Steven Rhude - Paintings/Drawings

"Painting is the representation of visible forms. The essence of realism is its negation of the ideal." - Gustave Courbet Stairway, Cape Spear, oil on canvas, 20" x 16", Steven Rhude Study for Modernity, oil on copper, 6" x 9", Steven Rhude Solo Buoy, oil on copper, 5 1/4" x 7 1/8", Steven Rhude Three Buoys and Box, oil on copper, 4.5" x 6", Steven Rhude Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS

"That's why I feel strongly about a lot of so called realism today which I think I've had a very bad influence on. They think it's the amount of detail and that really isn't it. Yes, a detail should be there and it should be carried far, but the picture's got to be bigger than that. Otherwise it doesn't hang together and it doesn't give you the force of the thing. It's got to be abstracted through your vision, your mind . It's a process of going through detail in order eventually to obtain simplification and cutting out...." - Andrew Wyeth Oil on canvas, in progress oil on etched copper plate, in progress oil on etched copper plate, in progress oil on etched copper plate, in progress Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS.

Red, Yellow, Blue, oil on copper etching plate, 11" x 14", Steven Rhude Bowling Alley, Avalon Peninsula, o/c etching plate, 11" x 14", Steven Rhude Buoy with Blue Square, o/c etching plate, 9" x 6", Steven Rhude I'm continuing to use up some old copper etching plates for oil paintings. Steven Rhude, Wolfville, NS.

Cathedral, o/p, 24" x 24", Steven Rhude "These structures are beauty, they are our Eiffel Tower, our Statue of Liberty..our Leaning Tower of Pisa. They have stories which we need to see, hear and feel at this time when we need it the most."                                                                                                                          Laura Kenney “The past reminds us of timeless human truths and allows for the perpetuation of cultural traditions that can be nourishing; it contains examples of mistakes to avoid, preserves the memory of alternatives ways of doing things, and is the basis for self-understanding…”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Bettina Drew

Between the Lighthouses, o/p, 24" x 24", Steven Rhude Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society DOOMSDAY LIST This is a partial list of Canadian lighthouses and lightstation buildings in danger of being lost through neglect and environmental conditions.  *Please note that as of the end of May, 2010, ALL Canadian lighthouses, aside from those staffed by resident keepers, or those maintained by Parks Canada, municipalities, or community groups, are now on the Doomsday List because they were declared surplus by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. For details visit the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act page.    Bear River, NS   Decommissioned wooden lighthouse Cape North, NS   1981 wooden lighthouse (demolished in May 2010) Cape Roseway, NS   Two dwellings and old fog alarm building Country Island, NS   Keepers house (one house burned in 2005) Cross Island, NS   Keepers houses, fog alarm building, garage, shed Devils Island, NS   Wooden lighthouse and k