About Us

Art was always doodling and scribbling over everything when he was a kid. He never did win any neatness awards! The best Christmas present his parents ever gave him was a set of Grumbacher oil paints when he was 11 years old. They were too poor, however, to buy canvases, so he painted on whatever he could find – brown store paper, backs of old calendars, and even an old window blind!

As he grew up, other interests, like girls, sports (especially baseball), took priority, and he did not paint again until he was in his late twenties. His talents were in demand for painting school stage backdrops, done in acrylics and measuring 8ft.x 16ft., for most of the Gretna Public School stage productions, starting in the late 1960’s. Art was a teacher at that school, teaching Grade 5 and Grade 7&8 Arts and Crafts, until his retirement in 1996.

In the early 1980’s he discovered painting shows on Prairie Public Television, which featured a variety of artists. Then, in 1989, he discovered that there was an accredited artist living nearby with similar talents as the artists on T.V. With the encouragement of his wife, Mary, he joined the Winkler Art Club, and spent several winters travelling to Winkler every Monday learning different techniques and aspects of painting.

His instructor encouraged him to become a member of the newly-formed Pembina Hills Artists, and, after submitting several original works, he was accepted as a member in mid 1992.

During this time he continuously worked on developing his own technique, experimenting with materials until he found a combination that worked for him. Art also became interested in the styles of Jerry Yarnell, Thomas Kinkade, and especially the works of Terry Redlin. In the beginning, Art painted on canvas, but found that the canvas was not smooth enough to paint intricate details. He now mostly paints on 16”x20” masonite or hardboard in mixed media (oil on acrylics). Mostly, he paints for enjoyment, and sells his originals. He does, however, take photographs of all his paintings, and this is the only visual record he retains of his painting collection. To date, he has had no prints made of any of his works.

He paints mostly during the winter months, as he is busy with gardening and golfing in summertime. He has painted over 1000 paintings. Some are given to friends, some are donated to different organizations, 150 or so were commissions, and totally about half of them have been sold to various individuals. Art has never had the patience or desire to paint only one subject. Although he does not do portraits, here is a list of the general subjects that he has painted.

Animals		(farm, rodeo, western, wild)
Birds		(farm, game, prey, song, water)
Buildings		(business, cabins, churches, cottages, elevators, farms, farmyards, houses)
Flowers		(arrangements, gardens)
Machinery		(cars, farm, motorcycles, planes, ship, trains, trucks)
Scenery		(mountains, prairies, sea, winter, woods)
Sports		(fishing, golf, hunting)

If you are interested in a particular subject, send him an e-mail indicating your preference, and he will e-mail you ‘thumbnails’ of paintings he has done in that subject field.

Art’s wife has always said that when you look at most of Art’s paintings, they put you into your ‘happy place’, a place of beauty, peace, and serenity. Others, like the paintings of old farm equipment and/or old farm yards, may invoke a feeling of nostalgia.

His work has been shown at a number of Pembina Hills Artists shows, at their Morden gallery, and several other local shows. He also has his own gallery in Gretna, Manitoba (open by appointment only), where he usually has over 200 paintings on display. About 50 paintings are on display at different businesses in Southern Manitoba.

Local and provincial papers have done feature stories on Art’s paintings, and also on his gardening. After attending many different local Craft Shows, Art, together with his wife, thought that it would be a good idea to try an online venue. We hope you enjoy our website.