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Miner's son found northern paradise
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Canadian Artist Ted Harrison by the newly restored = mural he=20 is donating to UVic. The mural was painted on the walls of his house, = and=20 recently painstakingly removed and refurbished. The murals are now in = the=20 University of Victoria's Scoial Sciences and Mathematics Building.
Photograph by: Debra Brash, Times=20 Colonist
Now is the time to celebrate Ted Harrison.
Harrison, born in 1926 in Wingate, Co. Durham, England, is the senior = member=20 of our art community. His radiant, swirling paintings of the Yukon have = made him=20 the definitive painter of Canada's north. His illustrated book of The = Cremation=20 of Sam McGee is a worldwide best-seller. His generosity of spirit and = ready wit=20 endear him to audiences old and young, large and small. Since he arrived = in=20 Victoria with his wife Nicky in 1993, Ted Harrison has made a = considerable and=20 personal contribution to our community.
At the moment, a superb retrospective collection of Harrison's = paintings is=20 on display at the University of Victoria's downtown showspace, the = Legacy (630=20 Yates St., 250-721-8318, to Nov. 29). This show coincides with the = publication=20 of Painting Paradise (Crown Publications), a large-scale illustrated = biography=20 of Harrison by Katherine Gibson, who is also the curator of the = exhibition. They=20 complement one another perfectly.
Harrison's life story is worthy of attention. Born to a mining family = in the=20 north of England, he was encouraged to develop his artistic talent, but = painting=20 was no way to make a living. Harrison joined the army shortly after the = end of=20 the Second World War, which led to experiences in India, Egypt and East = Africa.=20 He took teacher training in Britain and, in 1958, went off to teach in = Malaysia=20 (where he met and married his Scottish bride) and then to New = Zealand.
Harrison's paintings, up to that point, were tame, but the vivid=20 word-painting of Katherine Gibson makes his story compelling.
This rich background of experience unexpectedly erupted when, in = 1968, the=20 Harrisons moved to the Yukon. There, the everyday influence of = aboriginal people=20 and the remarkable landscapes of the north overwhelmed his art school = training,=20 resulting in his unique, colourful and graphic style.
"The North is a special sort of symphony," he has said. "Its = landscape is a=20 dance, the wind is an orchestra, and the cry of the birds are the high = notes in=20 the background."
An exhibition of his new-style paintings at the Whitehorse Library in = 1969=20 caught the eye of a visitor from Ottawa who connected Harrison with an = Ottawa=20 gallery.
From that point, Harrison's success has been onward and upward, = including the=20 design for the Yukon pavilion at Expo 86, the Order of Canada in 1987, a = flurry=20 of stained glass window projects, honorary degrees and sold-out = exhibitions.=20 This new book, huge in size and lavishly illustrated, shows key works = from every=20 stage of his development.
That said, there is no substitute for the real thing. Harrison's = paintings=20 are easy to identify -- rollicking shapes of solid colours, off-kilter = buildings=20 and frolicking dogs cavort under a blazing sun. "It's as if we live in=20 landlocked ships that sail upon rolling waves of earth," he noted. "The=20 landscape is a series of waves. Everything moves except the edges of the = mountains against the sky. I just went with the flow."
What at a glance appears formulaic is constantly evolving and = ever-new.=20 Here's how he sees it:
"Like children my paintings changed and their characteristics = broadened to a=20 style which continues to change subtly, but relentlessly. The artist = appears to=20 have so little conscious control over the changes that affect his work. = I=20 personally feel the best paintings are done in the form of a = self-induced trance=20 as one's mind enters the mysterious realm of creation."
The colours in the book are bright and vivid, but they are something = else in=20 real life. Harrison matches tone with tone, hue upon hue in a way that = is truly=20 alive and dazzling. Only Norval Morrisseau and Claude Tousignant rival = his=20 colour sense.
We can be grateful to Gibson for her deft and thoughtful way of = elucidating=20 the remarkable character of this man. She quotes him, and those who know = him,=20 constantly and to great effect. Yet it must be granted that Harrison's = unique=20 tone of voice is more than can be set down on the page. To hear him = pronounce=20 the word "Y'k'n" in his inimitable way is something not to be = forgotten.
It is a rare thing to say that an artist "portrays optimism, purity = and the=20 elemental values of goodness and compassion," but Gibson is certainly = correct in=20 describing Ted Harrison this way. He is a remarkable man, and has made=20 remarkable paintings. Now is an excellent time to celebrate Ted = Harrison.
Ted Harrison: Painting Paradise, Katherine Gibson, Crown = Publications,=20 Victoria, www.crownpub.ca
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Canadian Artist Ted Harrison by the newly = restored=20 mural he is donating to UVic. The mural was painted on the walls of his = house,=20 and recently painstakingly removed and refurbished. The murals are now = in the=20 University of Victoria's Scoial Sciences and Mathematics Building.
Photograph by: Debra Brash, Times=20 Colonist
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