My Illustrious Past

The last juried exhibition that I entered was with a graphite drawing.  This one: Siesta.   This was in 1993.  While I didn't win a prize, I was told that my drawing garnered more positive feedback than the winners.  My work is not paritcularly avante-garde so I am not likely to be winning prizes.  I was well satisfied with the positive feedback.

The point is that I am more of a "drawer" than a painter and I really want to make that transition.

My most cherished memory is that of my grade 7 art teacher convincing my mother to provide $50 dollars and allow him to take me to buy oil painting supplies and teach me to paint twice a week after school.  He took me to the "Rowney" warehouse ( which I believe is no longer in Toronto) and we bought a wooden case, which I still have and use, and a load of oil paint tubes.  He was only at the school for that one year and then I was on my own.  I did a total of 3 very childish oil paintings and that was the that. That is except for years of art classes in high school, various workshops through the years as well as instruction through Art Instruction Schools, OCAD, and many others.

Even when I signed up some 10 years ago for my only year at  the Academy of Realist Art ( then Angel Studios) I was years away from being allowed to paint in oils.  During that year I worked on countless life drawings from the model and completed 2 pain-staking Bargue Drawings.  These are they.

The Baby and Augustus.

My painting medium of choice is the devilish watercolour. I did do some watercolour while I was an architectural Illustrator and a few characters and trees for my Entourage Collections.   but I am very far from a master and that is my goal at this time.