art beat / By Jennifer Savage

Art on Film

While the narration strays into too-serious mode at times, overall …a way of seeing works, both for showing the relationship between McVicker and the places he loves, and as a look at one master’s process. Because he eschews painting from photographs, he can’t work on the same landscape painting for more than a few hours at a time. Sometimes he’ll return to a spot 10, even 20 times, before a canvas is complete. He admits to “incredible frustration” at times, but says the real-life experience — and corresponding real-life passion — makes for better work.

Unlike some painters, McVicker does not alter the composition as it exists in the outside world to better fit preordained classic art parameters. Instead, he excels at finding that which already serves to absorb a viewer — tribute, again, to his “way of seeing.”

He’s able to transcend such boundaries even further, as the film shows in a scene where McVicker’s painting at the docks. The swoop of the ships’ bows lead to an orange buoy almost centered on the canvas — a prime no-no in the composition world. Artists are not supposed to have subject matter directly in the middle because an onlooker’s eyes are then drawn just to the center instead of flowing over the entirety of the painting. But McVicker gets away with this through a combination of talent and understanding. He’s used to treating the canvas as a whole, framing the scene so that all parts captivate the viewer — the same way McVicker himself is enthralled by the vista before him.

Jim McVicker: a way of seeing is available, free of charge through jimmcvickerpaints.com.

Yet another Humboldt household name — you’ve heard of Duane Flatmo, perhaps? — is showing up in another medium, this one a book about California murals. Large Art in Small Places by art historian Kevin Bruce, recently published by Ten Speed Press, features more than 20 Humboldt County murals in Eureka, Arcata and Ferndale. Eureka Books hosted Flatmo and Augustus Clark at last week’s Arts Alive! event. For more information, visit the bookstore at 426 Second St. or eurekabooksellers.com.

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