As a young boy becoming an artist wasn't a question. Art was something that you did everyday. You made art by yourself and with friends. Painting, sculpting clay, twisting wire or drawing in sand were the order of the day. We gave life to worlds unseen by adult eyes.
Me on the Left Buddies to the Right |
The photo of myself and neighbourhood friends seems to be about the time of my seventh birthday. I don't remember the picture being taken and was surprised by it's appearance so many years later.
Soon after this photo was made our family moved for a summer to the village of Caledon, Ontario. Many years later the house in Caledon appeared again as I made paintings using techniques described by Maxfield Parrish an American painter and illustrator.
Becoming an Artist talks more about early on.