ARTIST FRIEND

OVERVIEW

PAINTERS

  • Jack Burton, (father-deceased), oil painter , Cobalt, Ontario 
  • Roger Yepsen, water colour artist and author of APPLES (see below)
  • Carol Evans, representational artist (nature) , Salt Spring Island, BC
  • Helen Pain, clown artist, Osoyoos, BC

Helen Pain

  • Patricia Brown, Salt Spring Island, BCC

Patricia Brown is a watercolour artist whose work reflects an intense interest in her natural surroundings. Born and raised in the Lower Mainland, Patricia paints nature and natural objects: bones, feathers, shells, and flowers to name but a few of the objects she has explored in the paintings.


"I find nature endlessly inspiring," Patricia says. "I am concerned greatly for our environment and if my paintings can help someone appreciate Mother Earth, then I feel I have succeeded in what I am trying to say." She continues, "My work is a reflection of my daily experiences. The more magic I allow into my life, the more I flow with nature. I feel most alive when I play with the Source of change, when I tap into the power that helps the grass force through the cracks in the sidewalk. Then my paintings sing with my love of life."

Patricia is now a resident of Salt Spring Island, BC, where the combination of local cultrue oriented towards the arts and a physically beautiful environment have inspired her to further her painting career. She has been involved in group shows on Salt Spring Island, and the Mainland, and has had a one person show at a local gallery. Her work can be viewed at various island locations, and in her studio.

Contact Person:

Patricia Brown,

RR#1, 131 Garner Road,

Salt Spring Island, BC

V8K-2B1

250-653-9406

POTTERS

  • Mike and Connie Lieshman, Potters, Stayner, Ontario.

Contact Person:

Mike Leishman,

RR#2, Stayner,

Ontario, L0M-1S0

705-428-5240

 

CARTOONISTS

  • Wendy Burton Wanamaker, (sister), cartoonist, Barrie, Ontario.

 

MUSICIANS

  • The Barley Brothers Blue Grass Band, Salt Spring Island, BC
  • Terrence Warbey Instrument Maker & Musician, Salt Spring Island, BC

 

POETRY

  • John A. Gore,  Cobalt, Ontario

Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi  (The Mahatma)

No desire to paint a haloed Saint

Prompts the writing of these lines

Just a wish to show, that others might know

What was with us in our time.

 

He trod the stage, amid the rage
Of hate, prejudice and greed,
With a feeling of care, for those in despair
Degraded by custom and creed

And lived for years, mid the futile tears
Of the poor bereft of hope
Gave of his health, refused great wealth
Shunned more power than any Pope.

For it was he, with eyes that could see
The ignorance and the sham
Yet realized that in all, both  the great and the small
Is a spark, one can fan into flame

Heard the words that sprung from those gifted tongues
That would be so easy to believe
Knew their intent so sly, was but to mask the lie
Created to deceive

No pride of race was in his face
No earthly treasure in his hand
The World cared not for what he taught

They did not understand the driving need to teach the creed
To love our fellow man
This was the unseen yoke, beneath his cloak
He served throughout his span

This frail little shell, that hid greatness so well

Paid the price that self sacrifice brings.

Thus the World suffered a loss, that was hid in the dross

Of the everyday juggling of Kings

 

To our eternal shame, this fragile pane,

Through which the light of truth did shine

Was shattered and broke with a brutal stroke

In the madness of our time.

 

They did not understand the driving need to teach the creed
To love our fellow man
This was the unseen yoke, beneath his cloak
He served throughout his span

 

A white cloth sheet, a bowl of rice for meat,

A mud hut for a home

In the dust of the street, at that young man's feet

Died a King without a throne.

 

Forgive he cried before he died,

And let the man go free

But even this his dying wish

Was just not meant to be.

 

This man from the East was no part of the Beast

Nor could the Harlot count his name

And after near two thousand years,

We find the World is just the same.

 

Beneath India's sky, piled the fuel high,

And placed the body there.

But no amount of smoke and flame will ever purge the shame,

Of a World that did not care

 

And I think of Ghandi many times,

Of how he lived and died

And though a bullet took his life,

Was he too not crucified?

 

 

By John A. (Donny) Gore

 

Ghandi died on Friday, January 30, 1948.

Mhatma Ghandi once wrote that were sevens sins in the world

  • Wealth without work;
  • Pleasure without conscience;
  • Knowledge without character;
  • Commerce without morality;
  • Science without humanity;
  • Worship without sacrifice; and
  • Politics without principle.

 

 

WOOD CARVERS

 

Paul Hart, our neighbour and good friend passed away on July 14, 1998 at the age of 54.  He leaves six beautiful children.  His art is a living testament to his prolific creativity.  He was a magician. 

Contact Person:

Rick and Regan Lea,

RR#6, S-660 , C-38,

4842 Kilmarnock Road,

Coutenay, BC

V9N-8H9

250-335-2287

250-335-3111(Fax)

 

  • Paula Rautanen, Carver and Painter, Sudbury, Ontario

A short note from Paula

From my beginnings in Helsinki, Finland, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland to my present day home on the shores of a lake in Northern Ontario, my life depends upon a closeness with nature. My artwork reflects an appreciation of the natural world. Decorative decoys, all carved from basswood and painted with acrylics, include loons, geese and several duck species. My next project will include common shorebirds. Recently, I have turned to watercolour paints to capture the beauty of northern landscapes and flora. I am indebted to master carvers Orest Andrews and Bill Whittaker for their helpful instructions. My superb water colour mentors include Sue Lampinen and Louise Martel.

"Nature can exist without man, but

man cannot exist without nature."

Contact Person:

Paula Rautanen

1452 South Shore Road,

Sudbury, Ontario

P3G-1L3

705-522-7831

  • Bill Whittaker, Carver, Sudbury, Ontario

Bill Whittaker

Queen Elizabeth is just one collector of a Bill Whittaker carving.

The Copper Cliff Refinery process technologist at International Nickel Company (INCO) in Sudbury, has built up a considerable following in the past two decades. The carver’s beautiful bird carvings have gone to many visiting dignitaries, including one to Queen Elizabeth during the opening of Science North in 1984.

He’s also carved a couple of limited editions pieces (50 birds each) for Ducks Unlimited that went well. Carving for the last 25 years, he apprenticed in carving birds with another noted INCO carver, the late Orest Andrews.

Ironically, his initial interest in birds was carried out with a gun instead of a brush. "I used to hunt and I got into carving my own decoys", said Bill. "As I got more and more involved in carving, I quit hunting".

Bill is also trying to promote carving by teaching courses at the local high school. "I’ve taught a fair number of students over the years," he said. Bill began branching out into low relief acrylics last year and expects the interest to grow. "It’s motivation that is most important. You have to know what does it to you. For me, it’s the outdoors. Nature does it for me. Something catches my eye and I take a picture of it for future reference."

 

Contact Person:

Bill Whittaker

851 Robinson Drive,

Sudbury, Ontario

705-522-4315 (H)

705-682-5618 (W)

SCULPTORS

  • Morley Myers, Sculptor, Salt Spring Island, BC.
  • Gloria O’Hara, Sculptor, Salt Spring Island, BC
  • Bill Rhodes, Sculptor, Salt Spring Island, BC

  • Peggy Frank, Sculptor, Salt Spring Island, BC


Contact Person:

Peggy Frank

OKANO Gallery

160 Sharp Road

Salt Spring Island, BC

250-537-0088

Friends



Apples by Roger Yepsen.

In his small and elegant book, Roger Yepsen explores the world of apples throughout history and in the present. He has "picked" ninety apples from the thousand-plus named varieties in North America. Each featured apple is remarkably distinctive in taste, texture, aroma, and appearance. They range from the unusual, like the Knobbed Russet and Hubbardston Nonesuch, to mainstay apples such as Red Delicious and Granny Smith. The author's beautiful and precise watercolours make for easy identification of each, and literally whet the appetite. Taste descriptions help in finding the perfect apple to satisfy any palate and for special cooking needs.

Also included are recipes for making everything from apple leather to apple brandy, as well as pies, sauces, ciders and wines; sources for ordering apples, trees, cider, wine or supplies and tips on creating and growing new varieties.

In addition to growing apples on his farm, Roger Yepsen is a freelance artist and writer whose books include Home Food Systems, Brain Power, Encyclopedia of Natural Insects and Disease Control, and numerous nonfictional books for children. He lives in Barto, Pennsylvania.

 

All apple illustrations of apples used here (with the permission of the author) are from the book

APPLES

by Roger Yepsen,

117 Greenhouse,

Barto, PA. 19504

 

The book, which covers 90 apple varieties, including a great introduction, an overview of apples, and a beautiful watercolour plus a one page description of each apple variety, is a wonderful resource book. Worth $17.95 (US) from Roger Yepsen, it is so good that I would gladly prepay for a second edition, if he ever decides to write one with 90 more varieties. This book is a must for all apple lover, especially beginners.

Special Thanks to Roger for letting us use his art to decorate our pages.

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Jackson David Burton, NOAA, July 11, 1917 to Jan. 28, 1981

Jack Burton, affectionately called A. Y. Jackson Burton for his love of the Group of Seven painters, spent most of his life in the Cobalt - Haileybury, Ontario area of Northern Ontario. Painting using oils in the style of Tom Thomson and A. Y. Jackson, he delighted in putting on canvas, the natural and manmade beauty his eye saw around him. He was always quick to point out that his painting wouldn’t be worth anything until he as gone.

His camera was also his constant companion, preferring to photograph nature through the eyes of an artist. He was always ready to harangue someone over the destruction of natural resources, the abuse of the government or the direction the world was heading in. In many cases, he turned out to be correct. He told Harry, his son, to buy gold when it was $35 per ounce, foreseeing it’s rise to ten times that value. He also loved to tell jokes and was very good at it.

He was born in Haileybury, Ontario where he received his education including the Haileybury School of Mines. He was clerk in a drugstore when he enlisted in the Second World War in 1940. He served 6 years, returning to Haileybury in 1945, where he married Helen Turgeon of Haileybury, on Christmas Eve 1945. They have one son, Harry, owner of Apple Luscious Organic Orchards and a daughter, Wendy Wanamaker or Barrie, who is self employed in reflexology and art.

In 1946, the family moved to Cobalt. In 1948, Jack purchased an old Chinese laundry in Haileybury for $200. He dismantled it, bringing the lumber to Cobalt where he built the house at 23 Ruby Street, Cobalt, where Helen still lives. Very few children approaching 50 can still go home to the house they were born in. After working at many short lived jobs in the mines of Cobalt, he retired in 1965 because of health.

Although he had painted as a youth, he did not seriously take it up until 1947, when George Cassidy conducted art lessons in the local high school. He studied under "Cass" for three years, receiving very important instruction in design, colour and the basics of art in all forms. He studied life, portraiture and general art using oils, pencil and water colours. His admiration of George Cassidy continued throughout his life.

 

Jack also studied under many professionals including Gustav Weisman, Gordon Couling, William Lyttle, Carl Schaeffer, Mary Schneider, Oscar Schleinger, John Smith, John Hall, Alex Miller, George Forgie (portraiture and life drawing), Bob Patterson (print making) and Bernardo Sembrano (portraiture, sculpture, pottery and ceramics). He also taught pottery and ceramics for 3 years for the Cobalt Recreation Committee. He is experienced also in copper enameling and batik. He has had some success with photography, taking up to 3,000 slides per year and has one book of photography copyrighted.

Jack joined the Haileybury Art Club in 1948 and has been a member of the Northern Ontario Art Association almost since it’s inception. He worked on water colours in his early years, but quickly switched to oils where he has remained entrenched. He earned his NOAA letters in the 1980’s. He is an ardent admirer of the Group of Seven, especially Ton Thomson and A.Y. Jackson.\

Since 1970, he fought a losing battle with authorities to keep the older historical buildings and mine headframes standing. Looking to the future, he saw very little good news due to resources, because of the continued "rape of the north". He realized that Cobalt’s only hope lay in tourism, which required these old connections to the past. Painters and tourists wanted to see these old building. Until the Cobalt fire of 1978, leveled the northern third of the town, he would always meet artists around town painting the old buildings that appeared to have spawned right out of the rock on the hills. Now the only artists are those coming the annual Artist Colony in July.

"Nature can exist without man, but

man cannot exist without nature."


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