A painter’s Artist Susanna Blunt revels in portraitures ' WHEN WEST Van painter Susanna Blunt wants to liven up a garden she reaches for a blunt object. By Layne Christensen Community Reporter Not to be confused with a weapon or a gar- dening tool, Blunt Objects are in fact the name of her latest artistic venture: whimsical swizzle-stick-shaped garden sculptures in bright. primary colors: dancing figures of stainless steel; bird baths and fountains in bold geometries. The numbered and signed sculptures are “very contemporary and completely untike anything else in sculpture.” she says, speak- ing from her home studio with its view of her very own Blunt Objects-filled garden and Burrard Intet beyond. She creates the garden sculptures on com- mission —- and does custom installations too — so she still has time to pursue her first love. painting. A working artist for 30 years, Blunt has painted landscapes, trompe l'oeil murals and high-fashion silk clothing (as a member of the now defunct West Coast Design Group) but she is best known for her work as a portrait artist. “There's a lot involved,” she says of a por- trait commission, which can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to com- plete. Capturing the personality of her subject “is not an easy thing,” she concedes. Blunt has painted a Russian prince and his family, cellist Stephen Isserlis, Canadian author George Woodcock, Vancouver painter Toni Onley, lawyers and Supreme Court judges. But it’s one of her latest commissions that is gaining her international recognition. Last spring, Blunt was commissioned to paint the official portrait of Gerda Hnatyshyn. wife of former Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn. She and 36 other artists from across the country had competed for the honor. The portrait was completed fast fall and unveiled at Rideau Hall Feb. 6, where Blunt was surprised to find she was the guest of honor. “I’ve met hundreds of people in the course NEWS photo dike Wakefield (aboveySubmitted photo (right) WEST VANCOUVER artist Susanna Blunt busies herself with commissions for por- trait work. Her portrait of Gerda Hnatyshyn (right), wife of former Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn, hangs in Rideau Hail. Her other artistic endeavor is Blunt Objects (pictured on the front page). Her quirky designs for the garden are “very contemporary and completely unlike anything e)se in sculpture,” says Blunt. of my life as a portrait painter but very few ever impressed me to that extent with their integrity and superlative qualities,” says Blunt of her regal subject. who travelled to Vancouver twice last summer to sit for the painter. The resulting 24" by 41° (61 cm by 104 cm) work now hangs at the foot of the main staircase at Rideau Hall. The portrait is essentially a composite. Blunt wanted to portray Hnatyshyn in a setting that was “typical of her office.” but because the sittings were done in Vancouver, not Ottawa, she had to improvise the props. The portrait had to contain “elegant” objects. so lilies and roses (Hnatyshyn is an accomplished gardener) fill a vase that Blunt spotted in a West Van antique store. The drapes were reproduced from a photograph. It was also important to Blunt that the por- trait reflect Hnatyshyn's considerable accom- plishments and intelligence. “i really wanted to portray her as a remarkable woman. not just some attractive woman who had played the role of the wife of (an official)," she says. According to Biunt, Hnatyshyn was delighted with the outcome, her first official portrait. On the horizon for Blunt are more portrait commissions. Later this month, she will head back to Hong Kong, where her work was celebrated last November. A trip to Japan is also in the works. And of course, there are the Blunt Objects. Who knows, this time next year her giant swizzle sticks and whimsical garden statuary may color the gardens of Rideau Hall. Ls Ferry Building Gallery. The around t Presentation House Arts Centre: /t Pays to Play: British Columbia in Postcards 1950s-1980s. This exhibition. which includes approximately 2.000 postcards runs to March 31. Familiar Rites a collection of oil paintings by Matilda Aslizadeh, extended to March 31. Adults $2.14, seniors and students $1.07. West Vancouver Memoria! Library: In the gallery to March 31: Spatial Experience, sculptures in bronze and rose- wood by artist Jeff Shale. Glanves, oil and acrylic paint- ings of people and scenery of Asia by artist’ Shahrzad Ghaffari. 925-7400. West Vancouver Museum and Archives: West Van Collects runs March 12 to Aug. 18. Park Royal South: Western Photographic Circle present Personal — Impressions, lo March 26. Centennial Theatre Centre lobby exhibition: Gaiads. Sylvans and Celestines, pain ings by Marguerite, to April 15. Info: 947-2739, a Queen of Scrap, collage, papi- er maché work and paintings by West Van artist Sharon Christian, runs to March 31. Info: 925-7290. Silk Purse Arts Centre: Mastering the Medium, an exhibition of work from artists Antonia Lanik and Joseph Gabanek, runs to March 31. Info: 925-7290. The workshop Printing your own artwork: Creating a Limited Edition is March 26 at 7 p.m. To register, call 925-7270. Seymour Art Gallery: Man's Relationship to Nature, Kurt Connell's surrealistic oil on canvas paintings are exhibited in the lobby to March 31. Discovery '96, The Spirit in Art, annual competition and exhibition, to March 31. The End Cafe: Pau! Williams Works on Canvas is to ron March 30-April 29. North Vancouver Museum and Archives: In Sickness and In Health, a look at the early hospitals and health-care workers of the North Shore, through March, A Future Defined, the story of confeder- ation of Canadét is told against See more page 16 NEWS photo Mike Wakofield ERIC GORDON spins a tale for students at the Vancouver Waldorf School. The North Vancouver resident will give a reading of spring stories, within the theme “Slowly Waking Up,” at Roedde House in Vancouver's Barclay Square, 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 31. Gordon is one of several participants in the Vancouver Storytelling Festival, to be held at various venues in Vancouver, March 29 through 31. Tickets are available through Community Box Office at 280-2801.