Rob Gonsalves

Hello, everybody! I`m glad to see you in our gallery today. You know, today is a special day: we open exhibition, devoted to the magic realism. In these rooms you can see works of Canadian painter - Rob Gonsalves. Maybe some of you have already heard this name and got acquainted with his works, but I would like to tell you some information.

Rob Gonsalves (born in 1959 in Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian painter of magic realism with a unique perspective and style. He produces original works, limited edition prints and illustrations for his own books.

During his childhood, Gonsalves developed an interest in drawing from imagination using various media. By the age of twelve, his awareness of architecture grew as he learned perspective techniques and he began to create his first paintings and renderings of imagined buildings.

After an introduction to artists Dalí and Tanguy, Gonsalves began his first surrealist paintings. The "Magic Realism" approach of Magritte along with the precise perspective illusions of Escher came to be influences in his future work.

In his post college years, Gonsalves worked full time as an architect, also painting trompe-l'œil murals and theater sets. After an enthusiastic response in 1990 at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Gonsalves devoted himself to painting full time.

Although Gonsalves' work is often categorized as surrealistic, it differs because the images are deliberately planned and result from conscious thought. Ideas are largely generated by the external world and involve recognizable human activities, using carefully planned illusionist devices. Gonsalves injects a sense of magic into realistic scenes. As a result, the term "Magic Realism" describes his work accurately. His work is an attempt to represent human beings' desire to believe the impossible, to be open to possibility.

Numerous individuals around the world, including a United States Senator, as well as corporations and embassies collect Gonsalves' original work and limited edition prints. Rob Gonsalves has exhibited at Art Expo New York and Los Angeles, Decor Atlanta and Las Vegas, Fine Art Forum, as well as one-man shows at Discovery Galleries, Ltd., Marcus Ashley Gallery in South Lake Tahoe, Hudson River Art Gallery, Saper Galleries (November 7 to December 31, 2004) and Kaleidoscope Gallery.

In June 2003, Simon & Schuster introduced North America and Canada to "Imagine a Night", Gonsalves' first hardcover book featuring sixteen paintings. Due to the success of "Imagine a Night", Simon & Schuster released a second book, "Imagine a Day", in 2004 for which he won the 2005 Governor General's Award in the Children's Literature - Illustration category. He is also an accomplished guitarist.

His book "Imagine a Place" was released in 2008.

Gonsalves is a founder and member in good standing of the Fellowship of the Gourd and the Arrow.

Gonsalves now has 64 paintings and is working on more. He spends an notable amount of time planning each piece in order to make the transitions flawless and usually finishes about four paintings each year.

And now, let`s have a look at his famous pictures. The title of each work is written below. But if you have some question, I will help you.

Oh, Rob is here. We have unique possibility to listen to his comments. And maybe he will describe his inspiration for his new piece, "Light Flurries". Attention, please!

It was great. Thank you, Rob. Unfortunately, he have to go.

And we continue our excursion. Let`s go to the next room. I hope, you will like other pictures too.  

Bora Bora Islands...Paradise on the Earth...

It`s unbelievable but we have THE INTERNET here....WOW!!!
And now we want to tell you more.

 Look here!!! We live in one of these houses. It`s rather comfortable. There are large windows, big soft bed, table, chairs, bathroom, mini-bar, telephone, TV, conditioner...Everything you need. But better for you to see it.

And we can even see little fishes through the glass under the table, which are swimming in the water. =)))
In general, there are 31 houses: 20 on water and 11 on the shore. Of course, we live on water))))

Have a look at our breakfast. Looks greatly, isn`t it?

 And handsome waiter in addition.))))
 Afternoon, we have played volley-ball with guys and our team won. We also have been on a beach.
Night life is rather active in Bora Bora!!!
And now we are going to swim in evening ocean.

Bora Bora is a secluded heaven for you. The widely spaced wooden piers filter off the sparkling sun beams and present a sensational ambience which is perfect to be close. The crystal clear water with the pearly sandy beaches when synchronize with the sun rays; create a dancing look for the observers.
Come and join us!!! Keep in touch!

Visiting foreign country

Three days ago we came to Ukraine. We have friends in Kamyanets-Podilskyi, so most of the time we will spent there. We will try to make each day  interesting, to get ecquainted with a lot of people and places. And now, we would like to show you some pictures and tell more about this beautiful town, and especially about places we visited yesterday and  will visit .We were very tired after flight, so we decided to stay at home and have a rest. And yesterday, full of energy, we made an excursion to the Old Town. We saw the castle, canyon  and cathedral.

 a Kamyanets-Podilskyi is called "the flower on stone".Maybe because of its castle or landscapes. And you will agree with us, that this castle is like from the fairy-tale.

Of course in the days when it was exploited according to its intended purpose—fight against the enemies—it didn’t look that pretty. Those peaked towers were built later and you might see the red bricks which definitely weren’t  used in the 13th-14th centuries when the castle was erected. Nevertheless, it does impress one with its firmness, strength and dignity.

 

Kamyanets is located in Podilski Tovtry National Nature Park famous by Smotrych River canyon, one of the most beautiful in Europe. If you are lucky, you may get to one of the festivals regularly held in Kamyanets, for example ballooning festival, military history festival, motor rally, or others.  

 We have just come home. We were walking in New Town all day long. We also have understood that religion plays an important role in life of people, who live there. We  have seen a lot of churches,  cathedrals. In the 19th century  three Orthodox churches were built in the city: the church of St. George in the Polish section, the church of the Intercession in the Ruthenian section, the church of St. Alexander Nevsky in the New City. The last one was rebuilt and opened again in 2011.

We also have seen fountains, lake with swams and a lot of people of all ages here. And we had an opportunity to feed the swams. It was really funny. We were wet. 

Kamyanets-Podilskyi is also known as "the town of three bridges". The best view is from the bridge, which is called "running deer" and we are going to see it tomorrow. We would like to fly on baloon. =)))

So, are really impressed. We liked Old City most of all. The nature and architecture are beautiful, people are kind. 

The different peoples and cultures that have lived in the city have each brought their own culture and architecture. Examples include the Polish, Ukrainian and Armenian markets. Famous tourist attraction include the ancient castle, and the numerous architectural attractions in the city's center, including the cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, the city hall building, and the numerous fortifications.

Balooning activities in the canyon of the Smotrych River have also brought tourists. Since the late 1990s, the city has grown into one of the chief tourist centers of western Ukraine.  Annual Cossacks Games (Kozatski zabavy) and festivals, which include the open balooning championship of Ukraine, car racing and various music, art and drama activities, attract a lot of tourists and stimulate the local economy. More than a dozen privately-owned hotels have recently opened.
We will write more about our adventures...  Hope, we will like our vacation.