It's FIFA this week in Montreal (Festival international du film sur l'art). So last night I went to see Colville (2008, directed by Andreas Schultz) a film about one of my all time favourite painters, Alex Colville. I've been enamoured by his work ever since I was a teen. Then I happened to go to Mount Allison University where he had been a student and a prof. This exposed me to more of his original paintings and deepened my love of his work. I've never seen him talk or seen a documentary about him so this was quite a moving experience. Then there is the fact that he often made nudes of his wife, who has been important to his work throughout his long career, one of which I used as inspiration for a Model Husband image.

I love, love, love seeing documentaries on artists that inspire me. You can't always see artists talk live and so this medium is a good substitute. Another artist that has inspired me for fifteen plus years is Sam Abell. His was the first photo book I ever bought, and was in fact the first thing that I ever ordered on-line. And so when I came across a little VHS documentary on him (Sam Abell, Sight and Insight: Photographer Sam Abell's Art of Simplicity) in the Dawson library I couldn't help but check it out. Now I show this film in many of my classes and have seen it at least 8 times. And yet I love it every time. His use of such simple tools and the incredible results, are always inspiring. And then of course he seems to have such a soothing voice and demeanour.