Freeman Patterson celebrates life's work in Oakville able to communicate. He compared art to other forms of communication, such as writing, saying if a noun or a verb is changed, the meaning of the sentence will be changed. "It's exactly the same with the building blocks of visual design. Instead of nouns and verbs and adjectives and adverbs, we have line, shape, perspective and texture. If I move lines and shapes around, I'm saying something different," he said. Therefore, he preaches one must have the skills to use the tools. "But the whole point of learning design, if you're a writer, or a painter, or a photographer, is good expression, good communication. That's where I feel really good about teaching," he said. But, he asks why people want to Artscene 27 · Friday, November 2, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com express themselves effectively. "By moving lines and shapes and things around, I'm really making a biography. I'm writing a biography with the pictures I make," he said. He even witnessed symbols in his photographs that he wasn't aware of at the time the pictures were taken. This led him to conciously look for those subjects and he learned new techniques through them. The Meeting House is located at 2700 Bristol Circle. Tickets cost $59.50 for adults or $48.20 for seniors and students. Tickets are available at www.oakvillecentre.ca. Queen Elizabeth Park is located at 2302 Bridge Rd. The exhibit, A Photography Journey, is already up and will hang all day on Sunday. For more information, visit www. freemanpatterson.com. nikki wesley / oakville beaver / @halton_photog happy in nature: Canadian photographer Freeman Patterson is celebrating his life's work with a presentation at The Meeting House on Saturday and an exhibit at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre on Sunday. He's already given his Oakville workshop last weekend. And tomorrow (Saturday), Patterson will return to The Meeting House to reflect on that long career. The Fifty Year Retrospective event starts at 7:30 p.m. The following day, Patterson will be at his photography exhibit inside the black box theatre of the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre. Patterson is already quite familiar with the southern Ontario audience, as he has been doing workshops with area photography groups since 1973. He said anyone could take a picture, even using a cellphone, as the technical capabilities of taking a great By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF In a 50-year career, Freeman Patterson has received adulation and gained many fans along the way. So when the great Canadian photographer turned 75 this summer, his close friend and agent in Oakville, Sandy McMurrich, organized a celebration of all his work. Now, the New Brunswick photographer, author, teacher, designer and avid gardener among many other things is spending time in southern Ontario speaking about his life's work and running workshops on what he does. photo are there. However, that misses the point of the art. "Theoretically, anyone can pick up a paintbrush and paint something, but anyone who's pursuing art is looking really fundamentally at themselves," he said. "It's a chance to say who you are, how you feel and that's what these workshops are about. It's about nothing technical." Patterson has written a number of books on photography, including the recently revised versions of his Photography and the Art of Seeing and Photography of Natural Things. He said taking photos is a way of expressing oneself. However, to express effectively, a person must be Barrington's Own Large coyote collar with satin bow $325 Coyote boot cuffs $275 Made in Canada! REDUCE NOVEMBER 3, 2012 | 7:30PM Central Baptist Church 340 Rebecca St., Oakville, ON November 4, 2012 | 3:00pm St. Simon's Anglican Church 1450 Litchfield Rd., Oakville, ON beethoven: triple concerto Mozart: Symphony #41 "Jupiter" recycle REUSE Celebrating 61 years in Oakville 209 LAKESHORE ROAD EAST Downtown Oakville (905) 845-2031 www.oakvillechamber.org | (905) 483-6787 www. ww w.oa w. oakville Mon - Fri: 9-6 Sat: 9-5 Sun: 12-5 www.barringtons.ca