Meet Vincent Bernardy: Musician, Painter, and Artistic Recycler

Vincent Bernardy is a New Resident Artist at Studios On the Park 

I met him for the first time during the October Art after Dark Event. His assemblage works are so unique that after you've seen a few of them you wouldn't need a sign to know they are his. He seems to love creating things related to construction, but he doesn't limit his subjects to that. He does like bold colors. You can see that in the assemblage behind him.

You can also see that he has fun mixing his media.  Vincent shares a studio  with others, so what's on the shared desk isn't necessarily his. I'm guessing those toad abodes are somehow connected with studio mate Anna Meyrick who speicalizes in mosaics and ceramics.

Anna used to share a studio with Eve Provost Chartrand. My favorite source of news at the studios told me that the reason Eve left is that she thought she didn't know enough about art so she left to teach it. I had to chuckle at that, but I knew what he meant.

An Overview of the Art in Vincent's Studio Corner

When I first saw this corner, my first thought was "This guy really loves tools!" That large assemblage on the upper right side especially fascinated me. I asked Vincent about it. He told me he doesn't like to tell people what his works mean to him, since he wants each person to come at it with their own fresh perspective. If someone tells you what a piece of art is supposed to represent or mean, it limits what you might see for yourself. He did finally share his perspective with me, but I won't tell you what he said. It would be really interesting if you look at it and share what it means to you in the comments below. See the full frontal view of this piece, as well as Vincent's other art, on his webpage

The Tools

It's obvious that Vincent likes to use tools in his work -- not just to create it. As I looked at these, I thought what great gifts they might be to your favorite carpenter or handyman. What may not be obvious is that those screwdrivers actually are real and removable. One could actually use them and put them back. What a functional work of art -- especially for the person who can never find the right screwdriver when he or she needs it. Not only that, as you can see, you can also use it to hang smaller pictures. Only your imagination limits the uses.

The assemblage below also has another use. Technically, it's a coat rack. Look carefully and you'll see the hooks. The shadows will give you a hint as to where to look. Notice how carefully the screwdrivers are arranged to show off the various colors and sizes.

Music

Vincent Bernardi takes his music to many local venues. You can sample it on his YouTube channel. The song I liked best was "Rodeo Clown." He teamed up with Jade Jackson for this one. I met her for the first time when she was performing at Sculpterra one day in 2010. Here's a link to the video I made while looking around the tasting room while she was performing. It includes a brief interview with her at the end.

You can connect with Vincent on Instagram or on his website.

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Welcome to Art After Dark at Studios on the Park , Part 1

Welcome to Art after Dark at Studios on the Park

Studios on the Park in Paso Robles is just what its name implies. It's packed with artist studios and galleries. Most of the artists show up for events like the monthly Art after Dark. During these occasions you'll usually find at least one resident artist in each studio. I had the opportunity to meet some  new resident artists tonight. I hope to be featuring them in subsequent posts.

People Enjoying Art After Dark at Studios on the Park, © B. Radisavljevic

Since I saw enough tonight to fill several blog posts, this will be an overview of the entire event with few details. It will give you the pulse of the event with some of the sights and sounds. In other posts I'll take you into individual studios so you can see the work of many of the artists.

The Paso Robles Art Association Was Having a Party

Paso Robles Art Association Partying, © B. Radisavljevic

They have a gallery in this studio. The party was in full swing when I took this photo about an hour after it had started. As you can see, there aren't too many refreshments left. People are mingling, catching up with each other, and discussing the art. I'll do a post on this party later, and show you the art up close. This event started an hour before the main event.

The Main Event Begins with Music

By the time the event officially begins there is a musician or group ready to entertain those in attendance. Tonight that vocal artist was Swedish Sofia Talvik. I attempted to get a video, but decided not to use it. Instead, you'll hear Sofia live in the background when you see the video below of the Bound Scissors Project. Here's Sofia performing.

Sofia Talvik Performing at Studios on the Park October 7, 2017, © B. Radisavljevic

Sofia has many videos on YouTube that will give you an  idea of her diverse styles.  This is a bit different than what she sang tonight, but I loved the way she did it so I share it here. She is singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." You can find the lyrics here if you have trouble understanding them.  Here's the video.

I also loved this audio version of "When It Rains on Chrismas Day." You can listen to it for free.

The Wine

Local wineries donate wine for Art after Dark so that Studios on the Park can sell it and raise money to keep up its work of art education in our community and to keep its art programs accessible for both children and adults. I wish I'd had these kinds of opportunities to experience art when I was young.

People Waiting for their Wine, © B. Radisavljevic

Alta Colina donated the wine for tonight's event. You can see that many art lovers are also wine lovers. There's a lot of pouring going on.

The Bound Scissors Project

The Bound Scissors Project, © B. Radisavljevic

When I saw this, my first reaction was "What in the world is this?" After all, the scissors are useless for cutting anything. Creator Suzanna Scott bound them all tight in fabric and thread.

 So what is this good for? It encourages people to be creative. As people walk by, a sign invites them to rearrange the scissors in some design and then to post the photo to Instagram with the tag #boundscissorsproject. Many people did stop to do some rearranging. Here are some subsequent photos.

Obviously it takes an artist to do this artistically, so I noticed Anne Laddon having a go at it. She's the one with the red sleeves in the video. You will hear Sofia Talvik's voice in the background and experience a bit of what the rest of us heard throughout the evening.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to my series on tonight's Art after Dark. If you did, please share it. Use can use the image below on Pinterest.

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