Watercolour Artist

I have always been interested in the creative process. When you sit down to draw or paint, your brain kicks in and your sense of freedom is matched by the expansion of time. Even when I start the same subject for the third time, I am optimistic that something magical will happen. As a child in Saskatchewan, my mother would draw for me in church when the sermon went on a little too long. She mostly drew horses and I would try and imitate them. A while later my father agreed to let me register for the Minneapolis Art Correspondence Course. The best part of that was that I have a drawing board and T-square that I still use.

It is only in the last few years that being retired from teaching music has allowed me the time to pursue what was a spark back then. I am still fascinated by water and paint and don’t paint in other mediums. I was inspired by Sebastiao Pereira who was teaching watercolors in Leisure World. He is a patient teacher who has a light touch that is helpful with transparent paint.

I don’t have any particular subject that I like to paint. The early florals have given way to birds, horses and now animals with two eyes. The second eye is the challenge as it must balance with the first. I am also trying to paint with complementary colors. That means you use the color directly opposite on the color wheel like blue and orange. I have recently started framing my paintings without glass in a floater frame. The finished paper is glued to a wooden panel, sprayed with varnish and then treated with a special wax.

Over the past 8 years I have hosted 4 shows in support of fresh-water wells in Uganda. The wells are dedicated to someone you have lost. The first well in Mahdengo was for my friend Allen, the second well in Bunyika was for my dad Gordon, the third well in Okolimeri was for my mother Doreen, and the just completed well four in Otisa was for my nephew Chad. Water 4 Kids is a Phoenix based foundation that to date has drilled over 1000 wells in Uganda.