A WPBS-TV Production

Art is at the foundation of human history. Since man first expressed themselves on the walls of caves artists have tried to share their visions of the world and of their experiences in that world.

Travel is based on the human need to explore, and to expand his/her horizons. We as a people feel the need to experience the romance of entering a foreign land, all in the spirit of adventure

WPBS-TV is producing a new weekly TV show titled “Journeys of an Artist” to be released nationally to the PBS member stations. This show combines both of these features into one program. PBS television’s mission and that of  “Journeys of an Artist” TV show is to educate, entertain, and inform, in order to enhance the lives of those we serve.

Program Description:

“Journeys of An Artist” is a television series consisting of 13 half-hour episodes per year.

Viewers are invited to join artist/host Gene Canning each week as he travels to visit a weekly guest artist on his or her journeys in art. Artists are known travelers. They have an unquenchable need to get first hand knowledge of the places, people and things that they wish to re-create in their various art forms. This is often done at great hardship and personal risk. Often, however, their travels take them to places less remote.  These places are filled with wondrous beauty that draws them back there time and time again.

Our viewers will be able to learn about different places and cultures around the world.  These experiences will be from a perspective never before seen on a weekly TV program. Our goal is to educate the viewer to look at the world in a new and exciting way, through color, form and composition. Artists tend to see the world just a little bit differently. Artists look at how light hits an object, the way the wind plays on grasses in a field, or the way a cloud forms with the approaching rain. By traveling the world with our artist host Gene Canning and the renowned guest artists, the viewer will learn to see the world “through the eyes of an artist.”

“Journeys of An Artist” is not meant to be an art instructional show. It has been designed to be interesting to a wide audience and their families. Diverse cultures, opinions, and individual artist’s stories will be highlighted each week. Production standards of WPBS ensure that each show will have a well-crafted storyline, strong visuals, and a clear appearance, which is both easy and enjoyable to follow. Gene states, “ I want the viewer to feel that they are traveling with us. They should feel they are sitting with us by that fire pit in Yellowstone National Park. My job is to act as the facilitator, asking the questions that I feel the viewer would want to ask. While watching a pride of lions on the Serengeti, the viewer will be able to enjoy the visuals of these lions in their natural environment, and learn about the natural characteristics. At the same time, the guest artist and I will talk about how these scenes become their inspiration. Describing how that particular scene finds its way into a painting, or how various elements combine to create a work of art. Artists are often asked these questions by the general public. This is a chance for a wide audience to find out the answers.” 

Along with far away places, Gene will be traveling to many destinations within North America. Because many artists don’t travel far from home to find their subject matter, an important educational component of this show is to share the splendor of our own homeland with our viewers. Our continent contains a lifetime of painting inspiration. Regardless of the location, the experience of seeing it through an artist’s eyes is sure to be a unique experience.

Each of the artists for this first season were chosen for their unique styles, or subject matter, their worldwide public following, and for their ability and willingness to share these adventures with us. We will also see inside many of their studios, offering a glimpse at the places where their work takes form.    While we are talking with the artists, a visual montage will fill the viewers TV screens, blurring the lines between art and reality. We’ll bring the viewers into the artist’s realm, forever changing the way they look at the world around them. “Journeys of an Artist” will take them on the adventure of a lifetime.

Journeys of an Artist: SEASON ONE

 >  Press-Kit For Stations

101. Guy Coheleach (Part One): www.guysart.com
Join Guy Coheleach, one of the world’s most respected wildlife artists, on a breathtaking photo safari through the Serengeti plains.
Rivertrees Country Inn: www.rivertrees.com
Nomad Safaris: PO Box 1344, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel: +255-22-2865156, 2865731, +255-741-325853, 333335, Fax: +255-22-2865731, 2617060, 2865156
Coastal Aviation: www.coastal.cc
Tanzania (Official Tourism Site): http://www.tanzania-web.com/map/home.htm
CIA The World Factbook – Tanzania: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tz.html
National Website of the United Republic of Tanzania: http://www.tanzania.go.tz/
 

102. Guy Coheleach (Part Two): www.guysart.com
Gene and legendary wildlife artist Guy Coheleach continue their African safari to the Ngorongoro Crater in eastern Africa.
Rivertrees Country Inn: www.rivertrees.com
Nomad Safaris: PO Box 1344, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel: +255-22-2865156, 2865731, +255-741-325853, 333335, Fax: +255-22-2865731, 2617060, 2865156
Coastal Aviation: www.coastal.cc 
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge: http://www.ccafrica.com/destinations/tanzania/ngorongoro/
Tanzania (Official Tourism Site): http://www.tanzania-web.com/map/home.htm
CIA – The World Factbook – Tanzania: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tz.html
National Website of the United Republic of Tanzania: http://www.tanzania.go.tz/
 

103. Randall Scott: www.randallscott.com
Visit the depths of the Atlantic Ocean in the Bahamas with artist Randall Scott, who paints crashed WWII planes and sunken ships that litter the ocean floor.
Bahamas Tourism: http://www.bahamas.com/bahamas/index.aspx
National Museum of Naval Aviation: http://www.naval-air.org/home.html
Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas: www.stuartcove.com
 

104. Dwayne Harty: www.dwayneharty.com
Wildlife artist Dwayne Harty takes us on a cross-continental trip through two countries to explore what inspires his paintings and museum dioramas, as well as his love of plein-air landscape art.
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario: www.algonquin.on.ca
Camp Tanamakoon: www.tanamakoon.com
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario: www.rom.on.ca
Royal Saskatchewan Museum: www.royalsaskmuseum.ca
Yellowstone National Park (National Park Service): www.nps.gov/yell/
National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, WY: www.wildlifeart.org
Trailside Galleries, Jackson Hole, WY: www.trailsidegalleries.com
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, AB: www.glenbow.org
 

105. Rod Crossman: www.rodcrossman.com
Fly fishing artist (and avid fly fisherman) Rod Crossman shares his techniques of both painting and casting along the banks of rivers and streams throughout the southern Adirondack Mountains of New York.
Indiana Wesleyan University: http://www.indwes.edu
New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation: www.dec.state.ny.us
 

106. Steve Hanks (Part One) www.steve-hanks.com
Steve Hanks is known as “The Painter of Life.” For the first time, Steve allows cameras to follow him as he journeys through the streets of New Orleans and shows us around his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Cabrillo National Monument and Old Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego:
(619) 557-5450 www.nps.gov/cabr
Sandia Peak Tramway, Albuquerque, New Mexico:
(505) 856-7325 www.sandiapeak.com
 

107. Steve Hanks (Part Two) www.steve-hanks.com
In this episode, Steve takes us along to the West Coast, to the towns of La Jolla and Ventura, where he demonstrates why the ocean is such a strong influence on his art.
Emeril’s Restaurant, 800 Tchoupitoulas St. Warehouse District
New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 528-9393
 

108. John Banovich (Part One): www.johnbanovich.com
A once-in-a-lifetime tour of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is the backdrop for an interview with African wildlife artist John Banovich.
Rivertrees Country Inn: www.rivertrees.com
Coastal Aviation: www.coastal.cc
Tanzania (Official Tourism Site): http://www.tanzania-web.com/map/home.htm
CIA – The World Factbook – Tanzania: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tz.html 
National Website of the United Republic of Tanzania: http://www.tanzania.go.tz/
VIP Safaris:
 

109. John Banovich (Part Two): www.johnbanovich.com
Our trip through the Serengeti National park continues as John Banovich describes what inspires him as an artist, and why Africa holds special meaning to his life and work.
Rivertrees Country Inn: www.rivertrees.com
Coastal Aviation: www.coastal.cc
Tanzania (Official Tourism Site): http://www.tanzania-web.com/map/home.htm
CIA – The World Factbook – Tanzania: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tz.html
National Website of the United Republic of Tanzania: http://www.tanzania.go.tz/
Selous Impala Camp: http://www.adventurecamps.co.tz/selousimpalacamp.htm
Mdonya Old River Camp: http://www.adventurecamps.co.tz/mdonyaoldrivercamp.htm
 

110. Michael Dumas
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario: www.algonquin.on.ca
Artist Michael Dumas takes us on a personal trip into the interior of Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada to witness its wild beauty.
The Science Behind Algonquin’s Animals: http://www.sbaa.ca
 

111. African Artists
Learn what local artisans and craftsman in Zanzibar create on a daily basis while Gene takes in the breathtaking sights and sounds of this legendary port of call.
Official site of the Commision of Tourism in Zanzibar: www.zanzibartourism.net/clients/zanzibartourism/www/index.php?pageId=1003
Tanzania Tourism Official Site – Zanzibar:
http://www.tanzania-web.com/zanzibar/home.htm
Zanzibar Art at Zanzibar.net: http://zanzibar.net/zanzibar/image_gallery
 

112. Bradley Schmehl: http://www.bradleyschmehl.biz/
Journeys of an Artist host Gene Canning is mustered into a reenactment army in Virginia with Civil War artist Bradley Schmehl.
Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation: www.cedarcreekbattlefield.org
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park: http://www.nps.gov/cebe/
Belle Grove Plantation: www.bellegrove.org
 

113. Season Summary
A review of the places, sights, and artists that host Gene Canning has interviewed throughout this series.