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For Oakville artist Leslie Cochrane the idea of people seeâ€" ing her originals has always been more satisfying than people buyâ€" ing them. Now â€" thanks to a pubâ€" lishing deal to market her limited edition reproductions â€" widespread exposure of her work seems assured. By HOWARD MOZEL Oakville Beaver Staff In an unusual move, Toronto‘s Black Creek Art Studios Inc. made the decision to represent Cochrane based solely on one of her paintâ€" ings, "The Guardian." The followâ€" up, "Garden Gateway," was also released and has been met with an equally enthusiastic response. "It‘s wonderful (Black Creek) had so much faith in me," beams Cochrane. "The prints are really important to me, a real achieveâ€" ment in my life. I think this is a real beginning for me." *Beginning‘ as in "new direcâ€" tion,‘ since Cochrane is no novice who lucked into a sweet deal. A professional artist for more than a decade, Cochrane has lived and studied all over the world and seen her work exhibited in many galâ€" leries and collections. Her illustraâ€" tions have appeared in such publiâ€" cations as Saturday Night and she was even the courtroom artist for a couple of murder trials. Cochrane‘s crowning glory, however, are her landscapes which â€" in her words â€" feature a "very strong directive light." This is obvious in "The Guardian" where there is no "focus" as such but a deliberate effort to have the eye follow that light. By JACK MORGAN Special to the Beaver Burlâ€"Oak Theatre Group‘s production of Exit the Body at the Oakville Centre is, among other things, a family affair. "It‘s manipulated by the artist to lead you through the scene," says the artist, whose prints are available at Surroundings in Oakville. Cochrane‘s current love is old houses possessing plenty of history After all, this rollicking farce, set in 1949 New England, stars Bill Rolls, 67, and his son Nick. Bill plays local sheriff Vern Cookley, a downâ€"toâ€"earth character who lets the world whiz by â€" which it certainly does in this caper. Nick on the other hand, plays Randolph, an intruder who aspires to be a New York gangâ€" ster. Painter possesses a "passion for life" Offstage, however, their relationship is far more genial: Nick tells his father he sounds Father and son share the stage for "Exit the Body" Goliger‘s Travel 106 and living in Oakville there‘s cerâ€" tainly no shortage of inspiration. After choosing a subject, the painter enjoys discovering the stoâ€" ries behind the ivyâ€"masked walls. One of her newest works involves a man who, in 1888, built a Victorian home for his new bride. "These things become visual storytelling," she explains. "There is a history here that is really romantic. There is a certain presâ€" ence. I want to create a story like someone might write a book about Cochrane takes pains, however, to strike a balance between reality and the romance with which she infuses her work. Prior to this new direction in her career, Cochrane was well known for her rugged, unspoiled landscapes. Her affinity for the outdoors is no happy accident, however. Raised in northern Manitoba, Cochrane‘s father was a bush pilot who instilled in her his "selfâ€"fulfilling passion for life, the very strong need to pursue one‘s passion." "Not too sugary. I don‘t want to create works which you need insulin to look at them," she says. "Everyone should have a pasâ€" sion in life, or else you wither as you grow older," she said. "He gave me an incredible appreciation of nature, an appreciation of the subtle nuances people overlooked. He encouraged us to see." Later, Cochrane lived for a year in a trailer in Yellowknife, where she worked as an artist for News of the North. It was here that she met her future husband, a reporter on staff at the time. The painter‘s wanderlust then took her to a sheep station in the Australian outâ€" back and a kibbutz in Israel where she studied under renowned sculpâ€" tor Moshe Saidi. "It was just insatiable curiosity that led me to all these places," she Syd A. Insurance Limited and * . SINCE 1955 bringing you like Pa Kettle, to which Bill replies goodâ€" naturedly: "I‘m trying to do a New England twang." Whatever the accent is, it‘s hilarious. It‘s the first time the two have shared the same stage. Bill came back to theatre only recently, 45 years after appearing in a British naval production of "H.M.S. Pinafore". (The navy wasn‘t taking any chances with that selection.) It happened this way: Burlâ€"Oak cast Nick in Arsenic and Old Lace. Then he discovered that they wanted an old coot. ("I‘ve got one of those at home," he said.) Which is how his father came to renew acquaintance with grease paint as Mr. Gibbs. Well, nearly. Bill sports a full beard so explains. "All I wanted to do was go to these exotic places â€" not just to be a tourist but to experience the lifestyle." Now residing in Oakville, Cochrane enjoys the close proximâ€" Oakville artist Leslie Cochrane with "Garden Gateway." ...careens deli%htfully through every style known to modern music lovers. A listening treat for all ages!" â€"The Ottawa Citizen Children‘s Show there was no room for makeâ€"up. "Exit The Body," however, may be Bill‘s last flourish since he is retiring soon to Mooseland, Nova Scotia to take up some seriâ€" ous gardening. Much further to the nearest stage door. Who knows, he may end up as the local sherâ€" iff if he gets the accent right. "It‘s a quiet rural area," he said, "Seven and a half kilometers to the nearest corner store." Nick came to Burlâ€"Oak from Milton in 1986 and has been seen in several productions. Somehow, in addition to his work as Director of Security in Mississauga, Nick has found the time to appear as an extra in many movies. He took Bill to one film shoot, explaining that it The "I don‘t want to describe it in words. I want to appeal to people‘s emotions. I think it‘s beyond words," says Cochrane, whose ity to such locations the Bruce Trail. took ages to establish oneself as a bonaâ€"fide extra, only to see the producer hand his father a lunch voucher and a job on the spot. Enough to make you lose your faith in apprenticeship. Now they are together at last in what direcâ€" tor Nancy Guild calls "a fast and furious farce where all the doors on the set vibrate as 10 zany characters fling themselves in and out, dragging bodies as they search for diamonds. "Exit The Body" is guaranteed to leave audiences laughing and actors exhausted. A good laugh is like a small holiday. "Exit The Body" continues at The Oakville Centre tonight and Saturday then April 28 to May 1. Tickets available at The Oakville Centre Box Office, tel. 815â€"2021. paintings can be seen in Oakville‘s McLarenâ€"Barnes Gallery. "I want to reflect the energy in nature and interpret it. The energy creates a threeâ€"dimensional feel and pulls the viewer in." Principal Sponsor More details: 845â€"5585 Box #5906 SLOUGH ESTATES CANADA (Photo by Peter McCusker)