I Paint where I Live!

After years of working away as an Illustrator, the calling that had lured many a  commercial artist before came to me as well; that was to try my hand at being a fine artist, painting whatever I chose to.  The blank canvas however, can be quite daunting  and the question soon arose, what exactly will I paint?
Fortunately for me, around that time I had just moved home to the hidden gem that is the village of Eden Mills, a picturesque community not far from the city of Guelph, in southern Ontario.
Besides being filled with an abundance of great folks; creative types and true friends of the environment, the place was also overflowing with visual stimulation and painterly appeal.  The wonderful Eramosa River wound past the old mill and through town, directly across the street from my home, a converted general store built from stone, dating back to the mid nineteenth century. That historic gem appealed to both the  historian as well as artist in me and became the first subject for my new life as a fine artist.  Dog walks, bike rides, drives around the village and surrounding countryside  offered an endless treasure trove of exciting material for me to capture on canvas.
With all this literally right outside my door, I made a decision to focus my painting efforts exclusively on all these striking sights, scenes and characters located nearby.  As can be seen from the extensive collection of artwork shown below, I had a lot to work with and was kept busy for years.  I wouldn't say I came close to exhausting this priceless resource but eventually I packed up and moved to my new home in the town of the Blue Mountains.
At the foot of the Beaver River Valley, surrounded by the unmistakable Niagara Escarpment, with the cool, clean waters of Georgian Bay only a few blocks from home, I have found a new place to explore, be inspired by and capture with my paints.  It will be 10 years here soon and I am only scratching the surface.  Stay tuned for much more to come
Meanwhile, have a look below and introduce yourself to the place where my time as a fine artist began!

​don

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