{"id":25175,"date":"2017-07-14T03:56:39","date_gmt":"2017-07-14T10:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=25175"},"modified":"2017-07-11T22:26:01","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T05:26:01","slug":"artists-work-complementary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/07\/14\/artists-work-complementary\/","title":{"rendered":"Artists\u2019 work complementary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artists Michael Abelman and Victoria Scudamore share the walls at Zack Gallery in the exhibit Sea to Sky. (photo by Olga Livshin)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In the exhibit Sea to Sky at Zack Gallery, the artists\u2019 works complement each other. Michael Abelman\u2019s seascapes and floral compositions lean towards the pensive and are a little wistful, while Victoria Scudamore\u2019s abstract paintings add splashes of colour and joy to the gallery walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always liked crafts, since I was a child,\u201d Scudamore said in an interview with the Independent<\/em>, \u201cbut I could never draw. I was a realtor for 30 years. Then, seven years ago, I fell off my bike and broke a wrist. A month later, I decided to take an art class. I thought: I couldn\u2019t draw anyway, I would just have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a>
\u201cChakra Forest\u201d by Victoria Scudamore.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She did have fun. But, also during that class, she discovered the style of intuitive, abstract painting and fell in love with it. \u201cIt resonated with me,\u201d she recalled. She started taking more classes. \u201cArt became a real passion of mine,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I have to paint every day. I don\u2019t feel whole if I don\u2019t paint. This is my first show, and I\u2019m very excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her elation is unmistakable as she talks about her creative process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an abstract expressionist. I try to capture emotions in my paintings,\u201d she explained. \u201cI want to show movement, colours in motion, to show connections. To paint abstract, I need to be in a dreamy space. I often listen to \u201970s rock music and sometimes I dance when I paint. Once, I accidentally knocked off a bottle of ink onto one of my paintings, but I didn\u2019t throw it away. I saw something in the pattern of the ink stains and painted over it, used it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scudamore feels adventurous in her approach to art, ready to respond to any stimulus, be it a forest, a seashore, a flower, a bird, an ink stain or a stray thought. \u201cI often paint two paintings at a time,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel freer to explore this way. Like a scientist, I experiment with colours, shapes and textures. Sometimes, I fall in love with a certain palette and do a series based on those colours. It\u2019s all intuitive. I never know where I\u2019ll end up when I start a painting. The beginning is the most exciting moment for me, a mystery. I\u2019m child-like when I paint. I\u2019m in the realm of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her happiness in creating art makes her brave and self-confident. \u201cI don\u2019t compare myself with other artists,\u201d she said. \u201cSure, Michael [Abelman] has been painting for 20 years; he has much more experience than I do, but I think artists shouldn\u2019t compare with each other. It steals joy. We are all on different paths, our own paths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abelman agrees with that sentiment. \u201cI\u2019ve been painting for 20 years but only showing for five years,\u201d he said. \u201cLike Victoria, I don\u2019t compare myself with other artists, only with myself. My art is changing, evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sea to Sky is Abelman\u2019s second show at the Zack. His solo show in 2014 was a rainbow explosion of flowers but, this year, his paintings demonstrate a different level of maturity. Although half of his paintings are still flowers, their colours are more pastel and the ambience more contemplative. \u201cIt feels like another stage in my art and in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe I\u2019m getting older.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a>
\u201cRed Ship Entering Bay\u201d by Michael Abelman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Half of his exhibited paintings this year are ships: in winter and in summer, in the morning mist and in the glowing sunset. \u201cI painted ships before but, recently, I find myself drawn to them. My ship paintings are quiet, while the flowers are always louder, exuberant with colours. I still paint flowers, but I wanted more. If you could find beauty in a tulip you could find beauty in a ship, too. I wanted to show it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abelman said ships reflect a sense of exploration but also of loneliness. \u201cA ship is always alone amid the vast ocean, and even near the shore,\u201d he said. \u201cYou could see lots of ships in Vancouver. They arrive and depart daily. I take pictures of them when I walk along the waterline, then I take different things from different photos for my paintings.\u201d<\/p>\n

He constantly works on improving his skills and widening his range of expression. \u201cProfessionally,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019m an accountant, but I never tried so hard in accounting as I do in art; never enjoyed accounting so much either. In art, I\u2019m driven. I want to succeed, to be better. I don\u2019t care if I sell, but I want to paint better. I\u2019ve been taking art classes for years, and the more I learn, the more I realize how much I still need to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Scudamore, he paints every day but, unlike his partner in the show, his deep immersion in art doesn\u2019t come easily. \u201cPainting is hard for me,\u201d he admitted. \u201cYou go into your own world for hours at a time. It\u2019s a form of meditation. I have to focus, so no music for me when I paint. Sometimes, I listen to the news, but mostly I concentrate on my art.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibit Sea to Sky continues until July 30. For more information, check out the artists\u2019 websites: victoriascudamore.com<\/a> and michaelabelmanpaints.blogspot.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artists Michael Abelman and Victoria Scudamore share the walls at Zack Gallery in the exhibit Sea to Sky. (photo by Olga Livshin) In the exhibit Sea to Sky at Zack Gallery, the artists\u2019 works complement each other. Michael Abelman\u2019s seascapes and floral compositions lean towards the pensive and are a little wistful, while Victoria Scudamore\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[2466,251,6691,7247,40],"class_list":["post-25175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-art","tag-michael-abelman","tag-painting","tag-victoria-scudamore","tag-zack-gallery"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}