MacKenzie Porter: Canadian Phenom

This week’s grin is fantastic new Canadian artist MacKenzie Porter. Actually she’s not really new. Although only 23 she’s already a very successful actress, an accomplished classically trained violinist and she’s coming off her debut single “I Wish I’d Known”.

Longtime collaborator and artist Carolyn Dawn Johnson introduced me to Mac a few weeks ago and the three of us wrote a really cool song that her team decided would make a great 2^nd single. The icing on the cake was this week having the privilege of co-producing the record with CDJ. We tracked at Benchmark sound (old emerald) studio with the freakishly talented Ilya Toshinsky and a host of the most in demand session players in the country. The track turned out incredible and Mac has done some phenomenal vocals. We’ll all spend another week or so on the song before mix and master and then to radio station/Video channel near you.

It’s always special when you’re involved in creating a song that is compelling enough for an artist to release as a single; getting to actually help make the record constitutes treasure indeed.

 http://www.mackenzieporter.ca/

Happy Hunting!

bc

Francis Hargreaves Portrait Miniature

This week’s pick once again centers on a portrait miniature. Artistic dynasties are fascinating and although not as dominant as say the Peale family in 18^th century America, the Hargreaves family nevertheless left an important artistic mark on the British Isles for nearly a century. Thomas Hargreaves moved from Liverpool to London in 1790 at the age of 16 to begin his training at the Royal Academy. Around 1795 he returned to Liverpool and began a 40 year career of painting the highest quality miniatures ever produced in Ireland. He had several sons who were miniaturists, George and Francis apparently being the most prolific. Both went on to successfully paint portrait miniatures and their work is represented in the V and A as well as the NPG in Dublin and Bath museum. George’s work is found less frequently than his father’s but according to Foskett examples of Francis’ work are downright scarce. 

Although not as valuable as their ivory cousins, portrait miniatures on card can be just as engaging and interesting-especially when done by an exceptional artist. Because the paint dries fast and soaks in on the card, the artist was forced to execute quickly and in greater detail to retain lifelike results. The clientele was probably young professionals who could not afford the expensive ivory and gold frame.

Such is the case with the miniature below purchased on eBay UK. It was clearly identified as being signed on the reverse: “Francis Hargreaves. Fecit. 1840. Liverpool” It was not mentioned in the listing but I also noticed some faint writing along the bottom of the painting. I ended up winning the auction with a bid of £70 ($106). When I received it I was pleased with the quality of the work which stylistically has elements that are common to father and sons. I was also pleased to find the mat to be original with marbled paper border. The frame may indeed be original but could also be later. Under microscope I also found the faint writing at the bottom to read “ Fran (or Franc) Hargreaves 1840”. Famed collector Don Shelton has a Francis Hargreaves signed with a similar abbreviated first name. Many existing Francis Hargreaves miniatures are signed on the reverse identically to this one, many with Pinxit or Fecit (Latin- “made me or created me”). Microscopic examination of the signature ink confirms that it is completely of the period and authentic. Given the scarcity of miniatures of any kind by Francis Hargreaves I would estimate the value at auction to be between $450-$600.

Kind Thanks to my pal Don Shelton. Check out his blog at 
http://www.portrait-miniature.blogspot.com/

For next week’s pick post I’ll talk about my philosophy of picking as well as some helpful hints and tips!

Happy Hunting!

bc

Celtic Gold

Pick of the week for April 15th is a full Celtic gold stater of Addedomaros, King of the Trinovantes tribe, circa 45BC. The saying is “treasure is where you find it”, suggesting you never know where you might find the good stuff. However, sometimes you know it’s there and you just have to step in the right spot. That was the case with this beautiful piece of ancient gold I found in England recently. The area we were hunting was a known hoard area meaning there had been multiple Celtic gold coins recovered in the past but the field had not produced a hoard coin in several years. This spring it was freshly deep plowed and was being rolled flat (English farmers do this to their fields and it greatly enhances detecting conditions) so we took a chance on there still being one or two in the ground. After a couple of hours and very few targets I was thinking of heading over to another field but decided to make a small grid in the area where the hoard was allegedly found. I got a shallow target and thought it was probably aluminum and as I kicked away the loose dirt the small but beefy gold stater rolled across my boot! This was my 1st Celtic gold coin and although it was reported to the British museum as an addendum hoard coin, chances are it will be disclaimed and I’ll get to keep it. It’s a fine strike with a clear Celtic horse and weighs a hefty 5.55g. It’s hard to describe the feeling of digging a gold coin that was minted during the time of Julius Caesar but suffice to say it’s a rush…sometimes treasure is elusive but sometimes it’s right where it’s supposed to be.
Find out more about the Trinovantes tribe here: http://www.roman-britain.org/tribes/trinovantes.htm

Happy Hunting

Susannah-Penelope Rosse Portrait Miniature

The pick of this week is a tiny portrait miniature circa 1675. I became interested in portrait miniatures about 3 months ago. They are fascinating. Unlike full sized paintings that were meant to be hung in homes, miniatures were painted to be worn, close to the heart of someone who loved the sitter dearly. In 19^th century America they were most commonly painted as a memorial or a mourning piece, many having locks of intricately woven hair of the sitter in the back of the case.

I was search browsing eBay and came across this newly listed miniature with no bids yet. I noticed it was very small, in an appropriate silver and gold case and was signed in tiny letters SR. After a lightning fast reference adventure in comparing my suspected artist’s extant pieces in the Victoria Albert museum as well as Foskett’s dictionary of British Miniatures I emailed the seller in the UK and asked if they had a buy it now price in mind. It was late in the UK but I heard back from the seller. They’d be willing to let it go for £280 ($445). It was a risk (picking always is) but on a hunch I bought it. As it happens, just a few blocks down the street from the seller was the Phillip Mould art gallery (http://philipmould.com/) where Miniature expert and art consultant Emma Rutherford works so after securing payment I had the seller drop it off there and I let Emma know it was coming. Excited to see it, Emma wrote a full report and confirmed the miniature to be the work of Susannah-Penelope Rosse, the 1^st recorded British female portrait miniaturist painted around 1675. Watercolor on Vellum (as opposed to the later medium, ivory). The sitter is unknown but was probably a relative or friend of Rosse (Rosse’s status and wealth did not necessitate her art). She was also married to a well-known jeweler, Michael Rosse and since the case is original, he may have made the case for this miniature. Rosse’s work is scarce. Signed Rosse’s are almost non-existent outside of museum collections. It’s a special piece and a very good start to a British portrait miniature collection. Although no signed Rosses' have sold at auction in the past 10 years, comparing size, quality and context, Emma estimated the value of the miniature at $3,200. See more of her work at http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/p/portrait-miniatures-susan-penelope-rosse/

Happy Hunting

James LeBlanc

This week’s grin happened Monday. I’ve been working with James LeBlanc for the past 15 years. We’ve written songs that have cumulatively sold more than 20 million units but he’s probably my favorite co-write for these two reasons: 1) There are no obstacles between his soul and his voice (or his hands) 2) When we build a track in the studio we are like extensions of each others' musicality. It’s almost seamless…and effortless. We wrote a song last week called “White Noise” and Monday we met at my studio and spent the day building a soulful, energetic track around an infectious groove (172BPM). When the day was done we had something that neither of us could have done without the other…which is the definition of great collaboration. We took smoke breaks. We ate banana bread that Dawn made. We shot hoops. We created music that we both want to listen to over and over. And when you’ve made commercial music your entire adult life… that is treasure.

I’ll post the song when it’s mixed.

Tomorrow, pick of the week.

Happy Hunting.

UPDATE: Here is the mix of our song "White Noise"

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5211138/White%20Noise%20DEMO2.mp3

 

Treasure

There is treasure. Everywhere. You just have to train your eyes to see the glint. My life is a treasure quest. From muddy fields in ancient England to antique malls in Pennsylvania to a windowless studio in my basement to a crowded coffee house with a friend who’s seen the face of God…or the face of the Devil. I’m always searching for bits of gold. And the search is the best part.

Every week my goal is to post something about something I’ve found; and hopefully I’ll find something even better by sharing it with you- hearing about what treasure you have found.

There is treasure everywhere. You just have to train your eyes to see the glint.