After receiving a generous grant from the Canada Council for the Arts,
I came to “Beau Fleuve” to perform a 3 month residency. I met with
organisations and locals to execute a portrait of Buffalo - as a place
and a people. My outsider's bird's eye perspective is an asset to
recognising the most notable parts of present day Buffalo. I was a
tourist visiting a place and forever commenting: in Manhattan, it's
different. We don't have Tim Horton's. When we order a "regular"
coffee, we mean whole milk, not cream. Canadians more commonly put
cream in their/my coffee.'. Buffalo's location, on the Canadian border,
includes a collection of details that define it as unique.
"Beau Fleuve: The Heart of North America" concentrates on painting a
portrait of Buffalo but also situates this place within other parts of
New York, the United States and Canada.
The idea for me to come to Buffalo and do this work was curator, Sandra
Q. Firmin's. She, with Ellen Ryan, at The Carnegie Art Center in North
Tonawanda masterminded this residency & exhibition. Sandra's expertise
at grant writing made the funds for the whole project possible. She
reads application guidelines; follows rules; minds spelling,
punctuation and taught me that swearing, no matter how appropriate it
may seem, is not the best way to go. So many other people came out of
the woodwork to lend influence and support.
I suspect the title of this project, "BEAU FLEUVE: The Heart of North
America", began to flower when I was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. A
good little Jehovah's Witness until teenage curiosity about all the
things my parents were trying to protect me from, overtook, and I was
born again. It is important for me to mention that my dad was a sign
painter. I used to help him paint 100 foot long signs on the sides of
buildings. I fantasise about a lower case italic letter "a". I enjoy
reading the history of typography. This influences my love of copying
signs, logos, serving as pop culture placemarkers all throughout the
comic strips.
Getting an acceptance letter to attend The Nova Scotia College of Art &
Design saved my life. I started studying Graphic Design with hardcore
old school Bauhaus designers but then, just shy of receiving a Design
degree, I fell into painting. From painting, I went into performance
art and gained the tag: "performance provocateuse" for my sexuality
based line of probing. I moved to New York City about 10 years ago and
during the past 5 years, I have been non-stop drawing. For the past 2-3
years I have been developing my painterly performance based drawing
into this comic strip format. I have found a way to be up close with
people. Hanging out, I record timely situations, without technology
(I'm a Luddite). Humour emerges throughout the comic book even if I am
representing a heavy experience.
Drawing from life, I sometimes take pictures to later use as source
material but rarely do I finish those stories. Think of my comic
stripping as a series of time based portrait narratives, performance
residue. Stretching the boundaries of a comic book, performance,
portrait drawing, painting and I will also argue it is sculpture. It is
not one of those media but all folded into together. I am curious about
how it will be received in a bookstore? in a comic bookstore proper? at
a comic book festival? at Art Institutions?
My drawings prove that something took place, somewhere. I try to record
as many details as possible to fill out the portrait more completely. I
draw small and portable and print at a 1:1 ratio. I always have my tiny
watercolour set, pens and paper with me. I keep a distinction between
my fine art drawings with mad process notes and messes on the borders
of the page, outside the crop marks. Visible only in the original art
work is the texture of old school, anti-tech artmaking methods: cutting
paper; collaging; letraset; gouache; masking tape additions; dabs of
beet soup for plum shades; splotches of curry or glitter pen for gold
colours... I use whatever on-hand materials, to urgently depict as much
honesty as possible for each fleeting moment in time. I try to
underscore all my efforts with light hearted compassion.
I relate to the cracks in the sidewalk more than the sidewalk. I am
attracted to those who colour outside the lines, question the validity
of rules, socially awkward ones who are frustrated by their inability
to fit in.
It seems like almost immediately, I develop an intimate rapport with
people. Quickly we find ourselves laughing and crying eventhough we've
just met.
Drawing the Wild Bill comic strip has dredged up many feelings and
fears. I appreciate my lady friends who have shared some girl talk with
you all. Revealing snippets of being in relationships and the
accompanying struggles, putting themselves out there. We / I can relate
to the process. It's all history but it's recent past tense, which can
make it challenging for them to have these words come out of their
mouths before the possibility of your judgment. Within this comic, I
have just scratched the surface of personalities.
Wild Bill makes me think of all the ways that I need to stamp out my
own racism, sexism, ... I do not believe it is productive to say my
racism is less hurtful than Wild Bill's because it seems smaller, more
hidden to me... fear and ignorance is damaging. Society is patriarchal,
classist, sexist, racist. I am easily influenced. Attitudes have crept
into my subconscious. The problem of racism is not "Theirs", it is Mine
too and I am accountable for My part in contributing to the madness.
Everyday I try to develop heightened levels of awareness to dissolve my
ignorance.
I am touched by how I can laugh and cry simultaneously. Happiness and
sadness can coexists, resulting in tears and smiles. How many times
this summer I have been fortunate enough to share this kind of moment
with others. My mom always said: "laughing leads to crying" but these
days, I find that crying ends up in laughing out of necessity. No
matter how grave a moment and especially if a situation is extremely
grave, then laughing is all the more important.
I started making comics out of a sense of justice. Feeling like I had
no voice, frustrated with the political climate, and no right to vote,
since I am a Canadian living in the United States, I thought a comic
book with the potential of thousands of readers worldwide, could be an
alternative platform for accountability. I thought that putting my
drawings in the printed format, would be the best vehicle for speaking
up and out. I care alot. Before I let go of notions of good and bad, I
thought it was bad that I got called "too sensitive". The question now
occurs to me, if others are calling me "too sensitive", perhaps it is
they, who are not sensitive enough?
Click here to see the Front Cover
Charmaine gets some Press!
Order your copy of "BEAU FLEUVE: The Heart of North America"
USA (approx.3 day delivery) & Canada (approx.7 days) $12 USD
Contact Artist:
Charmaine Wheatley
P.O. Box 1022
New York, NY
10113-1022