Sirens series #8 ... Sarah comes to terms with the gravity of the consequences they now face for their casual sins. They’ve flirted with the ancient covenant. A distant folk tale that carries the warning from long ago. This bed-time story has become real. Her little sister is now banished, perhaps forever.   Mark Heine

Sirens series #10 ... This is my variation of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, from the ceiling of the Cystine Chapel. Sarah revels in Erica’s evolution from a sea to a land dweller. Her Trespass on land and contact with Thin-Air has transformed her caudal. She’s bipedal, for the first time in her young life. It’s a intoxicating to flirt with the ancient covenant and the romantic and ominous curse it carries.   Mark Heine

Sirens series #12 ... In the beginning, there was happiness. It's Erica's 12th birthday. Sarah had made the same promise for years: on the day Erica became an adult, she would take her to the beach. To experience the Evolution. To bask in the golden glow of the sun, feel the warmth of sand between toes and breathe the perfumes of Thin-Air.

Sirens series #11 ... The citizens of Mer live under the restrictions of an ancient covenant. Sarah and Aerica have Trespassed, and Aerica has been banished, forever. Sarah begins her desperate and dangerous journey to Beckoning Rock, to save her sister at ... any cost.

Sirens series #9 ... A familiar feeling of euphoria begins to wash over Sarah. It's the intoxicating lure of life on land ... fly-trap nectar for the unwary. But she knows it's a fleeting sensation that just leaves you craving, like the phantom-limb itch of a tail, which can never be scratched

Sirens ... 
It’s been a few months since my last blog posting, but there is a good reason for the hiatus.

This past summer, I began a new project. It’s a vision I’ve entitled “Sirens.” To me it's clearly the natural evolution of my art and writing. I wanted to have a number of paintings to introduce the concept before I spoke of it.

If you’ve followed my work, you’ll know that I’ve always enjoyed writing back-label stories to accompany my paintings. Over the years, the writing has evolved, for me, into one of the prime movers of my creative process. It has now brought me to a new stage in my work, where the art is driven by the writing. Fiction has now given me the freedom to explore a new world of my own creation.

Sirens is a series of paintings that will ultimately culminate in a large-scale show, to coincide with launch of the illuminated book. Somewhere on the horizon, there may even be a screenplay.

I’ve been painting a number of large studies that will serve as the basis for much larger, life-size paintings. The studies are intended as a preview, to propose the show’s concept to an appropriate venue, yet to be determined. The sale of the studies will help fund the project.

There is an overview, premise, and story description posted on my web site ... click here to view
I've composed a new mission statement to address my new work ... click here to view
I've also revised my Biography ... click here to view

The Broken Islands
These are the Broken Islands, in Barkley Sound, on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. I believe it's one of the most inaccessible, rugged and unspoiled places in the world. 
   My boat partner, Paul and I bring our sailboat here almost every year for a couple of weeks. Each year we learn more about handling our boat in heavy conditions and at night. We also get to test out and become familiar with new gear that we've installed in the past year, in real life conditions. This year we tested out "Otto" our new electronic autohelm. To my surprise it was far more useful than I thought it would be. It's great for holding a course in the fog and for downwind sailing where "Emma" our wind operated self steering Hydrovane, struggles. We were also pleased with our new speed gauge, low draw LED interior lighting, LED masthead light, salt water sink pump, dingy davit modifications, hammock storage system, solar charging system and battery system. It's all in preparation for our 3 month blue water voyage to Hawaii, scheduled for June 2014. 
   We got well off shore on the way up island. Out about 30 miles and out of sight of land. When the sun went down the stars were amazing! we got onto Bamfeild harbour at 1:30 AM. The phosphorescence in the water was spectacular as we could see millions of fish, shrimp, squid and krill fleeing from the bow of the boat as we approached. It was like a sunburst. Occasionally a large fish would spook and they looked like torpedo, shooting through the water as they fled.

Effingham (Village) Island... 
Each year we visit we learn more about the area, the first nations people and the wildlife. One of the highlights of this trip was a walking exploration of Effingham (Village) island.
   
It's long been one of our favourite fishing spots and we've sailed around here many times, but never set foot on the island. But this year we met a local whale researcher at the dock in Bamfeild. He took us aboard his boat, crammed with scientific equipment and we were given access to his customized charts. He pointed out some special and little known locations to visit. He also told us about the local whales, sharks and other marine life.

Effingham Anchourage
Another highlight was the anchourage bay at Effingham. It's quite a popular spot and there were perhaps 6 boats there. A virtual rush hour in these parts. Amazing sunsets, schools of squid and we were treated to a bald eagle territorial battle. I'd seen this happen once before, years ago. the two eagles tussled in the sky and fell together towards the ground. One managed to pull out in time, but the other hit the water. Once in the water it had to swim to shore to dry off to get airborne again. The other eagle made repeated strafing dives on the almost defenceless swimming eagle. Eventually the beach was reached and after a few more attacks, the soggy eagle managed to take off. What was interesting was he didn't leave. He hovered around the edges of the bay and occasionally entered the territory enough for the other to give chase. In the end he did leave, it seemed more like a truce, than victory...

Cephalopods!
   Following an amazing sunset in we were surprised to find the boat surrounded with thousands of small squid.

   I'd caught and eaten fresh calamari years ago in bamfeild, and remembered how great they were. So I broke out the fishing rod. We lowered the dive light over the side, on a rope, to attract them and we also put the Go-Pro camera down on a line to film the action. In an hour we had a bucket load, thanks to Bob's squid angling prowess. That was followed by an a post-midnight calamari feast.

Toquart Bay
In an attempt to escape the coastal fog and dry the laundry, we went up into Touquart Bay. We'd been there years before and anchored in the very same spot, only different this time because the loggers had clear cut the trees right down to the shore. It took a while to realize that, compared to the teaming activity at Effingham, there was not a sound here. Not a single bird could be seen or heard.

The water is heated by geothermal vents and compared to 14C on the open ocean, it's 23.5C here! We had a good snorkelling adventure too...

Greetings friends,
I hope you're enjoying all this great summer sunshine.

I'm beating the heat by heading out to sea next week for some sailing and a bit of fishing on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

Here's what's been going on over the last month...

I had three paintings juried into the 2013 Sooke Fine Art Show, opening this weekend. One sold before I got it out of the gallery, but there's still 2 on display....

I'd like to invite you to come and take it in, it's always very interesting. I'll be there on Saturday (27th) evening for the "Artists Celebration Evening"  from 7-10PM.

There's 4 new paintings for this month...

I'm please to announce, that I'm now represented by Gallery 8 on Salt Spring Island, in the town of Ganges. Drop in and have a look if you're near by...

My studio auction for July is on now and ends on the 30th. This month I'm offering the painting "Uniform" 12" X 16 " oil on canvas.... click here to view auction

The Sail and Life Training Society of Victoria (SALTS) is fundraising to build a new schooner. I'm donating the profits from the sale of limited edition prints of my painting "Grace Under Pressure"....

That's all the news for now. Have a great summer!

New painting... 
Centerpoint, 20" X 30 " oil on canvas
click here to view details

My daughter Sarah (left) and a friend at ballet school.




Here's the rest of the studio news...

Greetings from the studio!
I hope that you're having a wonderful spring. Here's the news for June 2013.

Painters at Painter's for 2013, at the end of May in beautiful Campbell River, was great fun and very interesting. I hosted a panel discussion entitled "Social Media and the Arts." Artists Brent Lynch and Richard (not Andrew) McDiarmid were guests on the panel. The intent was to explore how artists approach and navigate the ever-evolving social networking platforms and technology.

As a result, I have started a blog and posted my first YouTube video. This stop-action video, with a voice-over narration, documents my three-day process of completing the demo painting I started at Painters in May. Have a look, if you get a chance ... http://691075302507215949.weebly.com/blog.html

Also on my blog, I will soon be posting a written summary of the panel discussion ... stay tuned for that.

My auction painting for June is "Neck and Neck," a 12" x 16" oil on canvas of schooners racing at the 2012 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. The gallery price is $1,260. The starting bid on my auction will be $500 US, plus shipping and taxes ... http://691075302507215949.weebly.com/monthly-auction.html

My newest paintings, "Centerpoint" and "Tea Party Turmoil," are posted on my "News" page at ... http://691075302507215949.weebly.com/news.html

Announcing a new painting trip for the summer of 2015... to the fly-in Crazy Bear Lake Wilderness Lodge, in the Central British Columbia.

If you love painting and fly-fishing, this week long trip is for you. Painting the spectacular unspoiled mountain vistas in the morning, with my coaching available, then fly-fishing in the afternoon and evening. I put myself through art school as a fishing guide and am still a keen fisherman, with 40+ years behind the rod. This exclusive adventure is limited to only 6 guests. More information is posted on my "NEWS" page... 
http://691075302507215949.weebly.com/news.html

Links to my pages on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn are now available from my website.

All for the moment. Best regards,

Mark Heine

Here's my first attempt at recording my painting technique. This painting demonstration was started at the 2013 Painters at painters Art Event. The video records the thought process of taking the painting to completion. I've titled the painting "Centerpoint", 20" X 30 " oil on canvas, after the name of the Ballet school. I hope you find it interesting!

Here it is! My first blog post of all time!...
For fun, I'm trying my GoPro camera, mounted above my painting table. It shoots a still every minute and I can put them together in a movie to post on YouTube. Here's yesterday's effort, a continuation of my demo painting from painters at Painters... the first and last still of the camera battery.