Tony Cook - Toronto's photostream

I was born in England and worked as a newspaper reporter before serving in the Royal Artillery for my national service. I wanted to go to Korea with my unit - I mean, free travel and all - but wiser heads prevailed and I was given a War Office job testing new recruits. I emigrated to Canada in 1956 and entered the photographic business, intending to make a career out of my hobby. Surprisingly, I spent the following 40 years in the photographic and audovisual industry in various senior marketing positions. Eventually tiring of the corporate environment, and foolishly forgoing the satisfaction of a regular paycheque, I started my own digital imaging and creative production house in Toronto, where I still live. I am married with three lovely daughters. Lucky Dad.
Over the years, I've enjoyed working in various art forms, in addition to photography and computer graphics. In the late 1970s, I expanded a childhood love of scratching initials on school desks and assorted trees, and began wood carving. I joined the Ontario Wood Carvers Assocation (OWCA), studied with famed carving teachers Joe Dampf, Benoit Deschenes and Wayne Barton, and somehow developed my own style of interpretive carving. I probably wasn't paying attention. I was President of the OWCA during the 1980s, and edited their newsletter and website for several years. I showed my carvings in OWCA competitions and at the Canadian National Exhibition, and was completely ignored by the jurors.
I studied drawing at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2004 and subsequently moved to watercolour painting. Being a Brit, I figured this was the proper medium for me. I credit teacher Ruth Hayes with giving me assurance that I could handle this medium and Barry Coombs for introducing me to the finer points of brush handling, design and simplification. I have tried to pay attention. I have enjoyed workshops with Art Cunanan, Hi-Sook Barker and Doug Mays, each of whom has been very patient.

I am very fortunate to have discovered a friendly and supportive environment within the art clubs that have accepted me as a member.
"After spending many years working with technology and computer graphics, I find painting and carving pleasing to the soul. As with wood carving, I am not a realist, prefering to interpret the natural world in an abstract/impressionist fashion. The painters who inspire me include Jeanne Carbonetti. Alvaro Castagnet, Joseph Zbukvic and the Welsh painter David Bellamy”.

I am a member of:
Toronto Watercolour Society
North Toronto Group of Artists
North York Visual Artisits
Willowdale Group of Artists
WEBSITE: www.tonycook.ca
CONTACT: watercolour@tonycook.ca