Ancestors
“In 2016, I painted a few pictures of old photographs that were taken at our grandparents’ summer cottage near Willow Beach. I wanted some local scenes for my solo show, Halcyon Days at The Georgina Art Gallery and Museum in nearby Sutton. I’ve continued to paint pictures of family photographs because there is such a wealth of subject matter in these pictures and because I’m intrigued by the signs of age and imperfection in the original artifacts that add so much to the uniqueness of the images.
Although I know the identities of almost every one of my subjects, I’ve purposely painted them from a neutral perspective. These are still life paintings of old photographs first and portraits of people second. The original photos are sepia or black and white but I try to convey the colours I think I can see embedded deep within the prints. When I surrender my imagination to it I can entertain the sensation that the borders of time and place have dissolved.”
Laura
Grace Street
A young photographer tenderly poses his sylphlike bride in front of her family’s home in Grace Street. She stands on a spotlit, sweeping curve that leads to a dramatic juxtaposition of light and dark perpendicular shapes. SIZE: 19” X 13.25” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE...
Off Shady Lane
A man and a woman beam at something off camera as they stand in front of a summer cottage at Willow Beach. SIZE: 13.5” X 13.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $250
Camping
Children play inside a tent made from Muskoka chairs and blankets. SIZE: 11.5” X 17.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Annie, Morris, Ben
A man and his son pay a visit to the boy’s aunt. They pose for a photograph, casually leaning on a lamp post. SIZE: 18” X 12.75” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Pony Cart
Three girls take a ride in a pony cart at Jackson’s Point. SIZE: 12” X 16.75” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Mary
A young woman stands amid trees and vegetation. SIZE: 17.5" X 11.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Young Couple
Formal engagement portrait of a young couple, circa 1912. SIZE: 17” X 12” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Brothers
A boy comforts his anxious little brother in a doorway overlooking a street. Their mother sits out of sight on the stairs below. SIZE: 19” X 11.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Ben, Mary, Morris
Formal portrait of a woman and man with their first son, circa 1916. SIZE: 13.5” X 13.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $250
The Katzman Family
Formal photograph of four children with their parents. Their father is wearing spats. SIZE: 21" X 14” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Sam and Dina
A man and woman stand beside a hydrant under the trees on a Toronto street circa 1910. SIZE: 19” X 11.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Ray Gun
A man stands with two of his grandsons in front of some trees. The flaw in the photograph looks like science fiction. SIZE: 18' X 11” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Quantum Entanglement
Mystery men merging with shopfronts and glass doors numbered 306 twice, of Mystery Street. Somewhere, sometime in Toronto a very long time ago. SIZE: 18' X 12” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
A Day In The Country
A couple sit on a log with their infant son in a bucolic setting in 1923. SIZE: 13.5” X 19.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Jenny, Sylvia, George
In 1923 a woman, her young daughter and the baby are in the yard. SIZE: 18” X 1 2” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Fishermen
Fishermen angling just after dawn on the Pefferlaw River. SIZE: 15.5” X 10.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Birthday Party
A child’s birthday party. His mother baked a cake for him. His parents and grandmother look on as he gets ready to blow out the candles. The children in the foreground are distracted by the photographer. SIZE: 13.5” X 19.5” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT:...
She Wades In The Water
On an overcast day a young woman in a black turban carries her shoes as she wades ankle deep in the clear water near the shore. SIZE: 19” X 14” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
2 Kensington Place
At the back of 2 Kensington Place in 1918 a woman holds her infant daughter aloft for a photograph to be taken. A church is in the background, likely the First Baptist Church. This old photograph is disintegrating. SIZE: 19” X 11” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT:...
Papa
A bright day in 1958. A man stares abstractedly at a table, deep in thought. Sunlight streams through the sheer curtains. SIZE: 13” X 17.75” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Snookey
A young child is delighted by his reflection in a bedroom mirror. SIZE: 13” X 17” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Me and Mr. Squawcker
Rempel Manufacturing of Akron Ohio - the rubber Capitol of the world - made a line of latex squeeze toys called “Sunnyslope” from 1946 until 1968. A little girl wears a sombrero and throws a sideways glance as she sits facing her Sunnyslope walking duck, Mr....
Mummy’s Boy
Early winter or late spring: A small child in a white knitted hat holds the strap of a white bag. His mittens dangle from a string threaded through the sleeves of his snowsuit. His mother stands behind him wearing a fur coat and a turban, laughing. He is learning to...
Boy Posing with Baseball Bat
A little boy poses holding a baseball bat. His tiny hands can barely support its weight and it droops. He wears his cap sideways, hoping he’ll be mistaken for Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle. The shadow of a big swing falls on the ground beside him. A storm cloud hovers...
Couturière
A couturière dresses elegantly for a pastoral outing. SIZE: 17.5” X 12” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR FINE ART PRINT: $330
Doc
A gentleman stands in front of a park bench in the west end of Toronto. It’s an overcast day sometime in the 1930s. The glaring interseasonal light just swipes his nose and chin, illuminating his white Eton collar and his shirt. SIZE: 19” X 12.25” MEDIUM: WATERCOLOUR...