PHOENIX ART WORKSHOP

Nuturing Our Community Through Art

It was four days before the 11th annual Grand Prix of Art, yet Mark Glavina was relaxed as he took time out of his busy schedule to discuss everything from plein air painting, to the way Phoenix Art Workshop has successfully endured the pandemic and his hope to travel to exotic locations again soon.

Mark juggles many roles seamlessly: he’s an artist, an art instructor, a successful business owner, the founder and organizer of the Grand Prix of Art, and he operates and guides international art tours with his company The Travelling Brush.

Next year Phoenix Art Workshop will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Mark’s original business Phoenix Coastal Arts opened in 1997 on Moncton Street. It expanded in 2001 when Phoenix Art Workshop opened on Chatham; the Moncton Street space closed soon after. excellent reputation for custom framing. In addition, Mark runs a studio on First Avenue where painting and drawing classes are held. Emphasis is placed on visual literacy, design, and individual creativity.

Mark says, “We have a good cross-section of students from beginners, to developing young artists and more sophisticated, intermediate, and professional artists.”

It brings me joy to see past students come in to talk about their projects.

In March 2020, when COVID-19 hit and Canadians were instructed to stay home, Mark speedily pivoted his familiar business model. He says, “Everything was on the line. We adapted quickly for fear of failure, especially in small Steveston.”

The store’s products became available online. Mark remarks, “We have been delivering to Richmond residents all pandemic long, but we don't ship other than by special order. Curbside pick-up was popular for a spell, but I am not crazy about the idea of a drive-through art store.”

Unexpectedly, Mark's online art classes opened up an international clientele; he recorded over 100 virtual classes, from exploring modern art to teaching watercolour, drawing, and colour theory. Phoenix Art Workshop is now returning to in-person classes.

For those unfamiliar with the Grand Prix of Art, artists are randomly assigned a painting location from 35 sites along Steveston’s waterfront. Artists have three and a half hours to complete their paintings and return to the Britannia Shipyards to prepare their paintings for display and adjudication.

After the virtual event, we feel blessed to have the in-person event back.

Last year Mark managed to adapt the Grand Prix, which had to be cancelled. Paint in Place 2020 was a way to honour the annual event in a COVID world although the camaraderie and sense of local community were missing.

“The online event was a lifeline for many people self-isolating but real contact, person to person, artist to artist contact is an integral part of the human condition as social beings,” says Mark.

Looking ahead to 2022-2023, Mark is excited about the prospect of three separate trips with his “Travelling Brush family” to Malta, Mexico, and Morocco. These trips combine Mark’s passion for art and travel. He indicates travelling to international regions still hinges on vaccinations and health plans are having to be taken into consideration now, unlike prepandemic times.

We are there to experience rather than observe different cultures.

“It’s a safe and easy way to travel. The Travelling Brush isn’t a tour agency. People aren’t shuffled about from place to place. We see interesting things, and it doesn’t rob you of the adventure of travel.”

Spouses and also non-artists are welcome to join these trips. Mark provides an example of a woman who came along because she liked the dynamics of the Travelling Brush family.

While on tour, participants paint in the streets, enjoy happy hour critiques and visit art studios and galleries. Mark says, “Each place we visit is so different.” In Portugal, the group met Mark's friend who is one of the top watercolorists in the world. In Turkey, they visited a renowned potter's studio.

Mark describes how his senses are enriched when he creates art on location. He says, “People accept you differently on location while painting a street scene or making a painting of a person.”

I discover the world one brushstroke at a time.

He never feels alone when he travels, without fail he meets people. For Mark, painting opens up possibilities, as people approach him and he discovers the innate humanity of people. “I have never had anything stolen, nor been caught in a riot, knock on wood,” he says with a laugh. Through his travels and his art, he explores stories, cultures, and neighbourhoods at street level and as a human experience.

“I am so lucky to have travelled and there are different trips that stand out for different reasons. Guatemala will always be close to my heart. I feel we bring so much value as mindful travellers staying in Guatemalan-run hotels and having a truly unique experience. I believe our guests would be less likely to have this experience if travelling with traditional agencies.”

Mark equates plein air painting to competing with oneself to do more, do better, and put aside one’s fears. He believes it is good for an artist’s growth and development—they learn from nature and the adrenalin of painting in the fresh air, without the shortcuts that come from hiding behind a camera.

He concludes the interview with a story about a trip to Peru where he painted a very small and elderly woman with an amazing face. A crowd built as he painted and when the work was complete they roared. It is these shared moments that are among the greatest rewards of being an artist. As for his students, he hopes “to feed them as much as their bellies can take of art.”

Phoenix Art Workshop

8 - 3891 Chatham Street Richmond, BC V7E 2Z6

Telephone 604-448-1860

www.phoenixartworkshop.com

• ART SUPPLIES • CUSTOM FRAMING • CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS • ART EVENTS AND EXCURSIONS

8-3891 CHATHAM ST, STEVESTON 604-448-1860

WWW.PHOENIXARTWORKSHOP.COM