My Story…How I Became A Painter…

First, let me tell you about this painting which ties directly into the story. This painting is titled, “Ship On Rough Sea”. It was painted by me, Timothy, in 1968. This is my very first oil painting. I was in grade 5 which puts me at age 10/11.

I am so thankful that I still have this painting which has now become priceless to me. I had the extreme good fortune/blessing to be offered an opportunity to take an oil painting class way back in grade 5 at Gledhill Public School in Toronto. One of the school’s teachers, miss Haslan, volunteered to teach a small group of us as an elective free of charge… thank you and God bless you miss Haslan.

I had already developed a keen interest in art and drawing as my mother was an artist/painter and she had been mentored by the great Eastern Canadian painter, Fred Savard. I can still remember the pleasure I enjoyed from this early painting experience, and later the pride I felt when this painting was chosen to be hung in the hallway outside of the principle’s office.

The following year, my class had a field trip to the Kleinberg Museum north of Toronto. We had the great privilege of meeting A.Y.Jackson, one of the Group of Seven. I was smitten with the art bug…bad. My parents discouraged me from pursuing art as a dream and major in high school… I still took art as an elective and got 90’s. Ironically, two of my teen buds were accomplished and talented artists in the making… Dave Holt and David Kitler (now a naturalist artist working out of Calgary).

After high school, I discovered and became preoccupied by music…especially rock music. I soon found a place for all of my years of choir training to pay off…singing lead for several bands. This was not only fun but a real ego booster and attention getter (to say nothing of the girls). All the while I still did art sporadically for specific events but not as a focus.

It wasn’t till 1992 that I found myself, through some dark times along with counseling and therapy, deeply grieving my sense of loss over my artist heart as a child. I experienced an extremely profound and personal spiritual epiphany which led me back directly to my childhood passion.

I have been painting ever since…