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Art Over Body Wednesday, November 10, 2004 By TRICIA JONES, Columbian staff writer |
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The green and blue woman with the bouffant hair made her first appearance while Jacqueline Langis was lying in bed.
She started as just a shape in the decorative ivy that stretches along Langis' bedroom wall.
Alarming? Not to Langis, who conjured up a bulbous blonde in the reflected lamplight on a shower wall, and a reclining
river watcher in the pattern of her kitchen countertop. Langis is used to meeting striking figures in unexpected places in her Vancouver home. The artist welcomes them, fleshes out their first impressions and gives them life in her paintings. A native of Quebec who spoke only French until her move to Vancouver, B.C., in 1993, Langis said she likes humor and sensuality in her paintings. But she doesn't demand it. "Something that works well for me is not to force too much ... but let (subjects) come to me," says Langis, 43. And they do, through memories, moods and ideas sparked by the images she finds in her surroundings. Samples of these colorful visitors will be displayed Friday through Sunday at Heritage Gallery in east Vancouver. Nearly 20 of Langis' paintings are to be exhibited, about twice the total featured in her first show last fall at Bacchus Restaurant. Spirited and at times intense, Langis' works are almost vocal. Some whisper. Some trill. Some call out "Hey! Over here!" All seem to tell a story, like the woman eyeing a potential conquest in "Ooh! Baby," or the sunlit child of "A Day at the Beach." "Everything has a meaning and is inspired by something going on in her life," says Portland's Janet Stinson, who attended Langis' first show and is looking forward to the next. "I love 'Carte Blanche,' which has the back of a woman, very sensual, with light coming in from the left side. "You don't really know what is going to happen, but you can fill in the details." Heritage Gallery owner Tom Tingey said Langis' work is unlike anything he and wife Judy have had in their shop. "She's got a couple that are very relaxing. They make you feel like you want to go right into the art," Tingey said. "Celebrate" is a word that appears often in the handouts promoting Langis' second show, and there's good reason for her to exult. Brimming over with enough ideas to keep her painting for the next 10 years sweetens her future. All the more because she had been told not to expect one. Seven years ago, Langis was diagnosed with a chronic connective tissue disease known as scleroderma. The systemic form of the disease, which Langis has, is associated with the immune system and often leads to over-production of scar tissue. Lung, heart and kidney damage are the most frequent causes of severe disability and death, according to the American College of Rheumatology. There is no known cure. For Langis, an early sign was feeling pain in her fingers as she attempted to unlock her front door. In 1997, she had to give up her job as a computer software designer. Her fingers curled under into an unyielding bent position, she was unable to straighten her arms or bend over to retrieve anything that dropped to the floor. "I was told (at the diagnosis) they couldn't do anything to help me. The only thing they could do was be a moral support until I died," Langis recalled. At one point in 2000, Langis' weight dwindled from 120 pounds to 82 pounds. She was unable to care for herself and relied on the assistance of her husband, Steven Woolgar, and close friends to complete basic tasks of daily living. After an intravenous therapy required 10 attempts to find a vein, Langis decided it was time to find alternative treatments. She did some research and eventually turned to a California specialist for antibiotic therapy at the suggestion of a friend. As a result, she has regained some weight and ability to function but still has limitations on her movements and energy. Bill Britton, a Portland friend who will be playing cello at Langis' exhibit, says her determination reminds him of actor Christopher Reeve, who died in October after years of encouraging others to overcome severe disabilities. "The obstacles she's had to overcome have been a source of inspiration for me getting through what are minor annoyances for me, compared to what people like Jacqueline have been through," Britton said. What Britton sees as inspirational, Langis credits to being resourceful and analytical. And stubborn. Scleroderma has not killed her, she says, because she asks questions and rebels when other people would shut up and cave in. "Some would call it denial. To me it's a benediction that I'm not aware of how limited I am," she said. "I guess that's why I can do so much more than people would expect." Langis and her husband had moved to Vancouver from British Columbia in 1996. Though she had not studied art in her youth, Langis said she did have a creative side that she didn't take the time to pursue when she worked in the computer industry. She'd love to make a living from her art, despite having to conserve her strength and avoid too many deadlines. In her art and elsewhere, Langis believes her illness has had a transformative power. But some aspects of her personality have remained constant. Langis says she is particular, she is meticulous, she is persistent, and she is not afraid to ask of people more than most would. "I'm torn between getting what I want the way I want it, and annoying people," Langis said. "But over the years, a couple of those people have come back and said I had been a mentor ... so that's probably what I'm meant to do." That, and to keep a lookout for what might be in the walls, shadows and ivy, waiting to be painted. |
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