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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, December 26, 2013 | 6 Spotlight by Dennis Smith Special to the Beaver "Connected to your Community" Artist, 85, found sunshine following his passion Harry Glen has painted vivid local scenes -- like a tugboat in Bronte Harbour, craggy trees in rural settings and the Sixteen Mile Creek, framed by bright forests. But the north Oakville resident isn't keen on setting up an easel outdoors to paint. "Everything I do is done from a photograph," said Glen, 85. "Either I take it or I see it in the newspaper." The former Oakville Art Society (OAS) member prefers working in his upstairs studio, instead of at the scene. "I have done numerous oils on the spot," said Glen. "But it's not comfortable, you don't have the right equipment, the ies are biting you and it's too cold." A photograph can also record the lighting he wishes to capture in a particular scene. "A lot of my stuff is winter stuff, especially if it's a sunny day," said Glen. "The shadows cast on snow are fascinating." He's particularly proud of his 1994 winter watercolour painting of the tug, Wendy B., in the Bronte Harbour area. "I displayed it at one of the exhibitions and there was lot of interest because people knew about it, they were interested in the boat itself," said Glen. His painting of the Sixteen Mile Creek just below Dundas Street was done about eight years ago and inspired by a newspaper ad. His painting of a tree on Sixth Line farmland is sharp and detailed. "I was impressed by the lean of it and the composition," said Glen about the rural scene. In another of his winter paintings on the Sixth Line, he was attracted by the tangled trees and shadows. "It makes them into a design that's interesting," said Glen. But getting a picture of it beforehand was challenging. "I had to get off the road and walk down the embankment," said Glen. Both his oils and watercolours are sprinkled throughout his home in the Sunningdale community. He switched over to the latter media 15 or 20 years ago. "My watercolours are not wishy-washy like most are," said Glen. "I use a lot of paint on my Artist Harry Glen, 85, has a collection of his oil and watercolours that adorn his home. Here, Glen sits in his living room with three of his works -- a watercolour landscape depicting a barn and tree in winter (left), an oil painting depicting tree branches and shadows on the snow, from the Milton/Oakville border (right) and in front, a watercolour of a tugboat in the winter freeze at Bronte Harbour. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) works, more paint than water, which dilutes everything." The artist has participated in the Oakville Art Society's sale for seven years. "Every year, I sold at least two or three paintings," said Glen. He has painted numerous subjects, like his son David as a kid in his hockey uniform and a photo of a cat he thought was cute. The Montreal native has done art since he was six years old. "It fascinated me," said Glen. He recalled a teacher giving him funds to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The 1937 animated lm was the rst full-length Walt Disney movie. "I used to buy colouring books of Disney characters," said Glen. "I copied the drawings and then I coloured them." He also has paintings by other friends, such as Hank Simpkins, an illustrator who did a pastel portrait of Glen. He was a commercial artist from 1954-94, but Glen didn't start in that eld. He worked nine years for Dominion Rubber Company (which later became Uniroyal) as an of ce boy, in sales and as a junior auditor travelling across the country. Glen eventually landed a job with the rm that did art for the rubber company. "I went to the interview, showed them my portfolio and they said I could start anytime," he said. "I was making $65 a week (for Dominion Rubber). I started the new job on Monday morning for $20 a week. I took it because that was what I wanted to do." Then Glen's wife Helen, who died nearly 10 years ago, suggested he seek work in Toronto. "I came up and got work right away," he said. Glen worked at a few places, including the art department for the Eaton's retailer, then worked with PENE, a photographers and electrotypers organization, for 12 years. He was mainly an airbrush artist, retouching photographs, but he also did some illustrations. "It didn't work out for me until I left Montreal and came here -- then it was sunshine," said Glen. NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Volume 51 | Number 154 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. 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