Studs n Stripes XXYYX

You never know what will come through the 'window' next. A question arrived from a curious reader, “I was looking at your website which shows your extensive career and was wondering why have we not heard of you, as an artist?” What is one to say? Maybe this question should be directed to the Canadian art establishment and the gatekeepers. Already forty-two years ago, TIME magazine featured a full page article with two colour reproductions from my solo exhibition in Paris, May 1966. You can see one of the paintings here, "Light Sprang Forth" (acrylic on canvas). It was never my motivation to paint for fame, but rather for the joy of exploring and evolving. Sure, the policies and practices of the gatekeepers caused me a great deal of unpleasantness. On the other hand, this eventually became fuel to carry on, (together with the encouragement of my mentor), something like a reverse reaction. A spurring onwards. It has been quite a ride and I hope will continue to be. If I had been caught up in the wing-clipping and restraints of the professional art scene, I'd never have had the extraordinary depth of expeditionary travel experience under my belt. Five continents, the seven seas, remote and exotic islands including St. Helena, the Galapagos, Pitcairn, Easter Island, Komodo dragon island in the Banda Sea, Fiji, the Solomons, New Guinea, crossing Lake Titicaca, rainforests, coral reefs and Antarctica, to name a few. (The other picture here shows a friend I met on South Georgia in the Antarctic, protecting his turf.) All thanks indirectly to the ill-will and negativity from the art establishment. So you see, from adversity to adventure. And evolving. Now, with my seventy-ninth "turn around the sun" on the horizon, this blog venture is yet another new direction set on the compass of my life. I hope this answers the initial question. Signing off, Henri