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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-07-28, Page 20Page 20 - Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, July 28, 1993 Very old or abandoned houses offer a "wealth of still-life material already set for you", says artist Brian Dalton. His exhibits of drawings and paintings from Ashfield Township are on exhibit until August 4. Artist grew up i Kingsbridge and now paints �f days gone by by Mona Irwin Signal -Star Staff "They're like little theatres - the actors arc gone, but the stages are still there." • That's how artist Brian Dalton sees the abandoned houses he draws and paints. "I see places by the side of the road and I stop and poke around," says Dalton, who was born in Goderich and grew up • in Kingsbridge. The result is the somewhat haunting artwork 'on . exhibit at Serrenwood Art Studio Gallery. Here is a large black and, white drawing of a room filled with a clutter of objects abandoned by their owners:. a disintegrating ''wick- cr-baby- er-adle-near the window, around," he says. "I always used to prowl around in them." Often the houses would belong to elderly people, who would board up . the house when they went into the hospital, confident they'd only be in the hospital for a short time and would be home soon. Many never went home, says Dalton, but by that time the houses were so decrepit they weren't worth fixing up. His art does show a "whole way of lifethat's shifted," he says. "It's a generation that's come to an end. The people who lived in these places had a dignity about them; they were hard working and didn't have much time for leisure. "But I'm not trying to idealize them," he adds "Did know a—t re's not one white pine left in Eastern Canada?" The people who w lived in these houses were the generation that wiped them out, he says, believing that there were so many they'd never run out - an unfortunately common human fal- lacy. None of his art, in fact, is in- tended to be either sentimental or nostalgic. "I never stages things to make a better picture. These pictures don't evoke sadness in me. I've done, some drawings that I've scrapped because they came across as too sentimental. "Everybody's got nostalgia for something. But when you exploit it, it cheapens things. "And, I'm nift a symbolist. I'd rather (convey what the setting. . looked like If the viewer 'sees something' in .the picture, that's their interpretation and note mine. Some of his target vt'f'brlc* of art took "a couple of years" to complete. "I needed to let time pass to see what still needed to be done" in the way of composition, perspective, the balance of light and shadow and so on, he says. '. Usually Dalton does a small sketch "on the. spot". Sometimes he'll take photographs. One drawing shows a small room with. a sink and. a bare, functional wooden shelf just below the sink. There's a clutter of bottles on the shelf and on the floor. On the left, curiously enough, is a pair of crutches propped casual- ly against a wall. He took 30 photos of that room before starting the drawing. But he doesn't like working from photographs. There are too many problems with Lighting. you "It's better_ if .I go back a few briefcase atop a pile of rubbish on the floor, a bicycle lying on its side. Another large, drawing, this one in color, shows a collection of old licence plates on a plank wall. There are several studies of old- fashioned locks and latches, including one so intricate its rendering of detail that every flake of cracking paint, every split in the wood, has been shown. "I've always like old places because there's so much there to draw," Dalton says. "There's a wealth of still-life material already set out for you. "In art college, I 'saw art based on ruins," he adds. "This is the closest thing we have to rural ruins." If 'he hadn't grown up in the vicinity of many of these homes, he admits he probably wouldn't respond to them the way he does. Dalton says he has always had an interest in old houses. WAY OF LIFE HAS SHIFTED "When I was a kid, there were dozens" of abandoned houses times and do a couple of drawings," he says. During some of his "poking around", he's been approached by people wondering what he's doing. His explanations are generally received with some disbelief. "They wonder why somebody'd bother" drawing derelict houses, he says. "But when they see what I do, they're synipathetic." Dalton isn't interested in making "any profound observations about•the disappearance of a way'of life. "It's just reality. It's a changing world." But he hopes his art reflects change. "I want to give people something different to see. I want them to keep coming back to it and discover something different each time. I think it's neat when art can Make you stop and think." Dalton's work will be at Serren- wood (located on Nelson Street Eastc'Ooderich) until August 4. SItIi ��rrE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Offering full range of services: auditing, accounting, business planning, income tax planning, aersonal financial planning, computer and management services. HANOVER a WALKERTON MOUNT FOREST PORT ELGIN K.L. Drier, CA M.S. Bolton, CA H.E. Kibler, CA W.J. Aldersley, FCA L.H. Vollett, CA J.J. Hunt, CA 364-3790 B.F. Thompson, FSA R.J. Millen, CA G.H. Munro, CA, P. Thor, CA 881-1211 323-2351 832-2049 Sidewalk Sale Specials July 29th to August 7th DEP PRONTO Shampoo 1 L $160 paper "Towels �9 & Conditioner. • EVERFRESH ULTRA TIDE Coolers 41. Si nn 4 x 300 m1 2.79 AYLMER $1 Ca Ketchup IL • FILM 31.-11(23x3 10. 9 THERMOS Beverage$399 1/2 Price Jug . Children's -• 69e Summer Items All On Sale Now!! 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