Gordon K. Askwith

Galleries

Artist's Statement

My actual training in painting began about thirty years ago.  I started classes with Walter Hickling in Life painting in oils.  I remember that first class vividly.  Mr. Hickling had given us our first assignment.  I was busily applying rather bright colours to my canvas when Hickling came up behind me and watched what I was doing.  I nervously said “I like bright colours” Mr. Hickling.  His reply was “well you can’t make me angry”.  I was to discover what he meant when I saw paintings of his work in the Hamilton Art Gallery.  There was no question that he liked colour and he encouraged me in its use.  I studied with Walter until he retired from teaching at the Dundas Valley School of Art.  The Landscape course with Catherine Gibbon was my next class.

You should know I learned to canoe when I was eight years of age and it has been a hobby of mine ever since.  I love the Canadian wilderness and belonged to an outing club which planned canoeing outings on weekends and holidays throughout Ontario.  Catherine Gibbon’s classes were frequently located in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area and to my delight were not too dissimilar to the scenery on my canoe trips.  I found that when I was intensely involved painting a scene, that on returning I felt as though I had brought an actual part of the original scene back with me.  Sometimes I think that because of this I am able to paint landscapes simply from imagination and memory.

If I have any advice for a beginning artist it is, to no be afraid of using intense or vivid colours.  Painting with them can be a spiritual and emotional experience.

I am presently a student at the Dundas School in Marla Panko’s class, Artist’s Workshop which is described in the DVSA brochure as “an informal and self directed class for the advanced student/artist who enjoys the exchange of ideas”.  I find this class stimulating, being with and painting with other artists.

September 2007

ASKWITH, Gordon Kingsford DSW, (Order of Niagara) 1921-2008 Born April 6, 1921, Gordon Kingsford Askwith passed away peacefully at McMaster University Hospital on October 6, 2008. Gordon is survived by his sons Richard and Michael (Susanne O'Grady) and his grandchildren Liam, Zoë, David, and Graham, Joyce Askwith, and many friends. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Gordon received his DSW from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work in 1963. Gordon's career in social work spanned four decades, and was dedicated to protecting at risk children in the child welfare system in the United States and Canada. Having held senior positions with the Jewish Family Services (Toronto), the Halton Children's Aid Society, Gordon retired from his position with the Hamilton-Wentworth Children's Aid Society in 1986. Gordon was a thespian most of his life, commencing with the Ottawa Drama League at 13, he continued in amateur drama with productions at Hart House (University of Toronto), the Burlington Little Theatre and Hamilton Players' Guild. Painting was another of Gordon's passions. Initially studying under Walter Hickling, Gordon went on to develop his own style and artistic expressions with art shows at local venues. He was also actively involved in a number of Clubs and Societies including, but not limited to, the Conserver Society, Amnesty International, IDEA Burlington, the Burlington Association for Nuclear Disarmament, and the Burlington Cross Country Skiing and Cycling Club. Gordon was a lifelong active member of the Anglican Church and was made a member of The Order of Niagara in 2004. The family wishes to express their gratitude and thanks to the staff at McMaster Hospital for their support. Please join us in a celebration of Gordon's life. Memorial Service will be held on Friday, October 17, 2008, at St. Luke's Anglican Church in Burlington at 2:00 p.m., with a reception at the Church Hall at 3:00 p.m. Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made in memory of Gordon to the following charities: Save the Children Fund; Oxfam; or Unicef.