|
The St. Catharines Art Association
had a full page article written by Cheryl Clock in the TODAY Section
of The St. Catharines Standard Friday, November 27th,
2009. The article features SCAA member, Bill Wenham
and his work as well as the carousel poster he did to raise funds
for the SCAA. SCAA President, Brian
Cunningham is also quoted and a picture of his work is
included. A bit of our history, Information about how to join, our
website and where to get posters is featured in a highlighted box.
Here's hoping this wonderful publicity interests more local artists
to come out and join us. Here is the article:
 Reviving
their dream
They have been
separated by decades of time, across an ocean of distance, yet the
lessons of one art teacher are still close to his heart.
Her name was
Mrs. Parkin. She was Bill Wenham's art teacher some six decades ago
at Evelyn's Secondary School in England.
Truth is, she
wasn't really anyone's favourite teacher. And that's putting it
nicely. But she might just be the reason Wenham is the artist he is
today.
In her class,
erasers were not allowed. If one of her students drew something
wrong, they drew it again. And again. And again.
In fact, they
drew it until they finally drew it right. The first time.
Wenham can still
hear her declare: "Close enough is not good enough."
"I learned to
keep on doing it until I got it right," he says.
She taught him
to observe. To observe life through the eyes of an artist. To see
the detail others overlook. She taught him that when he looks at a
face, to look for true expression in a person's eyes, brows and
mouth.
Wenham is 77.
And it was only a few years back that he rediscovered art.
He was retired.
Living with his wife, Margaret, in Florida. And he had more time
than he knew how to fill. So, he picked up a paint brush, some
acrylic paints and created a poster-size picture featuring just
about every imaginable Disney character for his young granddaughter.
That led to
other posters for other grandchildren. Disney animals. An outer
space themed poster for a grandson fascinated with all things
extraterrestrial. He painted his grandson in a spacesuit on the moon
with Neil Armstrong. If you look closely, you'll see the young boy
is holding a Buzz Lightyear.
All that led
Wenham to his new career. As an artist. Some of his favourite
subjects, painted with minute detail, include vintage aircrafts and
flowers.
A few years
back, when he moved to St. Catharines, he joined the St. Catharines
Art Association. He's in the company of more than 70 artists who
support and inspire each other's artistic endeavours. They
participate in art shows, workshops and are able to showcase their
art on the association's new website.
They finished
one of two annual shows at the Pen Centre recently, and their work
will be on display at the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council on
James Street into the spring. Twice a year, they also show their
work in the atrium of the St. Catharines public library.
In 1951, a small
group of artists formed the Studio Club in the basement of radio
station CKTB. Incorporated as the St. Catharines Arts Association in
1956, the group eventually moved into Rodman Hall where it exhibited
and bought artwork that still remains in the gallery's collection.
In 2003, after
Rodman Hall was taken over by Brock University, the group moved its
meetings to the St. Catharines library.
Three months
ago, jewellery store manager and artist Brian Cunningham, became its
newest president. He wants to rejuvenate the organization with new
members and fresh ideas.
Exhibitions are
not juried, so all artists feel welcome to share their art, he says.
And they have a line-up of workshop presenters including
watercolourist Linda Kemp, who was at the October meeting, and
wildlife artist Edward Spera this month.
Cunningham
dreamed of being an artist since he was a little boy who explored
his creativity with paints and a never-ending supply of crafts.
Early on, he
realized he saw the world in a different way. "I don't see words,"
he says. "I see pictures."
But his life
canvas painted him a different picture. He followed a retail career
which included 20 years at Jack Fraser, and his current work as
store manager of Michael Hill Jeweller in the Pen Centre.
In 2000,
battling chronic pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, he promised
himself to go back to his art. He decided to use his hands for art
while he still could.
To, in his
words, "refocus my goals to my dreams."
When he did, it
felt right.
"It felt like I
never put the brush down," he says.
His inspiration
comes from the nature that so inspires him in life. He is a
gardener. One of his favourite places is Algonquin Provincial Park.
"I feel a peace
in my mind when I'm in the woods," he says.
It's that
feeling he shares in his watercolours. "I almost want you to walk
right into that painting," he says.
He also takes
photographs of houses and landscapes close to people's hearts and
recreates them in watercolour.
His first was
his grandparent's little red brick home in London. When his
grandmother moved from her house on Logan Street into a nursing
home, he painted it. Just for her. "I wanted her to be able to
remember the house she loved," he says.
He's painted
other houses. A favourite sunset. Scenes from the cottage.
Wenham has other
projects on the go, too. He's in the midst of writing and
illustrating his own fantasy fiction books. And he's created a
poster of the carousel at Lakeside Park to raise funds for the art
association.
It features
eight horses and four other carousel animals (with the lion at 12
o'clock). The prints sell for $10, and along with the carousel
poster, you get a poster of the Ships that Plied the Great Lakes,
one he created in time for this year's Top Hat ceremony.
Wenham has
worked in the British movie industry, a so-called tea boy who'd run
errands for directors. He was once put in charge of minding then
child actor John Howard Davies, who played the role of Oliver Twist.
To keep him occupied on the set, Wenham taught him how to draw.
He worked for a
sewing machine company. One day, when the boss was away, he had
several standard black machines painted in colourful hues because he
thought (and proved himself right) that it would boost sales.
He joined the
merchant navy. Toured the world for three years as a cook. Then was
called up to the British air force where he served as an aircraft
mechanic.
In 1953, he came
to Canada. A few years later, joined Air Canada as a passenger
agent. By the time he retired in 1984, he was regional agency
automation manager.
Perhaps one of
the more heartfelt paintings he did was for a Second World War
veteran he met one day at the airport in Dunnville. The man had
piloted a Hawker Typhoon.
So moved by the
man's story, Wenham painted him a Typhoon leading a squadron over
France. On the ground below, a German convoy crosses a bridge while
a railway station has just been destroyed.
The Typhoons are
themselves being attacked by German Messerschmitts.
"You don't owe
me anything," he told the man.
"I was a kid
crying my eyes out in an air raid shelter. You've already paid me."
For more
information on the St. Catharines Art Association, visit its new
website at
www.stcatharinesart.com.
Posters of the
Lakeside Park Carousel and the Ships that Plied the Great Lakes are
available from the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council on James
Street.
WHAT: St.
Catharines Art Association, a group of painters, sculptors and fine
art photographers who support and inspire each other's endeavours.
Members can participate in art shows, lectures and workshops, and
can establish a web page on the association's site to showcase their
art.
WHERE: St.
Catharines public library, Rotary and Bankers' rooms.
WHEN: Meetings
are on the fourth Tuesday from September to November, February to
June, 7:30 p. m.
COST: Membership
is $30 and students $15.
CONTACT: For
more information visit
www.stcatharinesart.com.
- posted
Nov
29/09 |
