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Art, in all of its myriad forms, fires our imagination. By presenting ideas to the viewer in the form of line, tone and colour, the artist can become a dream-maker. These often take the form of stories, either told in a single, breathtaking image or shown sequentially over a number of drawings or paintings. Triptychs are one example of the latter. Another example, long dismissed as either juvenile or pop art, is the graphic novel – comic books that have grown up. Von Allan, an Ottawa-based artist and graphic novelist, will show why this form of art speaks to him with an art show at La Dolce Vita beginning on May 19, 2008.
“Graphic novels, with their ability to express a broad range of thoughts and ideas, are an art form that stimulates the imagination by their very nature,” says Allan. “For me, personally, the combination of words and images is a delight. Seeing a figure materialize on a piece of Bristol board just with a pencil and brush is magic. Seeing a reader then interact with that figure, proving the reality of their twodimensional world, makes that figure something more. It is exactly in that space, that ‘something more,’ where dreams come alive. It is amazing what a little line of ink on a small piece of paper can do.”
The Art of Von Allan will feature a number of illustrations and paintings that Allan has completed over the past few months. In addition, a number of pages from "the road to god knows..," an original graphic novel, will also be featured. The graphic novel tells the story of Marie, a young teenage girl coming to grips with her Mom’s schizophrenia. As a result, she’s struggling to grow up fast; wrestling with poverty, loneliness, and her Mom’s illness every step of the way. Betty, Marie’s Mom, can’t help; she’s living with an illness that’s slowly getting worse and increasingly frightening. With her Mom absorbed in her own problems, Marie is essentially alone while she learns to deal with the chaos in her young life.
"The road to god knows…" is expected to be printed in 2008 and has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-0-3. It is currently being serialized online at webcomics collective GirlAMatic.com
About Von Allan
Von Allan (vonallan.com) was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for "Star Wars: A New Hope." He managed Perfect Books, an independent bookstore in Ottawa, for many years while working on story ideas in his spare time; eventually, he decided to make the leap to a creative life, and "the road to god knows…" was the result. Additional information about the graphic novel can be found online.
About La Dolce Vita
Visit the Mediterranean and you'll quickly become a fan of the great food, great wine and joie de vivre of the people there. La Dolce Vita staff make it their business to bring that joy - that appreciation of fine food and conversation - to the Capital. The restaurant's gourmet pizzas are justly famous, combining decadent ingredients to tempt the palate and the eye.
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von[.]vonallan.com 
