The Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-04-09, Page 19• En4ee1 tai 1m4!trt ,fie R eKti1 es
• Rebigfan • Family More
SECTION'
BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK
When Gordon buern creates a portrait,
he doesn't just look for a likeness of his
subject. By.. observinghim or her for-
several
or several days, he hopes to capture "a'"spa"rk
of life in his subject and preserve it forever •
with the line of his pencil.
"It's almostmystical what a pencil line
can do. I love too portraits the most. I
like people and I think I understand them:
Each person tells you a story, each person
is a complete statement;". he says.
Duern, who's lived in Goderich for :the
past three years, says the art of °portrait.
painting is quickly fading because of the
hard work involved in perfecting the art.
: "You must study for 10 to 16 years, you.
must understand anatomy, you must go to
a gond school and you must love it more
than anything," he says.'
"Anyone can draw. Becoming a good ar-
tist is five per cent talent and 95 per cent
damned hard work."
Originally from Hamilton, Duern began
his art career in the 1930s as a commercial
artist who worked on the 24 sheet poster
billboards along the roadsides of Ontario
for products such as Aunt Jemima's syrup.
Because he didn't feel the future was
sing as a commercial artist, he
r: f rned to school' where he studied
medical art, architectural illustration •and
fine arts. He then began to work, in ar-
chitectural design in Toronto and
Hamilton.
Next, he became interested in industrial'
design and worked for 15 years at Elec-
trohome's main plant in Kitchener draw-
ing the complete line of products from or
televisions to furniture.
"Art covers so Many fields. Everything
p
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that isn't formed or made must be vrsuahz- . ,,..:�.,, �:.. f• !✓/r<,:f:�., . !: ,r• ,y./,�'::> � . A . / „ h i..., sf�,,.•,.�, :. ,., :Y� ,: x• :.,
ed and drawn through the imagination and
skill of an artist. Everything must have 2
story," he says.
As an industrial artist, he had to unders-
tand how each product worked before he
could draw it and` make it appealing to
consumers.
After 15 years, he moved to Prince Ed-
ward Island with plans to retire and paint
but ended up becoming a consultant to the
government. Hiss job entailed showing
companies how to redesign products for
export (everything from blue jeans to
computers) attractively and at reasonable
prices.
When he moved to Florida for the next
eight years, he got involved doing portraits
for golf pros. But, instead of doing the _
stan-
dard portrait, he got the idea to sketch
them in various action poses. The. idea
caught on and he uses the same technique
when he does portraits now in Goderich.
He will often draw the head of his subject •
in the foreground and add illustrations of
what. his subject loves to do in the
background in 20 by 301 inch pencil
portraits.
"These types of portraits provoke a lot of
discussion and interest and it takes more
tote able to draw them like that -instead of
when they're sitting still with a, fixed smile
on their faces," he says. i
Duern will usually ask his subjects
allow him to observe them in an envirto"fi-
ment where they're comfortable and Will
pick out the element of their ves tp
•,
highlight himself.
Sometimes people are sur,
what I pick Ott and sonietirti a my'
pretation of them is' not *hat they t
themselves.,I telt people. if 'they" don?.
'their portrait, YI'll keep Itr*Ake' ru
transformed into a cowboy.
"Sometimes I run •across people who re-
mind
me of something and I like to make
up a, story ;of,,an incarnation .. they once
Were," he says.
Duerr also loves to do the portraits of
children past the age of 7, when he says
they're , developing character, likes,
dislikes and - mannerisms which are
reflected in their eyes.
Duern once captured the mischievous
side of an eight-year-old boy he'd drawn in
a family portrait. He accompanied the' boy
on an afternoon of bike riding and sketched
a completely different child than the sub-
' dued boy shown in the family portrait with
his.brother and parents. •
"With the wind tousling hishair and him
sitting on his bike, he looked like a little
Charles Bronson. The eyes and the mouth
• in a portrait say everything," says Duern.
One. of Duern's inspirations for his por-
trait work is his "hero" Norman Rockwell.
As an art student in the 1930s, Duern met
and talked with Rockwell whose
philosophy he still follows.
"When you grabonto something and you
really love it, you must do it. Tire read
Rockwell's books and what he does, I do,"
he says.
Along with his portraits, Duern is work-
ing on a' series of illustrations depicting
rural life in the:1900s'which an art society
in Toronto is sending to a : juried show in
London, England when•completed.
felt that nobody was: doing good pain-
tings of rural Canada especially of rural
people. I did a.let of research and I found a
farm nearby*herethe people are wonder-
ful. They've dressed up in period costumes
and modelled for me and .I fill in the
background with my knowledge of what
1900s," he says.
"The illustrations are exciting and
they're based on my knowledge and skill. I
like to tell a story' rather than duplicate a
scene."
He also works as an illustrator for TUCO
Products Company in Orangeville and has
drawn the rural scene for a limited edition
wall. plate which. will be used as a gift for
the company's feed representatives.
Inti order to communicate with fellow► ar
tists, Duern . joined the Owen Sound arts
council and ;the Tom ,Thompson gallery
which will exhibit his paintings and enter
them in pried shows. -
"1 think artists need to ommunicate to
survive. We need. to get meas about what
direction to go. We need artistic feedback
to keep alive mentally and physically.
When you're creative, you keep looking for
things�to�stick your'nose into," he says
Far from retired, intern says he' eon -
siders his portrait -drawing and his rural
scenes to make up a whole new career.
"I' don't think people should put their
feet up at a certain age. At age 55, young
people should think about what they're g� ,
in'g to do when they're out of the rat race."
"My business is important.along as it
keeps me going, ,not because of the
money," he says.
1111111111.111111111
By Susan Hundertmark
Suffering
the effects of
video hangover
lice
portraits can become legacies, e
s,
gbn sorieone,e•WaY OQ yearsSfom
'
MO says theevevaluable.
i t think of anything nice than a.
�y'trait, l tryttoi,inake mysub jecs
!.
liatthe ,.'dlike,t'o loo's like: acid .... d6•: <lete.etatement.;
don't c mpare'thein to anyone else.
• c ,.p across a face
��oasio�ially, Duern runs„. _
-*ink he'le, cap' urs Whet a la uyi `:
visiied his*orkshop once, Duern handed
alit old hevithoy hat and asked Il he
Wj �h �i� is crinkly:e ar”
dY ±at tri# Y Ftlf l -
the architecture looked . like during the
I'm suffering at the time of this writing
from what I've come to call a "video
hangover."
It's the result of unlimited access to a
VCR and a stack of movies over the
weekend. And, it's characterized by sore,
bloodshot eyes ringed with black circles
the size of, jumbo tea bags, a feeling of
lethargy and exhaustion and a numb
brain.
From the time the VCR arrived in the
house until the time it left, I was a mute
spectator watching movie after movie
while jamming junk food into my mouth.
The sunny skies and the warm spring
breezes on, Sunday could not entice me
away from the screen., Like the
domineering computer Hal in the movie
`2001, A Space Odyssey', my rented VCR
commanded I sit endlessly watching.
And, 1 obeyed.
Beginning at dawn, throughout the
sun's journey across the sky and late into
the night, I sat laughing, crying, gasping
and reacting/to the constant stimuli on
the screen.
I lived through Meryl Streep's.fatal car
crash in 'Silkwood', I felt Jack
Nicholson's knife plunge into my throat
in 'Prizzi's Honor' and I played a mean
blues harmonica with John Belushi in
'The Blues Brothers.'
And, now I'm paying for the wild, -
though. vicarious, living I did over the
weekend. My eyes blur and my brain
strains as I sit trying to create this col-
umn before another type of video screen,
my word processing machine. It's a little
like tasting the hair of the dog that bit me
and I'm starting to come out of my
zombie -like trance.
I've decided that I'll do a lot of thinking
before I ever consider buying a VCR of
my own. Because, I know I could let it
control me.
Like every other member of the TV
generation, I'm susceptible. Afterall, I
was weaned on the boob tube. I've been
told I,could be instantly pacified as.an in-
fant -by being placed in front of Walter...
Cronkite and the six o'clock news.. -My
parents would relax and eat dinner while
their baby daughter sat enthralled by
Walter's talking head and moving pic-
tures. It was the beginning of a lasting
relationship.
When I moved away from home to live
on my own for the first time, my televi-
sion was my companion. Usedto a loud,
boisterous family, I was uneasy at the
silence of my apartment. But, a blaring
television filled the silence and made me
feel at home whether I was watching it or
not. -
But, while it's great company and
great entertainment in moderation, die
television can become an excuse for ac-
complishing little 'else than watching
endlessly. Add a VCR. and an even more
powerful' inertia holds the watcher before
the screen.
My worry is not with the activity of
watching whatever is playing on the
screen. I'm concerned, about what I and
anyone else fail to accomplish because of
our constant companion, the video
screen. .
For example, my 'family depends ex-
tensively on the television, and a newly -
acquired VCR for ,entertainment. On
weekends, everyone arrives with a hand-
ful of videos, one is inserted into the
machine and the marathon begins. From
then until 'Sunday night, there is little
conversation, little physical activity and
little communication other than, "Pass
me the ' chips,"" or "Get me a Coke,
please."
Without the addictive screen playing,
family members grow visibly nervous,
unable to think of much to say to each
other. Discussing family news becomes a
run-down of a list of movies consumed
that week. People don't look at each
other when they talk; instead, their eyes
are drawn to the blank TV screen, acute-
ly aware of itssinactivity and anticipating
the next movie to, be shown.
Important family discussions about
problems or mutual concerns seem to
have been put on hold since the VCR
arrived.
_.`he business of talking about feelings
and arriving, at family solutions is, of
course, a lot of work. Plugging in the next
video is easier and much more pleasant.
And, with the accumulation of time filled
with movies, it grows easier still to put
off comtrlunication.
We'Va become lazier too. In the grips of
a vided coma, exercise is out of the ques-
tion, no matter how beautiful the weather
is outside. The closest we come is
sweating in sympathy while Jane Fonda
gyrates •through her workout video.
Even dragging ourselves. up to the
fridge for more food is an effort. But, we
somehow Manage to get to the nearest
convenience store for another fix of
videos when the first Supply runs out.
After such a weekend, it takes a little
while for my'brain to sharpen up again,
profound thoughts and arrange
semblence of order. I
..ebg size/my weakness for videos in ex
cess an'd the valuable time they eat up in
ut i was encouraged when '.looked in.
' ' ` morning. eyes'have
a� this tt , g.,a My` tik TV
gte e at bin otiv ,
If he Were younger, Duern says he might
e Instigated starting an art gallery
e r
t6,0odefloittnnft Loudon or` Oen.
forbid to nurture his creativity.
;, tin,•
: artist; should be �'us�".,�
ft hive tine to paddle,s
The t's Why wehave' MIA*"
sliorlss.
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