I started selling my artwork at age 10. I painted ballerinas on ceramic wall tile. At age 12 I took Saturday morning oil painting classes with Sister Mary Margaret. Every Christmas she would have me paint Nativity scenes on the windows at St. John's school. I remember how I loved to do faces.
In the the summer of 1952 I won the Dunham Scholarship and painted at the Doon School of Fine Arts with Jack Bechtel. This gave me the confidence to go to Trussler Photo Studio and tell them "I'm good". They gave me an after school job tinting black and white photographs with oil paint. After high school I worked at Mutual Life. During this time I spent most evenings doing pencil sketches for a sweater knitting company.
I married in 1957, after having 5 children I started painting again. Until 1980, I sold my paintings at John Tuck Interiors. He had stores in Kitchener and Newmarket. They sold faster than I could do them. They tell me my paintings that were sold are scattered all over, as far away as Texas, England and Ireland.
In 1998 I resumed painting again at Cole Bohmans Art Studio. I wanted to do some paintings for my family. In 2005 I painted with Robert Wanka to do portraits of my family. I now enjoy being a grandma, and I am thrilled with the excellent work that Pirak Studio does to capture my paintings as giclee prints on canvas.
Donna
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