Close up detail of Pinstripes and Plaid / Portrait of Jamie Wyeth by Lynne Gerard I was in my early 20's when I was first exposed to the works of clan Wyeth and throughout the development of my career in painting, poetry and calligraphy their artful dynasty continues to be a source of delight and wonder for me.   Larger than life patriarch, N.C. Wyeth and his dynamic, dramatic, dazzling paintings captivate my imagination by taking me into faraway conjured landscapes.  Paintings by his son, Andrew, imprint themselves upon me in a much different way - through their tensions of strength and subtlety, subdued colours, technical virtuosity, so adeptly capturing the essences of things, whether they be landscapes or humans, in a manner that resonates with the emotional responses arising within me through my own habitual roamings through windswept fields.  And then we have the grandson, James (Jamie) - what an astounding amalgamation of familial influences he has had which y...

Robby Colwell  Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island Wherever you may live or journey to, you encounter ordinary, special and exceptional human beings.  Each of them have unique faces - wonderfully sculpted through their comportment and mannerisms acquired from the physical and emotional responses to things they have experienced in life. In my long career in the arts, I confess that I have been more put off by people than inspired by them, preferring to associate with non-human beings and make them the subjects of my painting, poetry and calligraphy.  Though I have, on rare occasions, incorporated a human figure into a landscape or painted a portrait of an intriguing face, my work mostly reflects elemental things found out of doors. Awhile back the idea came to me to make a series of portrait studies, some from local characters on the island and some of people I have never met.  I accomplished a few renderings, but I was not ready to give the concept my full attention. Whether...