I participated in 3 McMichael Autumn Art Shows (1996, 1997, 1998), fundraisers for the exhibition and program activities of the McMichael Volunteer Committee. It was October of 1996, and this painting, Bloor West Village, sold within 15 minutes of the doors opening. My first sale! I was now a professional artist!
It was purchased by a young couple. Coincidentally I would meet the man who made this purchase several years later while I was participating in a Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. He was strolling the exhibition with his daughter, who said that the painting still occupied a place of prominence in their home and that it regularly received compliments from visitors.
During these years the McMichael Volunteer Committee also ran a black tie evening which included cocktails, dinner and an auction. This painting, The Royal York was sold at auction for the princely sum of $825, a fortune back then!
This painting,
Cookstown, was the first to sell in the 1997 show, again, within 15 minutes of the doors opening.
Unfortunately it's a grainy reproduction (I don't miss film cameras).
I was going to state that it was a rather claustrophobic show, but that wouldn't be accurate, it was a very claustrophobic show. 50 Artists in the main foyer, each with only a 6'x7' panel. But I certainly learned a lot... initial placement and pricing were especially critical. It was a fantastic way to start and I'll always be grateful to the members of the McMichael Volunteer Committee who made these shows possible.
I did a series of paintings inspired by David Milne's Sparkle of Glass series of paintings. This one, Saturday Breakfast, was purchased by Howard Moscoe and his wife. Coincidentally, I would meet him and his daughter several years later at a TOAE show as well.
I stopped showing there simply because my paintings became bigger and bigger, and I'd only be able to hang one, or two at the most.
Actually my professional connection with the McMichael doesn't end there. Fast forward to April of 2014. The McMichael was showcasing the paintings of Mary Pratt. I had waited until the last week of the show to take it in. To me she was 'merely' a hyper-realist painter of carcasses.
There was a superb video introduction which lead to the equally superb
Cold Cream, the masterpiece
Jelly Shelf,
The Burning Rhododendron, and the epiphanous
Child with 2 Adults. The painter of carcasses had just become a monumental inspiration. I decided then and there to quit my day job and become a full time painter.
