"The Stage is Set" After a successful show last October in Edmonton, I am excited to announce the second showing of my watercolours here in Camrose Alberta. My wife Lea and I have strong ties to the community working on wayfinding signage for the city and brand identity. We have received 10 year recognition for supporting the historic restored Bailey Theatre. Camrose is our home and proud to be having the show here. Opening reception |
Oct 28th: 6 pm to 9 pm, Opening Reception Oct 29-30: 1 pm to 6 pm The Derrick Golf and Winter Club 3500 119 St NW in Edmonton AB |
Some people wait a life time for a moment like this. My wife said I should focus on the beauty of a painting not in what I don't like or could have done better. Every piece is a culmination of learned effects and mistakes that turn out to be the beauty transferred to the next work. I see the beauty and also see the progress. It is hard to separate the mind and the desire to achieve a goal from the final product. There is always the "Oh could I have done that a better way?" I am happy with this one, "Oh but wait... I have to do another one!" |
Feb 14 2020 I wrote about retirement and the change in life and the feeling of identity loss. In 2021 the identity loss is affected by a new catalyst, Covid 19! It has changed me in a way I wouldn't have expected. It has isolated me from who I am. I had to cancel my art show last May, pulled away by the pandemic from friends and social events. I have always thought of myself as fully functional without the need to have a great deal of human contact but the events of the past few years tell me otherwise. Maybe I do need the occasional head rub or slap on the back. What's also missing is the giveback. Slap someone on the back and give them a head noogy.
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A slap on the back and a head noogy from me to you |
The long awaited watercolour art show "There is Still Life", is set to take place October 28, 29, 30 2022. The Derrick Golf and Winter Club, 3500 119 St NW in Edmonton has been chosen as the event venue. The atmosphere and friendly staff make this a perfect showcase for my work. The Derrick Club provides amenities to the community that help add to the quality of life for it's members. My mother worked here as a waitress years ago providing us with the essentials of life. My show "There is Still Life" reflects these qualities.
I take discarded objects that I find in antique stores and repurpose them by placing them in settings that give them new life. With all the unpleasantness in the world as an artist I want to create a body of work that people will find some amazement, in a pleasant way. |
There is a story to be seen in everything created by nature and man that takes the viewer on a personal journey |
In our graphic design business, we have owned and operated for twenty five years, there were jobs that became very stressful. The last two years were particularly trying. The details became overwhelming and the complexity created cognitive fatigue. I could no longer take the stress and organize my thoughts. I would breakdown in tears or get angry because I could not communicate my ideas or thoughts to my partner.
It became obvious to me that it was time to retire but this created another problem. I went to art school became an art director in advertising agencies and then opened my own business and that is who I was for forty years. My identity stopped. I became depressed and lost. I needed to focus so I finished my basement, laminate floors and hung ceilings and then worked on my cabin and bought an old motorhome that had to be refurbished and...well you get the picture. This all helped distract me but there was still an underlying problem. I had to decide what I was, who I was. I have always been an artist and produced illustrations and paintings that have sold in galleries and directly to clients. I have worked in acrylics, oils, and pastels. I needed to change things up and dove brush first into full time painting. Changing my medium to watercolours gave me new life and new inspiration. It has changed my life. I am not trying to paint for a gallery or a client. I am painting what I want and creating what makes me happy. I found who I am and who I should be. Our daughter introduced my wife Lea and I to meditation. I am in no way a spiritual thinker but the technique of relaxing your mind and being in the moment is amazing. The past and the future exist only in your mind. Let it go. Thanks Lisa. Namaste. Who knew that retiring would create a feeling of loss and depression but the experience helped when it was time for my wife to retire. I understood what was happening to her and we worked through it together and are still working through the problem of self worth. I am a lucky man to have the family I do and the life I live. |
"I could no longer take the stress and organize my thoughts." |
Darcy Polny artist
May 2023
November 2022
September 2022
March 2022
January 2022
October 2021
February 2020
September 2018