Tuesday 17 January 2017

Marine artist chosen to paint outdoor mural

John Horton will first complete an original canvass painting for city hall to commemorate Canada 150 -

Renowned, award-winning maritime artist John Horton has been commissioned by the City of Richmond to produce a special new painting to be displayed at city hall. The piece will be replicated for an outdoor mural.

The $75,000 project is to commemorate Canada’s 150th anniversary. Horton will produce a painting that has multicultural and “working river” themes.

The painting is to reflect Richmond’s “rich tapestry of cultures, recognizing the original First Nations residents, early European settlers and the immigrants from a multiplicity of cultures that have since made their homes here,” according to a report to city council from public art planner Eric Fiss.

Horton, an official Canadian naval war artist, said he was honoured to take on the project and is considering painting the docking of the SV Titania — a clipper owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company that loaded the first shipment of canned salmon to Europe in 1889 — in Steveston.

Pending approval, the painting will hang outside of council chambers, above a couch. The mural site has yet to be determined. Horton will assist young, emerging maritime painters in painting the mural to the standards of the 24x36-inch framed, oil on board painting.

Coun. Harold Steves has taken issue with a number of public art projects in Richmond recently and has even called for the development-backed art fund to be disbanded with money put toward affordable housing.

Among his criticisms is the fact many of the artists commissioned are not local.

However, he said he is on board with Horton’s work. “He’s one of the top marine artists in the world. We’ll finally have some real art, not some lawn metal they call water,” said Steves, referencing Water #10, a sculpture at the west foot of Cambie Road, along the dyke.

Horton, born in Britain, was a long-time Richmond resident who has since relocated to Delta. He attended the Poole and Bournemouth School of Art in England as a young adult.

At a council meeting Jan. 9, Coun. Carol Day suggested writing up an agreement whereby prints could be sold in order to recoup costs. The city presently has permission to reproduce the painting but only for non-commercial purposes.
Resource:http://www.richmond-news.com/news/marine-artist-chosen-to-paint-outdoor-mural-1.7704602

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