FRONT ROW BY ROBERT MOYES
ONE-MAN BLUES BAND
PHOTO BY RAY MORRIS
Looking like a backwoods miner with his scruffy hat, long hair and thick beard fanned across his chest, bluesman Dave Harris is one of the most recognizable buskers working the Inner Harbour. He is famed as a one-man band and his elaborate kit includes metalbodied “resonator” guitars, rack harmonica, fiddle, banjo, foot drum and cymbal. The definition of versatility, Harris plays slide guitar, is a mean finger picker, and can segue into some fancy fiddling or banjo twanging while tossing off tasty harmonica wails and pounding out a drum beat. He’s been doing this in Victoria for 36 years now, putting in long hours during a season lasting from April to late October. “I really come out of a Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy bluesrock background,” explains Harris, even though he’s better known for playing everything from ragtime to country blues, and features the likes of Earl Hooker, Reverend Gary Davis and Big Bill Broonzy in his 400-song repertoire. Harris will showcase some of his own material when he makes a rare indoor appearance for the Victoria Folk Music Society. “There’ll be an open stage at 7:30, then I come on at 9:00,” says Harris. “I guess I’ll be doing folkie songs, and pre-war blues.” Appearing February 2 at Norway House, 1110 Hillside Avenue. Tickets at the door.
Recognizable busker Dave Harris performs in a rare indoor performance February 2 at Norway House on Hillside Ave.
PAINT IT THICK
Saskatchewan-born Kimberly Kiel had moved to Calgary and become a successful financial planner. Then she sold her practice in 2003 and, with no immediate plans, took an art class. Turns out she not only had a real aptitude, but also revelled in the expressive creativity of painting. Five years later, she realized she had a new career. “As a business professional I knew I could make that side of being an artist work,” says Kiel. “Plus, I had a thick skin, which also helps.” With Monet and Van Gogh as primary inspirations, Kiel typically starts from photos but quickly moves into semiabstractions; she uses oils and encaustic (pigment-infused wax) and her subjects are treescapes, florals and human figures. “I really love the painting, the thickness of the paint,” she says. “The subject is a bit secondary to the process.” Kiel is a dramatic colourist, and she wields her palette knife with great confidence — just as well, because painting with a palette knife is as unforgiving as calligraphy. Her debut show at Avenue Gallery will feature a dozen canvases. Kiel, who sells everything she can paint, says she’s always a little behind. “It’s a great problem to have,” she laughs. Running February 13–22 at 2184 Oak Bay Avenue. For information, see theavenuegallery.com.
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So Say You (12"x12," oil on canvas) showcases Kimberly Kiel’s skill with a palette knife.