2010.10.10
Artists Michelle Basic-Hendry and Helene Adamson are using palettes, paintbrushes and photography to construct a virtual time machine to Gravenhurst’s past. Joining them on the journey are fibre artist, Nancy Lynch, and the late photographer, Henry Fry.
In LEGACY, which opens Saturday, October 9th at the Auburn Gallery of Fine Art, these four artists play artistic detectives. They take us on a magical mystery tour, highlighting the people and places, and unearthing the fascinating stories that shaped the town’s early days.
Michelle Basic-Hendry’s paintings and photographs are drawn from her extensive exploration over the past two years of places such as Uffington, Cooper’s Falls, Bracebridge, and Gravenhurst. Her paintings, often evocative and tenderly-rendered depictions of heritage and pioneer buildings, reveal far more than the mere structures that inspired them. Compelled to learn about the families that dwelled within the homes and churches she was painting, Basic-Hendry found herself more and more captivated by what she discovered. Recounting one experience, she recalls: “When I first entered the Livingston/Stephens house, there was a feeling, as if the walls whispered to me.” Her paintings truly echo those whispers.
Often embarking upon what she likened to a treasure hunt, Basic-Hendry followed clue after clue, often for months. She researched land registry records, interviewed family members and combed through libraries. “When I paint a chair by an old window,” Basic-Hendry says, “I wonder who may have sat there and what their lives were like.” The results of her treasure hunt, and the intriguing stories and images she uncovered, can be seen in LEGACY.
Helene Adamson’s unique oil portraits will bring to life some of Gravenhurst’s earliest local heroes. LEGACY will include seven paintings of those who charted Gravenhurst’s early directions. “As far as I know, no one has ever done anything like this before,” she says. “Finding photos of my subjects wasn’t easy. Cyril and Marion Fry at the town archives were wonderfully helpful.” Even so, Adamson worked from small, old, often grainy black and white pictures. “It was a real test of both my imagination and my skill as a figurative artist.” Since it was often a guessing game when it came to eye or hair colour, she contacted family members as well. “Fortunately, folks were pleased to share what they knew about their ancestors,” she says.
Adamson’s portraits include: A.P.Coburn, founder of the Muskoka Navigation Company; Herbert Ditchburn and Tom Greavette, renowned boat builders; Dugald Brown, hotelier and owner of Brown’s Beverages; Charles Mickle Sr., lumber baron; Dr. W.B. Kendall, physician-in-chief of the Muskoka Cottage Sanatorium and Muskoka Free Hospital; and Mary McBride, one of the town’s earliest school teachers. She admits to becoming absolutely absorbed by her subjects. “I felt as if I was a time-traveler with a paintbrush,” she said. “I wanted the finished portraits to look as if I’d actually been there, standing at my easel in front of these wonderful characters. I wanted to bring them to back to life on my canvas.”
LEGACY can be seen at the AUBURN GALLERY OF FINE ART, 190 Royal Street, Gravenhurst, Ontario, from October 9 to 22, 2010. Visitors can meet the artists at the opening reception on Saturday, October 9th from