My Story                                                    

I was the fourth child born into an artistic family and introduced to oil painting when I was old enough to notice the work in progress on my father's easel. My first painting was a brightly coloured autumn tree, which I did with a painting knife and my dad's leftover paint. The pride I felt over what I had created was tremendous and unexpected. I was eight years old at the time. Later I was also interested in earning a little spending money. I had a small garden in the back yard where I rooted clippings of shrubs I'd collected from our yard and others. I would bundle up the rooted plants and peddle them door to door, pulling them around the neighbourhood in a little red wagon. I also sold sand candles that I made in an old washtub.                                          

In high school, painting became much more important to me. I was surprised to discover that I was further ahead than most of the class, having learned more about painting at home than I had realized. The praise I received for these early works was deeply satisfying to me and seemed to fill a basic need beyond the simple joy of painting.

When I finished high school, I worked in several fields, one of which was canvassing door to door for an asphalt company. It was while walking up a long gravel driveway that it occurred to me that I could combine what I knew about door to door sales with what I could do with a paint brush. After selling three paintings on my first night out and continuing success over the next two weeks, I gave up my asphalt job and became a painter full-time. This was back in 1977. It wasn't easy of course. My paintings were still rather amateurish, but with study and common sense, they continued to get better. After a few years of working on my own, I started classes at Kwantlen College in Surrey, and learned more about the finer points of technique and creative thinking. My paintings improved, and coupled with a soft-sell approach, my efforts began to produce a more reliable income. I actually began to enjoy the whole scenario of selling my paintings door to door. Over the years I have met many fine people who are now happy owners of my work.

In 1980 I bought a small travel trailer, so I could paint and sell in interesting an promising places. I remember that the first place I went was Kelowna. I loved painting landscapes that sloped toward the lake and distant hills. I also enjoyed being totally independent - free to stay and to work anywhere I chose. My dream was to have a motor-home that was large enough for full-time living. So in 1984 I bought a thirty-one foot bus style motor-home that was sitting in a farmers field in Richmond. It was a homely thing, but had much potential. With a lot of work it became just what I had been dreaming of. I moved in, and for six years I criss-crossed the continent painting and selling in cities such as Calgary, Ottawa, and Toronto to name a few. I towed a small car behind, so once it was set up in a full service campground, the motor-home became a very comfortable studio and home base. Several winters were spent in places such as South Padre Island, Texas, and the Florida Keys. I no longer live in the motor-home, but I have kept it for the times I want to paint in areas away from home.

Over the years, I have worked in different mediums. Oils gave way to acrylics for mostly practical reasons. I liked their drying time and easy cleanup. When I first tried watercolours, my excitement over them came as a complete surprise. I was visiting my mother on a day when she just happened to be attempting her first watercolour. I tried to help, only verbally at first, but my impatience soon began to equal her frustration and, without thinking, I grabbed the brush out of her hand and said "No, like this ..... ". I was hooked. The very next day I bought all the paint and paper I would need and painted nothing but watercolours over the next three years. I have since returned to oils and paint regularly in both mediums.     

My studio now is in my house on Marine Drive in White Rock, across from Semiahmoo Park and East Beach. I often take long walks on the beach while I sort out my thoughts and plan my next painting. I look for subject matter with potential to stir the emotions. The challenge then is to paint with a directness and an honesty that narrates the story being told with every stroke of the brush.

My goal has always been to paint a variety of pleasing subjects, (pleasing to myself and to others) and to enjoy life. The road to becoming an artist is an endless journey and so far, it has been a fine adventure.

 Unfortunately Blaine's fine adventure ended on August 24th. 1999.  Before he died, I wrote this to him.