2016 Procreated inspirations
Life, places, people and time
Ian Bateson, art director, graphic designer and artist
2016 i Procreated Life, places, people and time
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I began 2016 in England, visiting my Mother who will turn 91 in October. The fifteen pieces I did from that period are not included in this book but published on ISSUE entitled A month of Procreating in England. The address for all my books is; https://issuu.com/ icreate/docs This was also the first time in four years of producing work using Procreate, that I was commissioned to provide a specific piece as a retirement gift for my libraries Manager, Gayle Woeste, which you can view at the end of this publication. As the year progressed, my trusted iPad and I photographed many of the images used to create this body of work. I also returned to images captured whilst in Venice in 2013, New York in 2014, China in 2015, England during 2015-16 and of course here at home in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
All works are Copyright Ian BatesonŠ 2016-2017
I continue to use my acrylic paintings in conjunction with photography and painting within the app, though they are heavily disguised once they become part of a multi-layered Procreate piece of art. v 3
Seeing through lenses fig 1; Venice in Fairbanks: Marble statues photographed in Venice in 2013 are incongruously standing outside the iconic entrance of the Fairbanks history museum. Below their feet stand Terracotta warriors from China. fig 2; Intersection: A bollard captured near my home in North Vancouver, heavily embellished in the app with nine layers of modelling and painting.
fig 1; Venice in Fairbanks 54cm x 40cm.
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fig 2; Intersection, 54cm x 40cm.
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The joy of walking fig 3; English Bay: Shadows in Spring and Summer play off the sea wall in Stanley Park and with the help of a rose and a English Bay sky the tone was set for this piece. fig 4; Organic 11: Shots from Steveston, the New York skyline and reeds captured in Stanley park provided the base for this eleven layered artwork.
fig 3; English Bay, 54cm x 40cm.
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fig 4; Organic 11, 54cm x 40cm
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Marina Hasselberg fig 5; The Needle Seattle: An eight layered artwork comprising of a photo of the iconic Needle in Seattle, an iron clad window from Venice and layers of paint, smudging and erasing in Procreate. fig 6; A gift to Marina Hasselberg: The Needle in Seattle provided a wonderful counterpoint to NOVO’s ECHOES concert featuring works for solo cello by J.S.Bach and Mark Haney, this concert also included two world premieres by Jordan Nobles and Ben Wylie. I was so inspired by Marina’s performance, catching a moment at the end of the Ben Wylie work where she had sequentially recorded each segment, building to a crescendo then simply sat to listen with the rest of us. Marina Hasselberg was In performance at the Gordon Smith Gallery, March 4, 2016.
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fig 5; The Needle Seattle, 45cm x 108cm.
fig 6; My gift to Marina Hasselberg.
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On my door step fig 7; Steveston reflected: It’s odd how certain images just fit the needs for the composition. This artwork relied on a single shot taken below the piers at Steveston, some painting, smudging and deleting, but something was missing, so I introduced an element from a shot taken in the underground whilst in New York. fig 8; Organic 12: this is a very simple work, comprising four layers; a shot of a glass jar on my deck with a cutting placed in water and a couple of paint and smudging layers.
fig 7; Steveston reflected, 54cm x 40cm.
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11 fig 8; Organic 12, 51cm x 51cm.
Variations on a theme fig 9; Q Market 2016 #1: Lonsdale Market is a favourite haunt to see people, eat and shop. This was a very complex piece of work, cutting out the Q-tower, colour correcting within the app and painting. fig 10; Q Market 2016 #2: Colour variation using the curves tool in Procreate.
fig 9; Q Market 2016 #1, 51cm x 68cm.
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fig 10; Q Market 2016 #2, 51cm x 68cm.
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Found and rediscouvered fig 11; Irradiated onion: My wife discouvered this wonderful onion in bloom, I found a way to make it into a beautiful object of art. We later planted the onion which produced sweet succulent, shallot like tiny onions. fig 12; Granville: A complex mix of images shot in China and Vancouver along with layers of painting, smudging and deletion.
fig 11; Irradiated onion, 39cm x 92cm.
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15 fig 12; Granville, 68cm x 51cm.
Places and people fig 13; Dog: An Alaskan sled dog photographed while visiting Denali Park in 2014, turned into this nine layered Procreate piece, produced whilst in England earlier this Spring. fig 14; Pacific Blvd: This thirteen layered artwork is one of series on people and locations from Vancouver, China and England produced between May and August.
fig 13; Dog, 54cm x 40cm.
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17 fig 14; Pacific Blvd, 68cm x 51cm.
Acrylic and Procreate fig 15; Time: Using simple photographs of plants, skies or places I’ve taken, can act as a layer of paint by using the smudging and deletion tools in conjunction with the myriad of brushes offered in the app. fig 16; Chaos: This started as an acrylic painting then photographed and imported into a Procreate canvas where I added nine layers of painting.
fig 15; Time, 65cm x 92cm.
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19 fig 16; Chaos, 54cm x 40cm.
Domestic recycling fig 17; Reanimated: Like most homes in Vancouver we now recycle organic food waste, providing a wonderful opportunity to play with the various piles that accumulate each day. In this case chicken bones my wife boils for stock and a few layers of painting within the app. fig 18; Descending leaf: Another example of our daily kitchen organic waste pile offering an opportunity for art.
fig 17; Reanimated, 54cm x 40cm.
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21 fig 18, Descending leaf, 20”x 15”.
Metamorphosis fig 19; Tree growth: During a stay with my Mother in May and June, I would walk the green pastures of Garstang whilst she slowly came to over a bacon butty. On these walks, nature presented some wonderful opportunities such as the abundant fungal growth on this tree. fig 20; Rolling; Produced whilst in England, but the photo used as the basis for Rolling was shot in Vancouver and is a 19th century railway caboose, permanently parked on Mainland Street in Yaletown, Vancouver.
fig 19; Tree growth, 51cm x 68cm.
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23 fig 20; Rolling, 68cm x 51cm.
Reflections fig 21; English ducks: On another of my English morning walks in early June, I came across these amicable ducks, not at all concerned by my presence. This was also a time in England where the country was holding a referendum to leave Europe in June and on my return to Canada they voted to do just that. fig 22; Dragon boaters: On my return from England, June 17, Jean and I decided to treat ourselves to a day out and witness the June 19, Dragon Boat festival. Large crowds of diverse people mingled as both participants and spectators. This added content for my “People, Places and Movement”, people enjoying the seasons best offerings, such as May Day in England or Canada Day, I found a new series to explore using Procreate. The next two spreads deal with this concept and are wide format, so I’m doing away with this sidebar of copy to allow adequate space to view each piece. 24 fig 21; English ducks, 54cm x 54cm.
fig 22; Dragon boaters, 108cm x 45cm.
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fig 23; May Day parade in Garstang, 108cm x 45cm.
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fig 24; Canada Day, 108cm x 45cm.
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fig 25; Shanghai passing, 108cm x 45cm.
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fig 26; Self Portraite on the Garstang Golf and Country Club, 108cm x 45cm.
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Imagined or real? fig 27; Four Orbs: Composition using concrete balls and various layers of paint and smudging in Procreate. fig 28; John Sharp, 2016: An old friend and fellow artist from Manchester, England, imposed within one of my acrylic paintings.
fig 27; Four Orbs, 51cm x 51cm.
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31 fig 28; John Sharp 2016, 68cm x 51cm.
Marina Hasselberg fig 29; Marina and John: A live concert featuring Marina Hasselberg, cello, and John Oliver, electronics, that took place at the Gold Saucer, Vancouver, Canada, August 6, 2016. Photo credit to Alex Waterhouse-Hayward, Procreate art included multiple layers of painting. fig 30; Marina in Poppies: Ecstasy was performed August 20, 2016 with amazing guests: Cathy Fern Lewis (voice), Rodney Sharman (recorder), and Alanna Ho (water sounds) performing music by Rodney Sharman, Linda Caitlin Smith, John Cage, Alanna Ho and Hildegard von Bingen.
fig 29; Marina and John, 51cm x 68cm.
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fig 30; Marina in Poppies, 68cm x 51cm.
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Visitors from abroad fig 31; Love locks: The summer provided an opportunity to be tourists in BC, starting with a visit from my sister in law and husband in July. We visited Manning Park, Mission and Harrison Hot Springs. This image comprised eight layers of painting, smudging and deletion. fig 32; Flights of fancy: Comprise of kites flying over Steveston and the surreal interior of the bath houses at Harrison Hot Springs.
fig 31; Love locks, 54cm x 40cm
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fig 32; Flights of fancy 2016 #2, 68cm x 51cm.
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fig 33; Beetle on my wall: Entering my front door in late July, I came across this wonderful, large beetle sunning itself which when captured—photographically—turned into a thirteen level Procreate piece and presented as a polyptych. fig 34; Garden of pleasure: A trip to the UBC botanical gardens with my visiting sister in law and her husband, where the flowers were in full bloom and the wonderful out door atrium theatre shot presented an opportunity to combine the Roman statue —photographed in the New York Museum during our 2014 trip—along with sixteen layers of painting, smudging and deleting to create this piece.
fig 33; Beetle on my wall, 51cm x 68cm x 4.
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fig 34; Garden of pleasure, 40cm x 54cm.
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fig 35; Ravens in the Rockies: During late August and early September we had the opportunity to take visiting friends from Australia on a tour of BC. On arriving at the Athabasca Glacier a Raven provided some light entertainment, showing no fear I was able to snap a few shots that became the basis for this eleven layered work. fig 36; They are coming: Visiting the Victoria museum, two particular displays caught my eye—an Albacore Tuna and a Ocean Sunfish—both typically found in warmer, southern seas. Recent records of BC waters show higher temperatures and hence an increase in the number of these fish, creating pressure on an already stressed ecosystem.
fig 35; Ravens in the Rockies, 68cm x 51cm.
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fig 36; They are coming, 68cm x 51cm.
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fig 37; Tiger Beetle on deck: This beautiful insect posed without movement, giving me the opportunity to capture it on the iPad and then produce this piece. fig 38; Salmon & Cod: With yet another group of visitors this summer, required we take another trip to Steveston, a popular tourist spot and a one time busy fishing and cannery village in Southern Richmond on the mouth of the Fraser River. I captured the raw images of Salmon and Cod in the Canada Council run museum and later created this procreate art with multiple layers of paint and filters.
fig 37; Tiger Beetle on deck, 54cm x 54cm.
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fig 38; Salmon & Cod, 68cm x 51cm.
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fig 39; Salmon & Cod 2: Another from our trip to Steveston, capturing the raw images of returning, spawning Salmon and Ling Cod in the Canada Council run museum. fig 40; Vancouver Taiwan Day: Wandering through a closed Granville Street to traffic in July, provided me a wonderful opportunity to grab images of these traditional dancers and spectators.
fig 35; Salmon & Cod 2, 68cm x 51cm.
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fig 40; Vancouver Taiwan Day, 68cm x 51cm.
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About Ian Bateson Education
Influences
1970 – 1974 Lancaster College Of Art. Graduated with Honours, Illustration and Graphic Design.
During his extensive travels, lan has visited some of the major world galleries; the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the Tate in London, the Lourve in Paris, the National in Washington and Biennale in Venice. Through these collections, from the 18th Century William Turner to Picasso in the 19th Century and Willem de Kooning and the American abstract expressionists in the 20th Century, Ian discovered wonder and amazement when in the presence of such exceptional works of art.
Experience During the 1970’s and early 80’s Ian worked in the field of illustration and graphic design, building a solid reputation with the publishing industry as an illustrator of children’s books and a designer and illustrator for academic publications. Ian worked with Douglas & McIntyre, UBC Press, Harbour Publishing and various other international houses. From 1986 to 2012, Ian helped build Baseline Type & Graphics Cooperative into a thriving creative design studio, working for major corporations, businesses, government agencies and NGO’s telling their stories through well crafted design and marketing solutions. Ian now uses the skills he gained over 30 years, to apply his thoughts and imagination through personal, interpretive art. Ideas expressed through sketch books, photographs and finalized as digital art, output to either giclees or limited edition laser prints.
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The art of typography is also a keen interest influenced by; William Caslon, John Baskerville, Frutiger, Max Miedinger for their wonderful type designs and Ian Hamilton Finlay, Dom Sylvester Houédard and Edwin Morgan, for their amazing concrete poetry.
Artistic
expression
Ian creates an impression, mood and emotion through use of colour and form. He takes from his immediate environment and reflects a visual metaphor. Assemblage and painting, for example, will turn into an expression of questioning or perhaps anger or maybe a moment reflecting on the environment. v
Publications:
from
Ian Bateson’s Studio 2012-16 A five week Christmas break spent with my Mother in North West England, allowed for some downtime between our extensive trips—in a hired car—to produce these fourteen pieces using Procreate. The book portrays the finished artwork accompanied by notes and the raw photographs used to create each piece. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/ a_month_of_procreating_in_england
An exciting and sad year, April saw my wife Jean and I fulfill a long wanted trip to China and we were also saddened to learn of the death of a good friend and writer Mark Budgen. These were the experiences that shaped these works produced both in Canada and England. View the book here: http://issuu.com/icreate/docs/ 2015_procreated_inspirations
Twenty eight pieces – by no means the entirety of my output – from my remaining 2014 volume of work representing the themes of air, land, water and other. Many are derived from my travels to England, the US, Europe and Canada using photo’s, painting and effects to create the multi-layered art work. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/ 2014procreated_inspirations
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Whimsical interpretations of fossils, skulls and bones – photographed at the Natural History Museum during a trip to New York – positioned within environments I had visited and photographed in other parts of the world. You can review the original photographs, descriptions of my process and the final art when using an iPad and the Procreate app. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/2014_iprocreate2b
A trip – September, 2013 – to Alaska, photographs taken at the Fairbanks Museum and also during a five day tour of the Denali Park. My first ISSUU book of work, completed in 2012-13 using an iPad and the Procreate app. View the book here: http://issuu.com/icreate/docs/i_procreate
From a long desire to utilize some of the many photographs taken with my second digital camera and before obtaining an iPad, this was my first attempt through a series of sixteen specific Vancouver photographs that I converted into art using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop in 2012. This series won an adjudicated place in the Ferry Building Gallery and my first group show in 2013. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/ my_views_from_vancouver 46
I’ve struggled for some years to open my stored illustration work (and there are lots) done back in the early 80’s. Most of the ISSUU books I’ve completed over the last four years have been reflective of my work using Procreate or for my friend Alex Waterhouse-Hayward reviewing his incredible photographic talent in portraiture. This is a legacy for my sons, Julian and Kim to experience what I did to both live my dream as an illustrator and feed the family. I hope I succeeded on all fronts. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/ 2015_a_book_about_a_book2 To celebrate twenty five years of work at Baseline Type & Graphics Cooperative on November 19, 2010, I began a blog containing a history of our studio and the work we carried out before and during the adoption of a digital workflow. As Baseline no longer exhibited a web site in 2016, the only record left was a Wordpress site which I have edited to fit this format. View the book here: https://issuu.com/icreate/docs/a_2011_blog_a_2016_book
Exhibitions: Dec 2013: North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Anonymous Show. Mar 2014: Ferry Building Gallery, West Vancouver. Abstracting Colour Photography.
Nov 2014: Federation of Canadian Artists, Digital art show. Dec 2014: North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Anonymous Show.
Dec 2015: North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Anonymous Show. Dec 2016: North Vancouver Community Arts Council, Anonymous Show. 47 All materials are © Copyright of Ian Bateson’s Studio.
Ian Bateson, art director, graphic designer and artist t. 604 984 9283 c. 604 809 8409 ibateson@icloud.com www.ianbatesonstudio.com facebook.com/ian.bateson twitter.com/ibateson
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