There's Beauty all around us, if we would only take the time to look
Barry was born just outside London, England in a small village called Heston. It was there that he spent his schooling years, then went to work till the age of 21. At that time he decided to emigrate to Canada. He has lived in Montreal from the first day that he set foot on Canadian soil and still marvels over the beauty of this Country.
Barry has taken evening courses and workshops in Watercolour and Drawing. He has always been interested in the Arts and has learned to appreciate them more as he matures in age. Drawing and painting is something which has been close to him all of his life, but only recently felt that he could express his feelings through his painting. He often stops and looks around at God's beauty and has had his breath taken away over some of His creation. He loves to watch the skies change colour as the sun sets, and the way clouds change and mould themselves into different shapes. He loves to see a fence diminish into the distance and the way hills fade in colour as they merge into the horizon. He sees the strength of trees both in character and subtle frailties as they change and shed their coats through the seasons. He has sat and painted in the rain just to catch the mood, or at the point of numbness where he had to stop because his paint was starting to freeze on his palette. It is these feelings Barry instills into his paintings. Barry's paintings have been displayed in Europe and have won many awards in Canada. They also hang in corporate and private collections throughout Canada, England and the United States of America. He has also had the privilege of hosting three watercolour television series, called Watercolour Let it Flow and The Love of Watercolour & Watercolour it's so Easy . On Videotron in Quebec and COGECO in Ontario.
Like a lot of people these days I was confronted with losing my job due to down-sizing. I had worked with Air Canada for 25 years. It wasn't a complete surprise, it was growing through departments like a cancer. Each reorganization was taking its toll. You would sit there wondering, would it be me this time?. Well, in June of 1993 it struck. I was called into the office and asked if I would be interested in the PACKAGE. I was 49 years old at that time and with my 25 years of service, it didn't add up to a very big pension. My home life at that time was taking a beating, not knowing what each day would bring. I was almost at the point of a nervous breakdown, and taking medication to calm my nerves. One day on my way to work I just couldn't go through the gate into Air Canada, so I turned around and drove back home. The fear of losing my job and how to support my family was very real to the point that I could taste it. In January of 1991 I had taken up the hobby of watercolour painting. This was something that had been in the back of my mind to do for a very long time. If I would have known then, what an important roll this was going to make in my life, I wouldn't have gone through all that fear and anxiety of losing my job. The night that I came home and told my family that I was offered the PACKAGE is one I will never forget. In one way it was a relief, at least I knew where I was and a decision could be made. We studied our finances and found that if my wife continued to work part-time and I started to teach watercolour lessons maybe it would work. The support from my family was tremendous, lets go for it, we said. I felt like the weight of the whole world was lifted off my shoulders. The very next day I had that old skip and a stride back in my walk everything around me took on a new look. I didn't even mind going back to Air Canada for those last few weeks; the pressure was off, the balloon had been burst I felt free. From that day on, things started to take place. I have had a steady increase in students starting from eight per week to over fifty for the last session. Since I started in 1991 I have painted over 350 original works with over 300 been sold or donated to various charitable donations as a fund raiser. I have done close to seventy TV Show on the local Cable network in Montreal which are just starting to be shown here in the Kingston area on COGECO cable 13 Monday and Thursdays. The show is called "Watercolour For The Fun of it". All in all, things have gone very well since that family decision was made to give it a go. We have just moved to a small town north of Napanee called Erinsville. To me it's a little bit of haven. A landscape artist dream, I have never been so happy. Life in general has taken on a new meaning, I'm now one of the lucky ones doing what I want in life. It's is not always honey and roses, it has its ups and downs, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It has brought my family together in a special way, a way in which we have all grown much closer together. How I got started
REFLECTIONS
Have you ever stood beside a lake
Where no wind can be felt or seen
And reflections float atop the water
So calm, so clear, so clean.
And lose yourself within that moment
Forget all troubles and wows
And leave all your problems and worries behind
As nobody really knows.
This is your time for peace and reflection
Just like the lake in view
Which can be broken by the throw of a stone
As its destiny relies on you.
So take a deep breath relax and be calm
Just let the ripples fade away
And look at yourself within the Lake
And be ready to start a new day.
