Steven Rhude - Paintings/Drawings

Boy With Fossil, oil on panel, 24"x 48", Steven Rhude, private collection Probably the largest jigsaw puzzle he could think of. At least it looked that way from a distance. Two families with heads bowed solemnly, like an Edvard Munch image - treading along a stretch of coast line called Blue Beach. They walked like this, apparently not because of some serious ritual, or to check their footing, but to scan the stones, for that important piece of the puzzle. Hopefully one containing a mystery millions of years old. 'Check it out.'  It was a micro chip, in the truest sense. A innocuous piece of slate derived from larger pieces, and larger stones, and a large land mass, and an even larger coastline - and of course the big blue sea. Embedded in the stone a blackish impression. Reminiscent of flakes of material he once put in some paper he made years ago. Like a mold, it was safely secured by the stone's solidity.  He asked the boy what it was he had f

Dory on the Avalon, oil on canvas, 45.5"x 65.5", Steven Rhude, private collection Above the Avalon it's the end of time.   You can see the soaring preachers, and hear their endless whine. It's the year of the end of cities; since the month and day make twelve,       great excuse to escape the text; or even let go of the plow. The prodigal son returned home in rags,    all his plan's had to be shelved. His father welcomed him back, then the predictionist took a bow.    It's the month of the end of community; since the day and the hour make twelve,   we stumbled upon a Nail House in a road, resisting us once                          twice,                           three times,                                               Just the bones left,  of a once humble abode. Above the Avalon it's the end of time.   You can see the marching preachers, in an endless line. It's the day of the end of landscape; since the hour and t

Every portrait painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter... it is the painter, who on the colourless canvas reveals himself.                                                                                   Oscar Wilde A Meeting of the School Trustees, Robert Harris, 1885, National Gallery of Canada  “In and for each Province the legislature may exclusively make law as in relation to education.”  Constitution Act 1867 Raising two children who attend public school is in itself a joy and a challenge. Each day brings with it small victories, and at times concerns for the big picture. The Welsh born Canadian painter Robert Harris must of had some concerns too. What would he have thought of the problems looming over one of our most important democratic rights today? That is, the role of the Public School Trustee and Local School Board Democracy. In Nova Scotia, where I live, much has changed with that basic right. School board members are sti