Born in St. Catharines Ontario in 1949, he grew up in Preston,
now part of Cambridge, Ontario. For three years beginning at age 11, he
took oil painting lessons under the tutelage of a local Cambridge artist,
Bram Bradford. Throughout his high school years he broadened his drawing
and painting skills by taking numerous night school courses and workshops.
During the early 1970's, he studied art at the University of
Guelph. He was particularly attracted to the printmaking techniques offered
by Professors Gene Chu and Walter Bachinski. These two artist-teachers
also taught him a great deal about tonal values and composition. Presently,
Garry is an art teacher at Thornhill Secondary School.
At various times he has tried his hand at printmaking, ceramics
and sculpture but painting remains his passion. While he has received considerable
training in oil and acrylic painting, he is virtually self-taught in watercolours.
He strives to paint in a spontaneous and impressionistic manner. His goal
is to create an intensity of expression through light and colour, brushwork
and texture.
His first real exposure to outdoor painting was during the summer
of 1981. He participated in a Mount Allison University workshop that stressed
outdoor watercolours. Since then, much of his work has been on the spot
landscapes. Other subjects include still life, portraits as well as old
buildings and cars.
His painting trips have taken him to England, Canada's West
Coast, various parts of Ontario and Quebec, and the Maritimes. These trips
have been interspaced with painting workshops given by schools like Canadore
College and the Haliburton School of Fine Arts and individuals such as
artist Charles Couper of Bear River, Nova Scotia.
Since having a show at the Newmarket Public Library in 1982,
he has had 4 highly successful displays of his work in a private home in
Richmond Hill, Ontario. Garry has been involved in recent exhibitions of
his watercolours at the Marguerite Gallery in Queensville, Ontario, Gallery
Gabor in Toronto and the Trigg Gallery in Newmarket, Ontario. His work
is also displayed at Studio 737 near Tweed, Ontario and Zwicker's Gallery
in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
