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original wall art & prints  Fine Art  Local artists Prince George  , BC ~ Fine Art

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© Anne Kiteley  1974-2021 /  © Anne Kiteley Art 1974-2021

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Updated: Jan 2, 2021

Although The Retired Palette may seem to some, to be a completely intentional thing...it is not. What now looks like an artwork gone completely mad with fury, with no subject really, or effort whatsoever, it is in fact just that. Paints gone wild, over many many years which unintentionally became The Retired Palette.


This is the palette where paint was laid down, mixed and thinned to compile many of the artworks in my collection over quite a long period of time. Most, if not all of the art pieces in my `From Under The Bed` vintage collection were born of paints which now sleep forever, undisturbed, cured on this palette.


When I look at the palette, I am brought back in time to many moments, and re-experience the emotions that were involved in different works. The curtain raises, and nostalgic glimpses into different times of my life dance about on stage unchoreographed. It is in essence a part of me. The curtain has come down, but the palette lives on...in a story.


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It feels like -35 according to my weather app. A perfect day to be in 'art mode' and post to my blog. Upon thinking of ideas for my next art project, I contemplated reviving 'The Rose', which lead to the idea of writing about 'The Rose'. Crime involving art usually makes for an exciting read right? But in this case, the act of procrastination was certainly an accomplice in a hard lesson not learned. Are you familiar with 'stippling'? Stippling is a method used in art where the piece is created by applying one dot at a time, say with an ink pen. This is the method I had used to create 'The Rose'. I can't recall how long it took me to create this gigantuous and majestic rose. I speculate it took thousands of dots to complete the piece; perhaps tens of thousands, or perhaps more. I believe the size was about 1.5 ft x 2 ft. I was very proud when it was completed, and in fact wondered if I may be a bit crazy to have obsessively put that many dots on a piece of paper. On a side note, I still question my sanity to this day, over 30 years later, when I tackle a new art project using this method. The reward was, that my piece, along with those of my art classmates, would be displayed in the school library for the entire school to see. Pretty exciting right? Soon after it was displayed, the librarian approached me, and shockingly offered me $100 for my stippled 'Rose'. Hmmm, okay, so no typical offer of trade for Hubba Bubba bubblegum, chocolate bars or the dessert in your lunchbox for a week...but rather...CASH. Alrighty then, had to think this one over. I had an issue, where I struggle to part with my art. And so I pondered and pondered. After all of that work and all of those dots...do I part with the art? The librarian approached me a few more times and I struggled to make up my mind. Finally, I made a decision and decided I would part with it. Afterall, a hundred bucks was a lot of money! I could not wait to get to school the next morning and go see the librarian. Well, when I arrived at the DP Todd library doors, they were locked. I peered through the glass windows, and could see that the library appeared a mess. The school had been broken into, and the library ransacked and vandalized. Books were torn from their shelves and strewn all about. The displayed art was torn down from the walls; several pieces ripped to shreds...including The Rose. Good-bye to The Rose and good-bye to a hundred bucks. Was this my lesson learned on the subject of 'art and procrastination'? No, not really. Although I deeply regretted my delayed decision and losing out on my riches, I was much more regretful and devestated that my work had been invasively destroyed and erased from existence. To this day, there are works I still struggle to part with, and may not part with ever. And there are those, that I have made final decisions to never part with, despite what I may lose out on. So I guess, maybe, lesson not learned. And on a final note..suspects still at large.

All that is left of 'The Rose'; a sketch created in preparation and planning for the large scale version of 'The Rose' using the method of 'Stippling' - the completed piece, which was destroyed, measured about 18" x 24" to the best of my recollection.

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Updated: Dec 26, 2020


So it is destined that my first blog post be about one of my very early art pieces titled 'The Floating Rose'. I'm flashing back to Mr. Dalton's grade 9 art class at DP Todd Secondary School where this painting was born. Mr. Dalton was a laid back, 'laissez faire', down to earth kind of teacher. He was a good art teacher. I remember him showing me how to do a water droplet on a leaf in chalk pastel. 'The Floating Rose' was the first piece of art I sold. I had never parted with my art to a stranger before. Although I painted it when I was 14 years old, I would not part with it until about 4-5 years later. It was a very difficult decision to make. Very occasionally, I wonder where it is now. I had sold it at the old Flea Market at Parkhill Centre in Prince George, BC, where I had rented a table to sell all sorts of household items. I put a price on it of $20, and a fellow came around and bought it. Goodbye 'Floating Rose'. Painted with cheap water based school supply paint, and certainly not on archival paper, the thought crosses my mind that the paint has likely cracked and cratered and fallen off in pieces. Poor buyer. Novice artist sells to novice buyer. Where could it be now, over 30 years later? Is it crumpled in a corner under someone's dark and dusty staircase? Is it beautifully framed and preserved by an art lover appreciative of and endeared by amateur work? Had it sat stalled unsold at it's 3rd garage sale for $1, then finally turfed to the dump? Has someone googled the signature of the artist and the internet has come up empty since it is signed in my maiden name? Was it used for fire starter or quarter folded to tuck under a table leg to stop a wobble? I am glad I at least took a picture of it. When I become famous one or two hundred years from now, at least they will have a photograph to show, when it is featured as one of my great lost works.

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