#0021 "Blanketed Bridge"

Now for something I painted in the studio of Mario Airomi. You can tell from the very small number of 21 that this was near the start of my artistic journey...

This is a popular winter scene which has been done lots of times. Mario Airomi had a version of it in his studio and he assigned it to me to paint and learn.

Although a winter scene this was actually painted in the summer of 1975 - just before Linda and I married and only 9 months before Mario passed away in January of 1976.

#0366 "Jazz-minnie Coco-Pupp"

This is the family Chesapeake Jazzmin as an older puppy during the fall of 1993. Chesapeakes grow up fast. Their large paws reveal that they will grow into larger dogs. She was relaxing in this portrait but typically she was ready to play. Her favourite game was probably 500 with a green tennis ball.

In 500 the players include a thrower and many catchers. The Chesapeake was the main catcher. The thrower decides if points are awarded if the ball is caught directly or alive or if the ball must be picked up after it hits the ground or dead. The thrower also has the responsibility to determine the number of points that should be distributed. A thrower might call out "100 dead" and throw the ball straight up in the air. All the catchers must wait until the ball touches the ground before they can pick it up in order to receive the 100 points at stake. The player who reaches 500 points first is the winner, and will become the thrower, and the thrower will become a catcher. The Chesapeake preferred to stay as the permanent catcher.

Chesapeakes have a very strong personality. This one loved to play hockey and would catch the puck in her jaws. Just like in the NHL this style of hockey did eventually result in some tooth loss no matter how we tried to prevent it.

#0273 "Our Future"

Another memory from March 1993.

This was my son Keith's Grade 4-5 Schomberg Public School class on an outing at the Burrlington Outdoor Recreation Centre north of Toronto in March 1990. It was a cold, overcast day with intermittent drizzle and light snow. The forest was the environment and the children are the future. I painted the kids as I saw them. They all had their own personality for sure. Some were quiet and shy while others were quirky and still others were off the wall.

Since I worked shifts I was able to attend and support many of the kid's school activities.

#0364 "Jazzmin"

More memories from Watershed Farm and 1993...

The family Chesapeake, Jazzmin as a puppy during the summer of 1993 when we were busy renovating the abandoned farm house on the 12th Concession of King Township. The Chesapeake would have the free run of Watershed Farm. The big paws on the puppy revealed that she would grow into a much larger adult. She was smart and learned fast. The Chesapeake was a gift from my Brother to his Nephew. She grew into a cherished member of the family and provided hours of entertainment.

I used to save cardboard boxes for projects. The Chesapeake had a special dislike of cardboard boxes perhaps relating to her living quarters during her first week or so with us. I would often find these boxes shredded to bits on the front hill - her revenge I guess. I painted the Chesapeake many times.

#0180 "Feathered Friend"

From March of 1988... a long time ago but from a place not very far away from Singleton...

My son Keith and I were out for a walk at the Cataraqui Conservation Area north of Kingston, Ontario in March 1988. We encountered a boisterous flock of Chickadees- eager to be fed. The mitts were knit by his Grandma and he is wearing one of my old toques. I wonder where that toque is now?

My son was holding his hand out for one particular chickadee while leaning against a very large and very old white pine. The bark and limbs of this pine had a lot of character. Many people probably leaned up against this giant of the forest in a similar pose.

This encounter prompted me to build a Birdman out of four inch PVC pipe. The shoulder and elbows and arms were filled with seed that spilled out on to the carved hands of the Birdman as the seed was consumed. More seed was added by unscrewing the head. The entire Birdman was mounted on a swivel like a wind vane. This allowed the birds to land into the wind like they prefer. One of my old coats completed his attire. Another similar coat was available for anyone to wear so that they could stand out and feel the thrill of feeding the birds. The pictures tell the rest of the story. I am not making this up...

#0544 "Home is Where the Art is"

Another older painting from the very crest of the Oak Ridges Moraine at Watershed Farm  just a week after 911...

Looking east-northeast from the hill immediately behind the home on Watershed Farm near midday on Monday September 17th,2001. This would have been my Dad's 77th birthday. An artist friend dropped by for a visit and had the afternoon to paint which is just what we did. My artist friend  painted a very similar composition and we wanted to compare how they would turn out.

In the In Progress photo below all you can see is the blur of the family Chesapeake in motion as she played around us.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon with increasing amounts of cirrostratus in advance of a little low pressure area. The honey bees were really working the goldenrod and the air was alive with various insects. The work is very loose but I was happy with it.

#0283 "Casting Out"

This is the southeastern shore of the "Big" island (not Hawaii) on Bass Lake within Restoule Provincial Park. There are a lot of lakes with this name in Canada and goodness knows we did catch a lot of small and large mouth bass in those waters. Almost all of those fish returned to the lake. A favourite small mouth that was burnt in my memory emerged from the depths like a huge Polaris missile. One violent shake of its huge head sent the lure almost back into the canoe with Linda and I. This was a favourite site for a large campsite although Linda and I still preferred the small island further to the east. Every rock and tree in this painting were as I saw them. The fifteen foot fibreglass canoe is the first one that the family ever owned. We still have it although it does not see enough time in the water.

Paul my canoe Buddy and I were canoeing/camping/fishing in October 1990 and we were almost ready to go out for the day fishing. The lake was a bit chilly for all but very quick dip. Note the two Tim Horton mugs strapped on to Paul's day pack. We were very organized. He couldn't resist trying a cast from shore before heading out for a day of canoeing and fishing. I was fishing with a yellow Mr. Twister.

Art is all about recording favourite memories. This may never hang in any museum but it is there in my mind.

#0361 "Jo-Boo"

Another great memory.. the feline friend to our Chesapeake...

This is our Maine Coon Cat snuggled on our end table but focusing on a fly or something. We picked the kitten most like our daughter... a lot of personality and fond of potato chips... especially cheese flavoured.

The Maine Coon cat is named after the character in the movie Major League. The slugger Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert) tried to turn around the Indians fortune with a voodoo doll in the clubhouse, a scraggly chap named named Jobu who likes to smoke cigars and drink rum.

She had webbed feet and actually walked like a raccoon which fooled me on several locations. She was the feline Queen of the property. Once in the parlour of the barn she established her regal position by sending a dozen or more barn cats to the safer outer perimeter. It happened so fast that all I experienced was the flashing of fur and the screeches of chastised felines. A few seconds later Jo-Boo remained on her throne in the middle of the parlour with the other cats on the support beams out of harms way.

This Maine Coon Cat was special. She grew up with the family Chesapeake and thought of herself more as a dog than a cat. The Chesapeake in turn groomed herself more like a cat than a dog. They were inseparable. The Maine Coon cat would go for extended walks with us. She would talk when she needed to be carried. She also painted with me curling up under the easel. We had her or she had us for almost seventeen years. She is still missed.

#0427 "Day Dreamin Dog"

Memories from 1999...

The family beloved Chesapeake, Jazzmin on the front porch in the fall of 1998 basking in the midday sun and totally unaware of my presence. She protected the family and the property from all intrusions. There was not a possum or raccoon that came close to the buildings without her putting the run on them . This helped explain the longevity of the Maine coon cat, Jo-Boo within a landscape of predators. Nothing threatened the cat or the the other residents of Watershed Farm with the Chesapeake on guard.

She was a terrific judge of character as well. One day she wanted to eat a sales person who ventured up the long country lane. The next night someone tried to rob the property. They were frozen fish salesmen and I thought there was something fishy about them them as well. Another day it was a paving salesman that wanted to pave the thousand plus feet of gravel at a special discounted price. I should have let the Chesapeake have a little snack.

She was a beautiful and loyal member of the family. I loved that creature - just like I loved the Maine Coon cat. These special creatures are buried together at a special place at the very crest of the Oak Ridges Moraine in unmarked graves. I know where the graves are but their spirits will always be with me.

It was a beautiful day. I painted this to get the feel of the paints and brushes again after a too long hiatus and didn't want to start with anything too detailed. I did only a minimal charcoal sketch and then went right to the brushes.