Bringin’ Back The Art

Last winter while walking in downtown Toronto I was passing the front window of an art gallery when I noticed a perfect painting of a snow covered field with a small house in the background. Its early evening in the painting and the house has warm glowing light spilling from the windows on to the icy ground outside. The snow covering the field has a blue white glow to it and you can almost feel the crisp, cold, still air. It was quite wonderful.

When I was a teen I use to spend almost every waking hour in Taylor Creek Park which is part of the Don Valley Park system. It’s located just off of Dawes Rd in the east end of the city. When you’re in this park you’re totally secluded from the streets, lights and noise of the city around you. I would walk to school, which was a fair distance, through the park. I would come home the same way. Almost every night I would meet one of my friends and we would spend hours walking, talking, climbing hydro towers (okay I would climb he would pretend to be my mom and tell me to get down) and just enjoying the crazy un-urban landscape. At night, in the winter, the only light you would find in the park would come from the moon and it would give the snowy hills and trees around us the same blue white glow as the field in the painting. Seeing the painting in the window reminded me of that time and it gave me a really incredible warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy.

It’s been about a million years since I sat down and actually produced a painting. For those of you who know me well you’re probably thinking “Dot paints?” Answer: Yep. I do. But my creative side is coupled with my irrational need to keep all things emotional private - I can hear Kerry sighing as I write that – which is why very few folks have ever seen any of my artwork. I mentioned my urge to paint to a couple of friends and subsequently for Christmas I was given an easel, canvases, paint, brushes – everything I need. I don’t have the creative force that a lot of my friends have. Over the years there are a handful of things that folks I know have created that have stuck with me. Simon’s “Lonely Bench”, Steve’s “Barrington Avenue”, John’s “Nudes of Fife”, Reston’s “Crystanthia”, Catherine’s sketch of Jennifer. I’m hoping to be able to produce at least one piece that’s worthy of some warm tummy fuzziness.

Wish me luck and my apologies in advance for not letting any of you see it!