I’ve been an artist all my life . . .
At five years of age someone recognized my “rabbit” as a rabbit. That did it. I drew and coloured and sketched and painted from that point on. Throughout my years in school, I was the “artist” in my classes.
Eventually, after many attempts at other types of work, I became a commercial artist / designer / illustrator. This was fortunate for me because I hadn’t had any formal training, but a contact from the past hired me so that I could be “trained” on the job.
That first art job was with a television station where we had to create graphics for advertising clients and station programming, design and build sets and generally act as art consultants for the station. All we created was by hand (non-computer), using the skills and tools we had.
From that wonderful experience, I continued in the advertising world — designing advertising campaigns, logos, brochures, newspaper and magazine ads — the full gamut. When I realized that artists and art directors never seemed to qualify as creative directors, I became a writer to expand my horizons.
Later, for eight stimulating years, my wife, Roberta, and I were the proud owners of Letterbox Gallery & Gifts in Lumsden, Saskatchewan. We worked to display, sell and promote Saskatchewan art and artists.
Today, I sculpt. I worked in a limited way with wood — the Empty Monk’s Robe and the Pan mask are examples — but I fell in love with stone and stone-carving from the first piece I worked on — the little Owl and, immediately after, Emerging. Since creating those pieces I have carved over 30 others, the most recognizable being the Bust of Hippocrates which sits near the main entrance at Regina’s General Hospital.
I always say, “People paid me to play all my life”. I still feel that way and hope this joy and energy comes through when you see my pieces.