Break-a-Brush! – Newsletter for November 2025

Memories of Black and White

I can still remember my father having our first TV delivered. Dad was not an early adopter, so it was exciting to finally join the TV generation. The set was rented, black and white in those days, and full of vacuum tubes. A white dot remained for a while in the middle of the bulbous screen once it was switched off. It was switched off quite often which was more my mothers doing than Dad’s. Mum would look at the TV guide, promptly pronounce that there was nothing on, then “click” it was off and we were left watching that white spot fade away. Much as my brother and I might protest that there had to be something on, off it remained, and that was probably a good thing. I can’t remember feeling deprived when our family stuck with black and white for years, even after colour sets came out. We finally got a colour TV, still rented, but only when the company stopped renting black and white units. To this day, when watching period dramas in colour – or worse, colourized versions – I feel a bit let down.

It’s the nature of images that they are formed predominantly without colour, in black and white. In fact, colour perception is not shared by all animals and some get by very nicely without colour, thank you. Other animals may have more extensive colour vision than we do. However pretty well all animals, from the lowly insect, have light and dark perception. It’s a fundamental of seeing and it’s the fundamental of most visual art. Just like my childhood TVs, colour comes later in my work. In some ways colour confuses and obscures good image making, at least in the initial stages. As Édouard Manet well stated: “…look for the highlights and the deepest shadows: the rest will come naturally, often it is very little.” And from Bob Ross: “You have to have dark in order to show light, just like in life”.

Winter Courses – Open for Booking!

Winter courses and workshops are now open for booking on the OSA website! Nothing like an early start to creative planning for 2026 eh?! Or perhaps make a gift of a course this Holiday season! Our courses start in February and we are looking forward to a range of shorter courses – online and downtown – as well as two weekend workshops at the Shenkman.

Details and direct links to each of the the Course Registration pages are on our website at: https://www.davidkearn.com/workshops/

OSA Annual Fundraising Art Sale

The OSA invites local artists, students, and OSA members to participate in the 41st Annual Holiday Fundraising Art Sale, taking place November 27 to December 14, 2025, at our ByWard Market Campus in downtown Ottawa.

Details on the OSA website: https://www.artottawa.ca/news/holiday-art-sale-submissions-2025

Books for the Holidays

Whether you’re looking for a refreshing read or a gift (perhaps for yourself), our three books are on the shelves and ready for you.

Purchase books directly from us or from local outlets, including:

The National Gallery of Canada Bookstore

The Ottawa School of Art, both downtown at 35 George St in the Byward Market and at the OSA Office on the 1st floor of the Shenkman Center in Orléans.

Direct purchase from our website: https://www.davidkearn.com/the-book-page/

Produced and printed in Canada – support our local creative economy!!