The Citizen, 2008-04-24, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2008.
A new exhibit entitled Iberian
Images - Travels through Spain and
Portugal by local artist Ron Walker
has just opened at the Art Exchange
in London.
Walker, whose name is heard
frequently in Huron County art
discussions, found himself inspired
heavily from a recent trip to Spain.
The collection consists of several
pastel pieces, sepia pieces and some
prints, each serving its purpose in
the grand scheme of the collection,
many of them landscapes, Walker’s
specialty.
With the colourful pastel pieces,
Walker chose scenes during holy
week in Spain, Semana Santa, where
street processions take place every
evening from Palm Sunday to Easter
Sunday.
The Semana Santa pieces are very
bright and vibrant, and with such an
important cultural event, all include
large groups of people. Walker
predominantly visualizes
landscapes, so to call these pieces a
slight deviation from previous work
is fair.
The Holy Week pictures comprise
just one part of the collection. There
are also several large pastel pieces
showing the Meseta Central in
Spain. Translated, this means inner
plateau, and geographically this area
is a vast plateau in peninsular Spain.
Not one to call a cruise or a resort
a true vacation, Walker seeks the
reality of a region when he visits,
saying “there is no adventure
without risk.”
After several trips to the area,
including Spain, Portugal,
Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Greece
and a trip down the Via de la Plata
(the silver route) which is a
pilgrimage down the west of Spain
from the north to the south, Walker
fell in love with the country, filling
several sketchbooks with detailed
local scenes and landscapes.
Walker also travelled the Inca trail
to Machu Picchu, a set of trails
constructed in pre-Columbian South
America with his brother-in-law,
who is also an artist.
The collection also includes
several scenes from rural Spain,
captured by Walker in sepia, a
perfect tone for these particular
images of Spain, he says.
Walker returned from the most
recent of his trips just this
fall.
However, in the past, he has not
had to travel to faraway lands for
inspiration, living on an expansive
16-acre property just outside of
Blyth. He says, “We grow our own
subject matter here.”
Once his collection celebrating
Spanish and Portuguese culture has
had its day, he hopes to return to
what he knows best, the landscapesof Huron County, a place he calls thebreadbasket of Ontario.In 2006, Walker featured his firstshow at the Art Exchange,showcasing a collection simplycalled Recent Works. The
cornerstone(s) of this collection
were four, eight- foot long
landscapes, collectively called
Maitland Suite, featuring the
Maitland River in all four
seasons.
In this collection, he also featured
stands that held four vertical,
rotating cubes, featuring Walker’s
original landscapes that people were
encouraged to spin, and fit into their
own interactive landscape.
Walker first got involved with the
Art Exchange after he met with the
gallery’s owner, Al Stewart. Walker
said he knew the reputation of the
Art Exchange well and thought his
work may be a good fit for the
gallery.
Stewart agreed, and the 2006 show
proved to be a great success for both
parties. Several of Walker’s pieces
from that first Art Exchange show
have since been placed in corporate
collections around London.
“His work is fairly well-known.
People around London certainly
seem to know who Ron Walker is,”
Stewart said.
Walker first moved to Blyth full-
time with his wife, Beverley, a fabric
artist, in the 1970s. They had been
using the then-abandoned farmhouse
as a winter retreat and had grown
tired of Toronto, and elected to moveinto the farmhouse. After renovations that took “toolong” and cost “too much” jokesWalker, the couple were settled intotheir new home.Walker first became interested in
art in his 20s, after watching a film
called Lust for Life. After a bad year
of school and some struggles,
Walker attended art school in
Saskatchewan for two years before
attending the Vancouver School of
Fine Art.
He admits that several other career
paths were suggested during his first
year of art school, due to the fact that
he enlisted in art school before being
very active in any art, but by his
second year, he was being
awarded scholarships and those
suggestions eventually
subsided.
He took a turn filmmaking,
working with 8 mm and 16 mm
films, began his teaching career at
Bathurst Heights in North York and
eventually achieved an English
degree from the University of
Toronto, a degree he
pursued because he was
“inarticulate.”
Walker would go on to teach
visual arts in high schools in the
greater Toronto area, and then
eventually in Huron County. He
spent 33 years teaching, a career,
which he calls “wonderful.”
Walker is also one of the founders
of the Blyth Festival Art Gallery. He
says he was approached when the
Blyth Festival was in its infancy toadd a visual art element to thefestival and he and Beverley took onthe challenge. In the early years, he said, art wasset up in the basement of the theatre,in the old Blyth Library and even in
the town’s grocery store until the
restoration when a gallery hall was
incorporated into the design.
While he is not involved in any
official capacity now, he will often
curate some of the exhibits.
Walker’s works are frequently
featured in the Huron County
Museum’s annual art show and sale.
This year the show will take place
from July 12 until Sept. 14. In
addition to the show, various pieces
from the Huron County Art Bank are
featured all over the
county, displayed in municipal
buildings.
Established in 2000, the show is
funded through a bequest from the
Estate of Susannah Lattimer.
Walker’s Huron Harvest won the top
prize in 2007.
Ron Walker’s Iberian Images -
Travels through Spain and Portugal
opened April 21 and will be shown
through May 3 with an opening
reception tonight (April 24) at 7:30
p.m. and the Art Exchange at 247
Wortley Rd. The Art Exchange is
open from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.
Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
More information on the exhibit
can be found at
www.theartexchange.ca
404 Queen St., Blyth
519-523-4792
541 Turnberry St., Brussels
519-887-9114
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Sketches of Spain
Blyth-based artist, Ron Walker filled several sketch books
with drawings and ideas for his current collection, Iberian
Images - Travels through Spain and Portugal that is running
at the Art Exchange in London right now until May 3. Walker
found himself inspired by Spain, a country he says he loves,
on a recent trip there. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
Local artist’s Iberian Images open in London
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