December 1, 2009
Paintings by Watkinson to be exhibited for first time at Winnipeg gallery.
From Rockin’ across Two Continents with Kim Mitchell to Mayberry Fine Art Gallery Artist
New Winnipeg Resident Terry Watkinson a Study in Contrasts and Talents
Paintings by Watkinson to be exhibited for first time at Winnipeg gallery
On Saturday, Dec. 12, Watkinson’s landscape paintings will be featured for the first time by Mayberry Fine Art, located in Winnipeg’s Exchange District, as part of its annual holiday season group show entitled “Open House”. Some 90 works by 20 of the gallery’s contemporary artists will be on display through Dec. 24.
Terry Watkinson’s incredible journey through life…. thus far!
born and raised in Thunder Bay; still spends summers at the family cottage outside that city
studied architecture at university in Toronto before dropping out to play with a Toronto band for six years; embraced the hippie lifestyle, taking a two-year “holiday from reality” in Winnipeg; joined progressive rock band Max Webster with Kim Mitchell in 1972
as keyboard player and singer for eight years with Max Webster, toured cross-Canada as headliners every year (1973-1980) and played several U.S. and European tours as openers for Rush
band’s most well-known songs include “High Class in Borrowed Shoes” and “A Million Vacations”; several albums went gold or platinum
Watkinson wrote one or two songs for each album including Let Go the Line (Mitchell wrote most songs)
Watkinson designed the cover for band’s first album entitled Max Webster
band reunited in 2007 for a one-off concert on 30th anniversary of Q107, the radio station where Mitchell works as a DJ.
still writes music on his computer as a hobby, but his listening tastes lean to jazz and classical these days.
B.Sc. degree in medical illustration from University of Toronto followed career as a rocker
primarily did surgical procedure illustrations for medical textbooks and illustrations for pharmaceutical promotional materials; provided illustrations for a few medical magazine covers
taught classes in surgical illustration for about six years at University of Toronto but eventual success with his fine art painting prompted move to full-time artist
just finished some 50 illustrations – which he did over a three-year period -- for a book on peripheral nerve surgery
began doing oil painting in high school and that continued while touring with Max Webster – primarily a landscape and cityscape painter; largely self-taught but uses a lot of what he learned in architecture and medical illustration studies; also does some commissioned portrait work
first began showing his work in Toronto 12 years ago and is represented there by a gallery in Aurora
Watkinson describes himself as a luminist painter who captures light and the skies in his paintings
his love of the Canadian shield landscape evolved during his summers at his family cottage; appreciation of the Rockies came from driving back and forth across Western Canada with Max Webster
moved to Winnipeg in early 2008 on impulse, expecting the “congenial” city with great vistas, bright sunlight and clean air would allow him to take a fresh look at his art
lives and works in a 1500 square-foot condo in the historic Travellers Building at Bannatyne and King – a significant contrast to the small, dimly-lit apartment in downtown Toronto where space limitations required him to paint by propping his work up against the fridge
last summer three paintings – all nudes including his self-portrait featured on his own website – went missing from his condo
has taken countless photos of his new neighbourhood and begun painting the cityscape of Winnipeg’s historic Exchange District
Mayberry Fine Art represents his work in Winnipeg and points west
find out more about this artist and to view his works go to www.mayberryfineart.com and www.terrywatkinson.com . Check out www.maxwebster.ca for historical information about the band, complete with musical clips from several albums.
Open House Exhibition at Mayberry Fine Art – Dec. 12-24
Where: 212 McDermot in the Exchange District
When: Saturday, December 12 official opening reception from 11am to 5pm. All welcome.
Who: Watkinson and several other local artists, whose works are on display, will be in attendance.
Featured artists: Chris Dorosz, Joe Fafard, Robert Genn, Laura Harris, Wanda Koop, Vojtech Matousek, Peter McConville, Robert McInnis, Don Proch, Andrew Valko, Terry Watkinson, among others.