News

"Local food , local music and great vibes."

It's really cool to have some of my paintings and prints hanging in the newly opened "Tractorgrease Cafe" located in the heart of the wild and beautiful Chilliwack Valley. I like to hang my work in venues where music and art are celebrated. I love it when I can be a fly on the wall and listen to people talk about the artwork.

My friends and operators of the cafe, Jeff Bonner and Jodie Augustine, have put a lot of hard work into renovating the space. Jodie's talented handiwork is everywhere and though they are still adding some finishing touches, the Cafe is now open. The menu includes "everyone's favourite breakfast items and a great selection of healthy wraps, salads and burgers."

Weekends will feature live music. Every Friday at 7PM is Acoustic Open Mic night. Special event Saturdays will include a meal and entertainment by guest artists.

Tractorgrease image

Local talent Kyle Schick performing his original songs at the very first Friday night open mic last week.

Winter hours are:

Thursday 8am - 7pm
Friday 8am - 9:30pm
Saturday 8am - 6pm Saturday events go from 7pm - 10pm
Sunday 8am - 4pm
Monday 8am - 3pm
Tuesday and Wednesday - closed

For more info and to find out about the Saturday Night feature artist click here for the Tractorgrease website.

About Tractorgrease

Jeff Bonner, long time multimedia designer and music fanatic, established Tractorgrease in 2001 "as a loose collective of like minded individuals with a passion for music, video and media in all its forms."

"Our Years of experience in Multimedia and a vision for our own production studio led to the creation of Tractorgrease Multimedia. Our new creative space that combines the components of a live venue with the equipment and layout of a production studio. The goal of Tractorgrease is to enhance the artistry of musicians through audio and video. Creating CD/DVD's, internet marketing and EPK's are some of the additional services we offer."

The Tractorgrease Multimedia studio is located right beside the new Tractorgrease Cafe at 48710 Chilliwack Lake Rd, Chilliwack, BC.

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"The Great Round" is now being featured on the new solo album "Lotusland " by master musician and friend Rick Genge.

I'm proud to have my work associated with such an amazing musician, gifted guitar instructor, and all around nice guy. The music on Ricks new album "conjures up early Carlos Santana virtuosity with a jazz-influenced, smooth Latin feel that is primarily acoustic and utterly irresistible."

To read more about this album, to hear previews of the songs, to purchase downloads or buy the CD check out the link www.cdbaby.com/cd/rickgenge

To celebrate the launch of Ricks new solo album, I am offering a 20% discount to anyone who purchases a Lotusland CD.

Limited edition Giclee prints will be offered on canvas and paper.

Giclee Canvas Prints of "The Great Round": Limited Edition of 1000

-----Stretched canvas - 36" x 36" - $600. ... -20% = $480.
-----Stretched canvas - 24" x 24" - $400. ... -20% = $320.

-----Paper - 24" x 24" - $150. ... -20% = $120.

All prices are subject to 12% tax and don't include shipping.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these special offer prints please use the Contact Page to inquire.

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I have been approached by the Master of Norman Bethune College at York University in Toronto who has asked to use my image of the Norman Bethune portrait which I painted in 2008, as part of the promotional material for an upcoming symposium on Bethune. The symposium being held at the College this coming November, will mark the 75th aniversary of Norman Bethune's death. I am proud that my image will be part of this important event at a College named after this famous Canadian. I will post any interesting updates to this news story as they develope.

This developement continues to add to the interesting history this portrait of Norman Bethune is aquiring. It has travelled to China and shown at the National Museum in Beijing. It has shown at the Chinese Cultural center in Vancouver. It was featured in an online article about a Bethune exhibit at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa in 2013, and now it is set to be part of a symposium at a Canadian College named after him. I'm interested to see where the portrait goes next. Stay tuned.

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I am having a 3 day show of paintings at WaterWealth in Chilliwack. This is a collection of paintings, (a retrospective in a sense) from three decades of my career. The show will be open for the next three Fridays only - November 29, December 6, and December 13. The openings will take place from 4-7pm and I will be in attendance for all three. If you are in the Chilliwack area come on down, say hello and check out the artwork.

"The WaterWealth Project is about empowering community residents to regain control over decisions that affect their home waters - the rivers, lakes and aquifers that are the arteries of our towns, cities and regions."

I will be donating 30% of all sales (19 pieces from the last three decades) to this wonderful project.

The WaterWealth office is located at Unit 4 - 45668 Storey Avenue, just off Vedder Rd in Chilliwack. Here is a link to the WaterWealth website to get a google map of their location.

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Yes, the Sunnyside Series is showing on Sunnyside Boulevard. A small selection of prints from the Sunnyside Series is currently being displayed at the "Lakeside Beach Club" restaurant at Cultus Lake. 

This newly opened eatery is located on Sunnyside Boulevard next to the Cultus lake plaza and across the street from the water park. The show has been up for about a week now and already two pieces have sold, one print and also the latest and only Sunnyside original in the show - #29.

Thanks go out to Co-proprietors Jeff Massey and Alicia Bodaly for the invite to show my work inside their wonderful new restaurant. This is looking like a great venue to introduce the "Sunnyside Series" to both locals and visitors at Cultus lake. It is a treat to have the Sunnyside Series displayed for the first time in the community that inspired it.

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The largest painting that I have created so far in my career was just hung this morning high on the tall walls of the Chilliwack Cultural Centre. I was surprised at how small it looked up there. The painting will hang for six months along with other large pieces from area artists. I am pleased that it is being seen at this time, as I think it's relevance has never been greater than at this moment, as our country grapples with vital issues. I hope that it can provide patrons of the Cultural Centre with a springboard to reflection, discussion and debate on the pressing issues the painting hints at. The painting is 20 years old now and never would I have imagined that it would so accurately describe my feelings about the current relationship between native and non-native people and the debate over pipelines and bitumen sands expansion takening place in BC and across the country.

"In the Rainforest", acrylic on canvas, 82"x104", 1993.

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I was recently asked by Paul Gessel who writes the "Artful Blogger" column for the online "Ottawa Magazine" if he could have permission to use a reproduction of my 2008 portrait of Norman Bethune for a piece he was writing about upcoming Bethune exhibitions set to appear to Ottawa and other venues in Canada. I agreed. Here is a link to the article.

It's great to see Bethune once again stirring up things in Ottawa. I think he would be amused.

"Bethune", acrylic and collage on canvas, 36"x 36", 2008

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A collection of my paintings and prints is now on display at Restaurant 62 in Abbotsford. " Where rural meets urban, Restaurant 62 is Abbotsford's award winning destination for elegant regional cuisine. Named one of the Top 40 Foodies Under 40, Chef Jeff Massey creates seasonal menus that reflect the richness and diversity of local flavours from the Fraser Valley. Wine cellar boasts an award winning selection." The show will be on display for about three months.

Thanks go out to Co-owner Eric Ferris for the invite to show my work. The "Sunnyside Series" pieces in particular really look great in the restaurant.

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I learned the unfortunate news today that the Grey Area Gallery in Chilliwack is now closed.

For the past three and half years I have enjoyed being represented by this gallery in Chilliwack. I'd like to thank owners Jacquie Simpson and Louisa DeVette for the opportunity to be one of the artists in what was a fabulous gallery right in my own home town. This leaves a hole in the creative landscape of Chilliwack and me without local gallery representation. I am now at the moment, solely represented by the Art Junction Gallery in Whistler.

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Geoff Edwards of Streamworks.ca has produced a short video about me and my work. This video is part of his artist series and can be viewed on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MOLTi7y-yU .

Geoff's diverse set of media skills has been accumulated over a career that spans more than thirty years. He has had stints in community radio, national radio and television as a journalist and television host. During the 1980s he was a rock journalist working with Canadian networks CTV, CBC and CKVU in Vancouver.

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