Panasonic Canada commissioned me to paint a commemorative piece to celebrate the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of that company coming to Canada. To show the Japanese-Canadian connection, I chose to use the young hockey players as a symbol. The setting is Dundas Street in Toronto as it was in the early years of Panasonic in Canada, which happily for me coincided with my art college years in just that area.
Subscribed Reproduction 7″ x 9″
Pioneers face challenges and reap rewards as they deal with new situations. In this painting I show the entire family on a warm autumn day. The stump fence in the foreground represents the work already accomplished while the ploughing and the gardening speak not only of a passing season but also look forward to a new crop, a new year. I have endeavoured to create a balance of man with his small piece of the world.
I was commissioned by the North Waterloo Farmers Insurance Company to develop a painting for their 125th Anniversary. Part of this piece was painted at the companys booth at the Royal Winter Fair.
This contemporary painting of St. Pauls Church in Halifax was commissioned by Canada Trust. Corporations often ask me to help develop an image that represents their idea. In this case our choice was obvious.
This painting was constructed to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of Shur Gain Ltd. Because we did not want to favour one location or division over another, I described a fictional mill that included various elements from across the country. The stream and the ducks in the foreground add a decorative element.
This commissioned work was developed to describe the early days of a family-owned trucking company. I was touched that the name that the wife of the founder selected to use contains such a nostalgic note. The dog, the car, the truck, the playing children and the rail-side location all carry significance to the founder.
What a chance to present the lovely rolling land of Alberta and the quiet footprint of industry. In the many industrial commissions that I have painted, I am challenged by the need to create an artistic piece out of an industrial setting.
Murphy Oil Canada commissioned 5 paintings from me for their Annual report. Used both on the cover and as headers for sections within the report, these pieces took away from the dry feeling, common in annual reports. I was fortunate to have them fly me all over Alberta and parts of Saskatchewan, to see their various enterprises. The tough part was that their CEO wanted to see sketches the following day of the possibilities that I thought would make a good painting. A very enjoyable project!
The original of this was painted for Gainers, Inc., a meat processing company from Edmonton, AB. They wanted something for their Christmas card that dealt specifically with Christmas in the mountains. The research material came from the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.
This 1930’s scene was painted of the third hole of the Westmount Golf Club course in Kitchener. The land just beyond this club used to be part of my grandfather’s bush. It is amazing to me that over the years the familiar is transformed and becomes new again. How quickly we forget. At least the golf course has remained constant. Commissioned by the Ross Dixon Organization, this image talks about the need to prepare for the future while enjoying today.
Many Mennonite groups are included in this barnraising view. I wish that there would be more co-operation between the various conferences, but most often they stay to themselves, sometimes, deliberately avoiding other groups.
Subscribed Reproduction 12″ x 16″
I was approached by the founder of this high speed imaging company to paint something that would encapsulate the many areas of his company. This multi-image piece shows not only the products, the process, the people, but also the founder. For other multiple image pieces, see Spirits of Canada, Image #1106, also A Partnership (R.C.M.P.), Image #1462.