I have spent most of my life in the small and quiet town of Dundas on the outskirts of Hamilton Ontario. I currently live there with my wonderful wife Debbie. As a youth I loved to draw and I took art classes at the old Hamilton Art Gallery for a number of years. I had a wonderful art teacher, Rob Roi, in grade 7 and 8, who told me that he thought that I should continue with art in high school and that I should think about commercial art as a career. Alas I ended up going to an academic school and put my art supplies away for about 25 years.
In 1993 Debbie, convinced me to take an art class at the Dundas Valley School of Art. I enroled in a portraits class and it was like being born again. I had found something that had been missing from my life for a long time. I progressed from pencil to pastel and then to watercolours. The adult portraits shown on this site were all painted from live models in those classes between 1993 and 1995.
I am a Scout leader and Scouting began taking up more and more of my time, so I again stopped painting. This time for about 10 years. I retired in July 2006 and promptly enrolled in a watercolour class at the School or Art. My plan was to paint every day but I have only managed a couple of times a week. I tend to be a perfectionist and I love that watercolours don't allow me that kind of control. They force me to stay relaxed and to have fun with the paint. I have always loved the outdoors and I think that my style reflects the quiet calm that I feel when outside the city. Unspoiled countryside has a certain warmth even in the winter. I find inspiration all around me but especially on canoe trips in Algonquin Provincial Park or at Long Lane, the bed and breakfast of our close friends Phil and Bonnie.
Of late I attribute all growth as an artist to my many supportive friends at Wetcanvas, an online artist community and I am sure that they will keep me motivated to paint for many years to come.
John