DON CAVIN

Don Cavin was born and raised in Port Credit, Ontario and was an Ontario secondary school teacher until his retirement in 1989.  Since then, Don has developed his unique style which has garnered him rewards of merit and a growing following of avid collectors and also a well deserved reputation as an instructor.  A firm believer in painting on location, he develops his larger paintings in the studio after a careful study of the design potential in many of his on-location colour sketches.  He works from his home studio in Sutton, Ontario.

Education

• 1957 - Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto, Ontario

• 1960 - Teaching Certificate, Ontario College of Education, Toronto, Ontario

• 1965 - High School Assistant's Certificate, Ontario Ministry of Education
  

Art Studies

• Art Gallery of Ontario, Saturday Morning Children's Classes, 1947 - 1948

• Toronto Art School and Art Gallery of Ontario, Individual Courses, 1975 - 1978

• Haliburton Highlands School of Fine Arts, Haliburton, Ontario, 1983 - 1993

• El Instituto de San Miguel D'Allende, Mexico, 1992
  

Professional Experience

• Ontario Secondary School Teacher, Cobourg and Thornhill, Ontario, 1959 - 1965

• History Chairman, North York Junior High School System, Ontario, 1965 - 1974

• Special Education Teacher, Toronto Board of Education, Toronto, Ontario, 1974 - 1989

• Retired from Toronto Board of Education, 1989

• Workshop Instructor: Courtyard School of Fine Arts, Bobcaygeon, Ontario, 1992 - 1994

• Workshop Instructor: Southampton Art School, Southampton, Ontario, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998

• Workshop Instructor: East Central Ontario Art Association, 1994, 1995

• Workshop Instructor: Buckhorn Art Group, 1995, 1996, 1997

Awards and Appointments

• Rose Baker Award, 1994, Annual Juried Show, East Central Art Association

• Ethel Curry Award of Excellence, 1994, Haliburton Highlands Guild of Fine Art

• Honourable Mention, 1993, Haliburton Highlands Guild of Fine Art

• East Central Ontario Art Association, Vice President, 1992: President, 1993

Solo Exhibitions

• 1995 - Prairie Spirit, Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Peterborough, Ontario

• 1994 - Earth & Sky, a Celebration of Our Land, Rails End Gallery, Haliburton, Ontario

• 1993 - Memories of San Miguel, The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Lindsay, Ontario

• 1992 - Northern Departure, Olivia Gallery, Bobcaygeon, Ontario

• 1992 - Depth of Field, The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Lindsay, Ontario

• 1986 - Education Centre, Toronto Board of Education, Toronto, Ontario

Group Exhibitions

• 1997 - Hummingbird Centre, Toronto with Harbour Gallery, Mississauga, Ontario

• 1997 - Personal Selections, Harbour Gallery, Mississauga, Ontario

• 1994 - Rails' End Gallery, Haliburton, Ontario

• 1993 - The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Lindsay, Ontario

• 1993 - Rails' End Gallery, Haliburton, Ontario

• 1993 - Scarborough Civic Centre, Scarborough, Ontario

• 1992 - The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Lindsay, Ontario

• 1991 - Olivia Gallery, Bobcaygeon, Ontario

• 1991 - The Russell Gallery of Fine Art, Lindsay, Ontario

Collections

• Toronto Board of Education Executive Offices, Toronto, Ontario

• Riverdale Collegiate, Student Council Permanent Collection, Toronto, Ontario

• Bob Rae, Premier of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

• Private Collections in Canada and England

• Corporate Collections in Canada

ARTIST STATEMENT

"As a landscape painter , I have always been interested in shapes, patterns and design, all of which have helped to create in me a need to express landscape in broad, general terms, simplified to the barest essentials.  You will perceive that my paintings, although originally based on images of real places and things, are not literal interpretations, but are intended to be metaphors for times and places which I experience first hand.  They may be thought of as images modified through the filters of my unique vision to which others, I trust, can relate in very real ways."

"I've always been fascinated by patterns and relationships - patterns in line shape and colour; patterns in movement, rhythm and sound; and by relationships between cause and effect, and between living things and their environment.
In addition, and by no means least, are the patterns and relationships that exist between the shapes, rhythms, colour and tones of a well painted picture, of whatever style or genre.
Of the many things which I cherish however, are three very important ones: an abiding love for our Earth, a strong attachment to my native land, and a passionate, overwhelming compulsion to paint.
I trust that it shows!"