14. The Early Years

The First Studios (1975 - 1976)

During the summer of 1973, I attended a summer painting programme at the Banff Centre. My instructor, Brian Fisher, was incredibly supportive and somehow managed to secure me a spot in the first winter studio programme in Banff.

The following summer (July and August 1974) my instructor was Duncan de Kergammeaux, who was also incredibly supportive. After the summer, I returned to London, Ontario, to complete my high school at HB Beel. Herb Aris was delighted with my work and provided me with a small studio to share with two other students. It was actually a garage out behind the art department.

Finally, I graduated in June 1975, got a job in a restaurant at the local Holiday Inn, and found my first studio in a space above a hairstylist on Talbot Street, just south of Dundas. However, after about six months, the stylists went out of business, so I moved to another studio space in a building along Richmond Street. As I recall, I managed to do quite a bit of work in that space, but after several months, I gave it up so I could go back to Banff and find a job in a restaurant over the summer. Unfortunately, when I closed the studio, everything had to be thrown out. However, after about five minutes, most of it had been pilfered from the garbage behind the studio.