Steven Rhude - Paintings/Drawings

Temple Sleep, Beijing, o/p, 24" x 48", Steven Rhude "China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world." ― Napoléon Bonaparte Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

Equilibrium #3, oil on canvas, 48" x 36", Steven Rhude This completes the "Three on Three" series of stacked buoys by the ocean. It will go off to Gallery 78 in New Brunswick in the new year. Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

Three Stacked Buoys by the Sea, oil on canvas, 50" x 42", Steven Rhude, private collection The objective of achieving balance in life is constantly being assessed owing to our knowledge of opposing forces. From family, friends, to community. The human body, diet, the life cycle - existence and mortality; the idea of spirit. Our place in the Maritimes, church, state, and equality. Relationships, close or long distance, personal or political, are forever subject to the vicissitude's of external and internal forces. Forever being analyzed, scrutinized, and catagorized. While working on this painting, my youngest son Samuel, observed that he would hold the water back, because he liked the idea that something so seemingly difficult to balance could be achieved.  I asked him how long he thought he could hold back the advancing ocean?  He replied: "for at least as long as it takes you to finish the painting." Sam has a way of leaving me at a loss for words. ...

Laura Kenney, Bedside   Steven Rhude, Burning Light   AT THE GALLERIES: Rugs, paintings shine light on architecture of coastal beacons Laura Kenney is a lively, expressive rug-hooker; Steven Rhude a quiet, intellectual painter. But the two share a passion for lighthouses, an offbeat sense of humour and a talent for their chosen medium. Their dual exhibit, I’m a Lighthouse; It’s Your Call, at Harvest Gallery in Wolfville to Nov. 16, is a cry for the preservation of lighthouses in playful and poignant pieces. “When I first read the article that lighthouses were being declared surplus I couldn’t believe it,” says Rhude, a Quebec-born, Wolfville-based painter who has also lived in Fox Island Main, Guysborough County, and Lunenburg. Similarly alarmed Kenney started a summertime mission two years ago to search out the province’s lighthouses with her two kids. She and Rhude both refer to Rip Irwin’s Lighthouses and Lights of Nova Scotia and Chris Mill...

Study for Modernity, Bay de Verde, oil on copper, 6" x 9", Steven Rhude Modernity, Bay de Verde, oil on board, 20" x 24", Steven Rhude Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

"Painting is the representation of visible forms. The essence of realism is its negation of the ideal." - Gustave Courbet Stairway, Cape Spear, oil on canvas, 20" x 16", Steven Rhude Study for Modernity, oil on copper, 6" x 9", Steven Rhude Solo Buoy, oil on copper, 5 1/4" x 7 1/8", Steven Rhude Three Buoys and Box, oil on copper, 4.5" x 6", Steven Rhude Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

"That's why I feel strongly about a lot of so called realism today which I think I've had a very bad influence on. They think it's the amount of detail and that really isn't it. Yes, a detail should be there and it should be carried far, but the picture's got to be bigger than that. Otherwise it doesn't hang together and it doesn't give you the force of the thing. It's got to be abstracted through your vision, your mind . It's a process of going through detail in order eventually to obtain simplification and cutting out...." - Andrew Wyeth Oil on canvas, in progress oil on etched copper plate, in progress oil on etched copper plate, in progress oil on etched copper plate, in progress Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS.

Red, Yellow, Blue, oil on copper etching plate, 11" x 14", Steven Rhude Bowling Alley, Avalon Peninsula, o/c etching plate, 11" x 14", Steven Rhude Buoy with Blue Square, o/c etching plate, 9" x 6", Steven Rhude I'm continuing to use up some old copper etching plates for oil paintings. Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS.

Cathedral, o/p, 24" x 24", Steven Rhude "These structures are beauty, they are our Eiffel Tower, our Statue of Liberty..our Leaning Tower of Pisa. They have stories which we need to see, hear and feel at this time when we need it the most."                                                                                                                          Laura Kenney “The past reminds us of timeless human truths and allows for the perpetuation of cultural traditions that can be nourishing; it contains examples of mistakes to avoid, preserves the memory of alternatives ways of doing things, and is the basis for self-understanding…”      ...

Between the Lighthouses, o/p, 24" x 24", Steven Rhude Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society DOOMSDAY LIST This is a partial list of Canadian lighthouses and lightstation buildings in danger of being lost through neglect and environmental conditions.  *Please note that as of the end of May, 2010, ALL Canadian lighthouses, aside from those staffed by resident keepers, or those maintained by Parks Canada, municipalities, or community groups, are now on the Doomsday List because they were declared surplus by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. For details visit the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act page.    Bear River, NS   Decommissioned wooden lighthouse Cape North, NS   1981 wooden lighthouse (demolished in May 2010) Cape Roseway, NS   Two dwellings and old fog alarm building Country Island, NS   Keepers house (one house burned in 2005) Cross Island, NS   Keepers houses, fog alarm building, ga...

Resurgent Light, o/p, 24" x 24", Steven Rhude In this fast paced virtual world of ours, it’s quite plausible that there are people who have never seen a lighthouse in the flesh. Never sojourned to experience the prospect of one of our most enduring symbols face to face, and considered what it could mean personally or collectively. Never driven, or hiked, or boated to a lighthouse. Never crept along a desolate point of land, with precarious cliffs, or a tidal surge to contend with. Never approached a lighthouse door where just a rope secured it, instead of a handle. Never entered and searched through the rooms of a dwelling abandoned, or marginalized, or declared surplus. Never looked out of salt encrusted windows, and pondered the struggles of a long line of families and keepers. Never imagined their tragedies and victories, their loves and hates, or the cycle of their purpose and responsibility. Never climbed the steps of a lighthouse to the lantern and st...

Lands End, Cape Spear, o/p, 20" x 24", Steven Rhude “It will rain,” he remembered his father saying. “You won’t be able to go to the Lighthouse.” The Lighthouse was then a silvery, misty-looking tower with a yellow eye, that opened suddenly, and softly in the evening. Now — James looked at the Lighthouse. He could see the white-washed rocks; the tower, stark and straight; he could see that it was barred with black and white; he could see windows in it; he could even see washing spread on the rocks to dry. So that was the Lighthouse, was it? No, the other was also the Lighthouse. For nothing was simply one thing. The other Lighthouse was true too. It was sometimes hardly to be seen across the bay. In the evening one looked up and saw the eye opening and shutting and the light seemed to reach them in that airy sunny garden where they sat. Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

Lantern, Cape Spear, o/p, 24" x 20", Steven Rhude Over the years, I've learned there are times when it's better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. A distracted lighthouse guide gave me sufficient time to explore the lantern of Cape Spear which is off limits to visitors. The result is this painting. Another architectural feature study of that great lighthouse. Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

March of Obsolescence, o/p, 20" x 24", Steven Rhude The Window “Yes, of course, if it’s fine tomorrow,” said Mrs. Ramsay. “But you’ll have to be up with the lark,” she added. To her son these words conveyed an extraordinary joy, as if it were settled, the expedition were bound to take place, and the wonder to which he had looked forward, for years and years it seemed, was, after a night’s darkness and a day’s sail, within touch. Since he belonged, even at the age of six, to that great clan which cannot keep this feeling separate from that, but must let future prospects, with their joys and sorrows, cloud what is actually at hand, since to such people even in earliest childhood any turn in the wheel of sensation has the power to crystallise and transfix the moment upon which its gloom or radiance rests, James Ramsay, sitting on the floor cutting out pictures from the illustrated catalogue of the Army and Navy stores, endowed the picture of a refrigerator, as his mot...

For generations the lighthouse has been inextricably linked with the identity of seafaring  communities throughout Canada. Especially in the Maritimes, they marked an ongoing contribution that characterized the values of nationhood up until the transitional years of modernist Canada. They were emblematic of place identity. They were beacons of the concept that nationality is linked with being rooted in one place, that is the idea of having a community, region, a home or country.   Modernism and the nationhood debate altered the nature of collective identity for Canadians. The exciting and convulsive life of modernism was predicated on the concept that we were indeed placeless - a state of mind, like a country without boarders. It paved the information highway but left many casualties, including the iconic lighthouse, eventually forcing its usefulness to the sidelines with new technology and global positioning systems. The so called postmodern world we now live in has ...

Reaching Brigus Light, oil on canvas, 40" x 60", Steven Rhude “...she took her hand and raised her brush. For a moment it stayed trembling in a painful but exciting ecstacy in the air. Where to begin?--that was the question at what point to make the first mark? One line placed on the canvas committed her to innumerable risks, to frequent and irrevocable decisions. All that in idea seemed simple became in practice immediately complex; as the waves shape themselves symmetrically from the cliff top, but to the swimmer among them are divided by steep gulfs, and foaming crests. Still the risk must run; the mark made.” ― Virginia Woolf , To the Lighthouse

The Lighthouse Keeper, o/p, 20.5" x 43.5", Steven Rhude Idealized beauty In Italian Renaissance Portraiture "The women pictured in the profiled portraits of the Italian Renaissance were not portrayed as individuals, but as ideal women who shares similar facial features with the sitter. Examples of desired physical traits include a high, rounded forehead, plucked eyebrows, blonde hair, fair skin, rosy cheeks, ruby lips, white teeth, dark eyes, and graceful hands."  - from Mary Rogers, "The Decorum of Women Beauty: Trissino, Firenzulo, Luiginni, and the Representation of Women in 16th Century Painting" Renaissance Studies, 1988   Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS                                 

Cape Spear Modern, Dyptych, oil on board, 24" x 32", Steven Rhude Cape Spear has two lighthouses. The one depicted here is cast in concrete. It contains the personality of modernism through materials, efficiency, minimal design and engineering. Its aesthetics speak of strength and form through simplicity. It is a beacon without habitation. A utilitarian object only. Automated in presence, it contains no keeper but that of technology. The buoy, though similar in shape to a lighthouse, contains not a precast directive, but a hand carved willfulness of design. It is as though there is a concept within the wood waiting to emerge with the skills of shape, form, and colour imparted by it's maker. However, there is another lighthouse at Cape Spear. Equally modern, yet classical in its combination of habitation and  utilization. A wood frame structure with a dome shaped lantern. The shape and personality of the old light echos the keeper's history.   A future stud...

Stairway, Cape Spear, oil on panel, 35" x 24", StevenRhude This work is for an up coming show in October with Laura Kenny (rug hooker) at Harvest Gallery in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The show is based on lighthouses. More information to follow. Steven Rhude, Wolfville

 

  Here is a link to see works on show:  http://www.emmabutler.com/current_ex.htm

Acadien Lune, oil on canvas, 24" x 30", Steven Rhude When they realized that corn could be grown successfully, it proved to be a blessing to their existence due to its varied uses. Corn could be made into hominy, grits, and cornmeal. The corn shucks were used to make dolls, mattresses, hats, and brooms.  It was also used to smoke out mosquitoes. Dampened corn shucks were braided into rope and used for chair seats and hats. Cobs were used for stoppers and as kindling for fires. - The Acadien Village Venus de l'Acadie, oil on board, 24" x 24", Steven Rhude Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

Make and Break Harbour (tri-image), oil on canvas, 36" x 60", Steven Rhude "as soon as each hour of one's life has died, it embodies itself in some material object as do the souls of the dead in certain folk stories, and hides there. There it remains captive forever, unless we should happen on the object, recognize what lies within, call it by its name, and so set it free." Marcel Proust, By way of Saint - Beuve (translated by Sylvia Townsend Warner) Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

Quinlan's Oar, Red Head Cove, o/c, 34" x 53", Steven Rhude As I see it, there is a modern vitality of shape and form to the boat and oar, the buoy, the shed, and the lighthouse. Qualities both abstract and figurative. Ironic, since these objects predate modernism by centuries. So in them, there is a sense of the minimal before the minimalist. Modern before the modernist. Formal before the formalist. Their maker’s intent wasn’t to create something beautiful; more like something utilitarian. However, it just so happens their intent was beautifully realized. Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

Sibley's Cove, oil on canvas, 19" x 28", Steven Rhude Origin of the word Population late 16th century (denoting an inhabited place): from late Latin populatio(n-), from the verb populare, from populus 'people'. Sibley's Cove, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland Sibley's Cove is usually considered to include Torquay (pronounced tarquay), a cluster of houses on the East End of the cove. It is believed that the cove was probably named after a migrating fisherman. 1874 – Sibley’s Cove (combined with Lead Cove) first appears on the Census with a population of 61. 1884 – The population is listed as 93. 1891 – One vessel leaves Sibley’s Cove for the Labrador Fishery. 1895 – The first school is built and kept by Isaac March of Brownsdale. 1899 – A Methodist Chapel is built. 1942 – An Orange Hall is constructed. 1957 – A government wharf is constructed for the inshore fishermen. 1992 - Newfoundlanders protest Cod Moratorium 2011 - The population of S...

"It's not down on any map; true places never are." - Herman Melville, Moby Dick Leaving Lead Cove, oil on canvas, 19" x 28", Steven Rhude The aesthetic of many a contemporary opinion is often couched in opposites. The Newfoundland landscape and its romantic depiction for instance, may be seen as an infectious blight for some. Typified as comforting images of the landscape, artists and viewers are often bombarded with, and marginalised by, the generalisation of what may or may not be the "quintessential" expression of their land.  For some, the depiction of a lone granite rock (erratic) on a windswept barren, could be seen as quaint; a well trodden subject offered up as comfort food at the expense of tougher subjects like power lines or satellite dishes. My experience is that this view is at best antiquated. Anyone who has walked some barrens in Newfoundland should understand the gravitational pull of something ancient with resonance. Icons...

 Lost in the Harbour, Watercolour, 22" x 30", Steven Rhude Lost in the Harbour Over here the ladies all want sweet perfume But there's never a rose And over there the roses are frightened to bloom So they never can grow And over here they need wool For weaving their baby's new clothes But nobody has any wool And the sheep are all lost in the harbour Lost in the harbour And over here they want diamonds to wear But there aren't any here And over there everyone's hiding their tears But they're crying inside And the wall won't come down Till they're no longer afraid of themselves And if you don't believe me ask yourselves And then I can come down to the harbour Down to the harbour And then I will fill the ocean back up with my tears I still have a couple more years And then I can come back to the harbour Down to the harbour Lyrics - Tom Waits http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohNfC6-GFzU

Hurricane, 20" x 30", watercolour, whereabouts unknown They took the ferry over to PEI for a show. It was December and a winter storm set in. It was a strange opening (that's what they call an event where people gather to look at art, but really don't). It felt more like a closing. It was a strange mixture of people. They were on a winter island renowned for tourists, with no tourists around. He recalled a nun at the opening who openly enjoyed the Hurricane painting. She said it did that "you know what" to her. Then she blushed. So did he. It was the night when he met Joseph Sherman - the poet, and editor of the defunct  Arts Atlantic magazine . He knew he was a tireless promoter of maritime art and artists. It was also a grumpy night for Joe. And it was also uncomfortable for all present when Joe openly lambasted representational art, old conservative Realism, and the desire to convey a concept or idea with a pictorial objective. T...

Newfoundland's unofficial flag. "Fishermen who were members of the society may well have flown the SOS (Star of the Sea) colours off their boats and houses and since they were the bulk of the population, this would have lent great weight to any symbol they employed en masse. Fishermen were, after all, the backbone of Newfoundland,"the men whose labour and sweat the country owes everything it possesses." What represented them could have very easily been seen as representing the country"  Carolyn Lambert, Memorial University of Newfoundland  [1] Pink, White, Green, oil on canvas, 35" x 60", Emma Butler Gallery Last summer, I spent some time traveling around the Avalon Peninsula, more or less charting my way through as many of the coastal communities as I could. It was hard to not notice the Pink, White and Green flag, often seen flying beside the Provincial flag of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Provincial flag was designed by Christ...