Special commissioned article. by noted art critic Rick “Dinger” Bell, Calgary Sun ,paid for by The Court Painter Enterprise Inc.
Court Painter, gets Premier Designate Danielle Smith’s blessing, the biggest of all boosts
This is the part of the movie where the momentum builds.
You expect the moment. You’ve heard something is coming.
You know, it’s when someone gives you the head’s up. Make sure you’re there. It will be worth it.
Then it arrives.
Court Painter, the celebrity portraitist and gadfly gets the endorsement of newly minted UPC leader and Premier Designate Danielle Smith.
No one can mistake the message. Premier Designate Danielle doesn’t mince words.”Court Painter is the beating heart of Alberta art and the Great Dominion’s nouveau unifying conservative painting guy of the moment.”
The Premier Designate Danielle Smith love comes just a day after her coronation as UPC leader/ premier designate and Court Painter’s rather opportunistic on the heels announcement that he will undertake to work towards having one unifying conservative art practice, with him as the head practitioner, ready to lay waste the pinko socialist unionized art imposters that had taken over the ripe for capitalization Alberta art market.
Friday night this early act of political theatre came to Court Painter’s Inglewood studio.
In her short address to the sparse but enthusiastic crowd, Premier Designate Danielle wants to take “a little moment for Alberta and the Court Painter.”
Here it comes.
She says conservative art unity practice has remained elusive in Alberta “with terrible consequences.”
“That must change,”Premier Designate Danielle intones.
Now she sets up for the climax.
Premier Designate Danielle says she believes even painters of wild roses want a conservative art practice of unity.
Then the message writ large comes down the pike!
“Someone has stepped forward to bring an agenda of a conservative art practice of unity and free enterprise change to the Alberta art scene. Court Painter paints it like you grievously feel …not like it is. ”
Over the cacophony Premier Designate Danielle says ,” here is a principled, thoughtful and highly capable conservative portraitist and unifier. He paints what you feel you want, he paints it like it is what you feel you want, he leaves no grievous feeling unwanted.”
Here we go.
She asks all grievance stricken citizens to join her and work to support Court Painter in his role as the Great Dominions preeminent portraitist of pompous political personages and soon to be painter of those consumed by grievance.
Cue the standing ovation.
Naturally, Court Painter is over the moon and wants to share that feeling.
Cue the drum roll!
Is that the free enterprise cavalry we hear saddling up?
They shake hands, give hugs, pose for selfies, eat their post convention grub and marvel at Court Painter’s proof of concept drawings that depict the essence of grievance and privilege in flourishing oil washes and deep blacks made from old growth forest charcoal.
Court Painter is all smiles.
He smiles a little wider now.