“This piece was inspired by an autumn visit to Prince Edward County. I was photographing fields and barns and wanted to use the images to combine some of the county’s rural elements with those of downtown Picton (hence the theatre sign) and Base 31 (the green addition to the barn structure)–a
little of everything I enjoy about PEC! After raising the newly created building onto giant metal supports it seemed like the view from up there would be really nice—you could see for miles! So I decided my old friend Max might like to chill by the barn in some soft grass for a while, surrounded by flowers. I really hope he likes it up there. He was such a good boy.”

“This small still life with a silver bowl and a grouping of cherry tomatoes has an unusual background: a battle scene that’s based on a genuine Italian frieze from Sardinia. I made a plaster copy of the original that a friend owns and was pleased that I could finally use it in a painting as a background. Here, I imagine the scene of an execution with cherry tomatoes as the stand-in for human characters: the victim, the spectators, and the one that got away.”

“I love Alan Ray’s Execution of a Tomato Salad and tried to respond to both the composition and the overall mood of the piece, while incorporating Alan’s palette of white and tan with red accents. I immediately zeroed in on the knife as a focal point and attempted to replicate the sharp blade cutting across the centre of his piece with the rails on which the houses sit in mine, at the same time choosing to mirror Alan’s tablecloth with two steep snowy hills. The battle scene in the background of Execution creates a wonderfully turbulent backdrop whose mood I tried to replicate with storm clouds looming above the precariously balanced houses in Implements.

The element I love most in Alan’s piece is the underlying sense of threat—surely this is only about a salad...? The implement covered house in my piece—which I always admire as I drive through Prince Edward County—stirs in me a similar sense of trepidation. As I regard the somewhat whimsical display of equipment nailed to the wall of the building, I think to myself: all those sawing and cutting instruments are intended for benign decorative purposes...aren’t they?

By the way, the one that got away in my piece is the cat! His name is Panda. ”

“This small landscape was painted for Melt Studio & Gallery’s “Pairings” show, June 27 to July 21, 2024.

I was paired with digital artist Dianne Twombly and her digital photo assemblage called “Max”. It combines various elements from the Picton area, including a majestic red barn and a “cameo” of her dog Max.

I took my inspiration from the barn and Max and placed them in a traditional farm setting in southern Ontario. I wanted to convey the feeling of a breezy summer day with clouds passing over an open field, creating patterns of light and shadow. Max stands by proudly as guardian.”