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Sunday, Feb 14, 1999
The Vancouver Courier
Vancouver, BC
Artist Colors Off The Canvas
by Shawn Connor
Things
seem to fall into place for James Picard. The 35 year old artist says
that since he chose to pursue a career in painting and sculpting, the
hand of fate has nudged him along.
For instance, a little over a year ago Picard received a phone call asking him to report to the set of Millenium. A well-known actor and acquaintance of Picard's had mentioned the artist to the producer. The next thing Picard knew, he was playing a coroner for an episode. Picard, it should be noted, has never acted.
Other roles followed, including one as a doctor on an X-Files episode, and a small role in a Hollywood feature. The work dried up when Picard turned down offers due to other commitments, but it paid good money when the artist most needed it.
Picard hasn't acted since, but perhaps the experience whetted his appetite for appearing on camera. He's shooting a documentary with filmmaker Chris Hooper.
Picard is the subject and Hooper the director of Off The Canvas. It's another chance project that Picard seems to have fallen into although the project was as much Picard's idea as Hooper's. As with his brief acting career, the documentary came about by chance. Artist and filmmaker met when both were looking to move their careers up a notch.
Tired of spinning his palette in Vancouver, the Toronto- born Picard considered a major exhibition to publicize his work. Hooper, the former drummer for B.C. folk/pop band the Grapes of Wrath, decided to graduate from music videos to a bigger project.
" I have delusions of grandeur," says Picard, who, sitting in a Commercial Drive café wearing a tan corduroy jacket, projects an image of plain-spoken amiability.
" I want to take the documentary to film festivals in New York, London and L.A."
It's not that Picard isn't a successful artist. His bright, vibrant portraits and twisted metal sculptures have won him American awards, including an outstanding achievement nod at the 1996 New York Sculpting Competition. He's known internationally and has taught art in New York for the last three summers. But Canadians, he says, don't seem to care.
Hooper can relate. The Grapes of Wrath had the same trouble being taken seriously at home. " I think it's how Canadians are," says Hooper. "We don't want to be the loudest person in the crowd. We don't want to risk anything. It has to be accepted elsewhere."
Off The Canvas brings Picard's, and by association, Hooper's work to a wider audience. They agree that they want the documentary to emphasize Picard's work, and to consist not just of interviews with the artist but also with art collectors. Collectors range from those knowledgeable about art to those who don't know a Matisse from a Magritte. Still, they all have similar things to say, insists Hooper. "They all talk about how dedicated (Picard) is to painting and how he spends every second he can creating, whether it's doodling on napkins or painting." It's the creative obsession that drives artists like Picard that Hooper wants to explore.
The director/part-time surfer has shot about 10 hours of film and presents a six-minute preview at the Blinding Light, Feb. 15, along with several of Picard's pieces. Hooper hopes to spark interest and help raise money for the projects completion, and to have a 30-minute film finished by June. Also contributing is local composer George Blondheim, who's known for his work in Hollywood on soundtracts like 9 1/2 Weeks. He started collecting Picard's series of watercolour jazz musicians 18 months ago. "It's like a musician, filmmaker and artist, all award-winning Canadian talent, intent on doing this thing," says Picard with typical enthusiasm. He pauses, looks around the café, then adds, "It's scary how it's all coming together."
Artist James Picard is the subject of the documentary "Off the Canvas"