said Tuesday. "If you look below the top layer, his work is well planned and designed -- the last layer has all of the action."
"There are very few artists that could actually fill the gallery and make it look as good as Brian," said Lisa Longworth, the gallery's administrator, adding the large format of his paintings helps.
Lorimer said he still has a few concepts similar to those in the show, and he'd like to explore them, but for now wants to try something new.
"This is the launch of a new career, so to speak."
The show runs until July. Thursday's reception is from 6 to 8 p. m.
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| Artplus features award-winning photographer |
| Local News - Friday, January 18, 2008 |
Michael J Brethour / The Shield
Gallery ArtPlus hosted their first exhibit dedicated to photography this past weekend.
The show featured the stunning photographic works of William Bickle, Lisa Kurtz, Wayne McNulty, Dick Kane, Peggy deWitt and Lola Reid Allin. The opening reception took place on Jan. 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibit continues to show at the gallery until Jan. 27.
Brant Cowie, gallery curator and owner of ArtPlus, said the exhibit displays a wide range of photographic talent from the local area. Cowie referred to a recent honourable mention that Bickle received from a National Geographic photo competition. "We're very happy to have Bill's stuff here, him and all the other exhibitors are very talented."
Cowie explained that after the photography exhibit finishes, a select handful of pieces will be selected to hang for an additional six weeks in the gallery, along with the other upcoming feature artists works. "I suspect that Bill's heron piece will be one of them though I can't confirm that."
Bickle, a Roslin resident and Belleville business owner, was one of just four photographers selected as winners in the National Geographic contest. Speaking to The Shield Bickle described the morning that he captured the breathtaking image. "It was just around sunrise along the Moira River just east of Front Street, a spot I normally go because its near my business and I can spend a few hours there. The light is just right coming through the trees, and it's just a matter of waiting, and then I saw a heron flying towards me."
Bickle noted that the bird, which he is familiar with their habits, was acting a little out of character. "He was strutting, which is not normal for them," he said.
He had the bird lined up in his brand new 70-200mm Nikon lens, which he had out for its maiden test that morning. "Looking through the viewfinder of the camera, I just saw some fluffy bits as the heron was in flight, then I realized he had spotted some Mallard ducklings. He had made up his mind he was going to have a meal but the hen had other ideas," said Bickle. "She was pretty aggressive and defensive."
The end result was a visually brilliant image that captures the raw feeling of primal nature. Bickle added that he shot a sequence of images of the event, "The image I submitted was the best, but combining all the images for viewing really shows the whole view of what was happening that morning."
Bickle is a member of the Napanee Photo Club, which meets every second Tuesday of each month and he is also a member of the Photo-Nat Club, a Nature photography club within the Quinte area. "Both these clubs have had a strong influence in my Nature Photography," said Bickle.
Bickle and wife Ann have resided at their 100-acre farm near Roslin for over 27 years. They're the owners of Loyalist Management Systems Inc., a Belleville business selling and maintaining office equipment. From 1975 to 1980, Bickle and his wife ran a successful horse photography business. Bill traveled all over North America for the work. "I would ship the film home to Ann to process and ship the photos to our clients, you see that was before digital photography," he added with a laugh.
"People had suggested I enter the photo in the contest, so I did. The contest deadline had come and past and I had almost forgotten all about it until I received an e-mail saying my photo received an honourable mention. I was blown away to say the least," said Bickle.
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| Cameras captured winners |
| Local News - Saturday, January 12, 2008 |
Luke Hendry / The Intelligencer
They may not be gamblers, but maybe they should be.
When National Geographic magazine unveiled the results of its international photo contest, only a few dozen finalists were named from the 148,203 entrants.
And the Quinte region can claim two of them.
William (Bill) Bickle, a Roslin resident and Belleville business owner, and Aaron Vincent Elkaim, a Winnipeg native studying photojournalism at Loyalist College, were each selected for an honourable mention.
Just four photographers are selected as winners in the contest; a select few more were given honourable mentions in its three categories: animals, people, and landscapes.
Though the two local honourees come from different backgrounds and took vastly different photos, they said they're excited by their new status.
Bill Bickle
Early one morning, Bill Bickle was staked out along the Moira River just east of Front Street as he watched a great blue heron.
Bickle, 60, said he's always loved early mornings; fortunately for the nature photographer, so does wildlife such as the great blue herons. He's observed some so carefully he can identify individual birds and knows their schedules.
And on this morning, something was different.
"He was strutting, which is not normal for them," said Bickle, who was watching through a 70- to 200-millimetre telephoto zoom lens.
Then he spotted some mallard ducklings - and their very upset mother.
"She was pretty aggressive and defensive," said Bickle.
As the hen flew out of the water and startled the heron, Bickle's finger tightened on his camera's shutter button.
The result: a rarely-seen moment between the hen, heron, and ducklings captured against the barely-discernible flow of the nearby dam.
"I knew it was an exceptional photo because of the way I'd caught them," Bickle said, adding it was one of a series of five from the encounter.
The heron, he said, "looks almost prehistoric."
Bickle and wife Ann moved to their 100-acre farm near Roslin 27 years ago. They're the owners of Loyalist Management Systems Inc., a Belleville business selling and maintaining office equipment.
From 1975 to 1980, they had a successful horse photography business. Self-taught in the art, Bill travelled extensively to take the shots; Ann processed the negatives.
But as they started a family and a business, there was little time for photography.
In 2005, Bill started shooting regularly again, this time with digital gear.
He's since won several awards in area photo clubs, but said National Geographic's status is an extra thrill.
"Just to make the top 10 for me was a reward."
Bickle's images, meanwhile, are part of this month's exhibition at Gallery ArtPlus, 54 North Front St. at Earl St.
A reception for the show will be held from 6-8 p.m. today. For details call 613-961-1977 ext. 231 or visit www.galleryartplus.com. Aaron Vincent Elkaim
Aaron Vincent Elkaim was on a pilgrimage in Jerusalem's old city district when he spotted an image he couldn't ignore.
Though not overly religious, Vincent Elkaim was on a "birthright" pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It was organized by his local Jewish community and funded by philanthropists as a way for Jewish youth to connect with their heritage.
"The more time you spend there, the more complicated it gets," he said, explaining he gained "a better understanding of the faith" as well as the region's people and the obstacles they face daily.
But the situation in which he made his photo contest entry was much more simple.
"This photo is one just honestly stumbled upon," said Vincent Elkaim.
He was among the many tourists passing through through the historic Church of the Holy Sepulchre in January 2007 when he found himself on the building's second level, which has a view of the first floor. "I looked down and there it was, this shot."
Unaware of Vincent Elkaim's presence, three Greek Orthodox priests sat immersed in prayer, bathed partially in the amber glow of a single light.
Balancing his digital camera and old manually-operated 50-millimetre lens on a ledge, he squeezed off a short series of photos.
"I shot maybe five or six frames. That was the only one that was probably sharp."
The photo's timeless look and solemn atmosphere was enhanced by the wizened men's long beards and their traditional dark robes which blend into the darkness around them.
Vincent Elkaim said he was lucky to find the scene, but acknowledged he was able to see a photo in the making.
"There really is a moment there between these three people," he said. "It's definitely one of my best."
He said he wasn't surprised when National Geographic sent him a link to a web page showing the contest winners, since he's on the magazine's mailing list.
Sitting in his classroom at Loyalist, he began looking at the content.
"I clicked through to the next page and it was a total shock. I was praying it was there, but I wasn't expecting it.
"It was a pretty cool moment.
"I have left it out (of my portfolio) in the past for some reason, but now it's in. There's no question."
The student said he hopes to secure a job at a daily newspaper while also pursuing documentary photography, and is encouraged by National Geographic's approval.
"This like this I take as signs that I'm on the right path," he said. "It's not the be-all and end-all. It's just the one photo.
"They say you're only as good as your last job or your last image, so I've got to keep producing."
To view the contest's winning images and finalists, visit the contest website here.
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