ART OF GEORGE WILLIAM VAN HUMBECK

I'm sure you would expect a young boy raised in a family of meager means to be grateful for whatever they get for Christmas, but at the age of eleven I was anything but grateful. I had asked for an oil paints set. As a young boy I was always drawing and with the encouragement of my teachers I wanted to try other mediums. So when I unwrapped a paint by numbers set I flew into a rage. My mother, always supportive, exchanged the paints for a set of tube paints, a few brushes and a canvas wrapped panel.

 

For the most part I consider myself self taught. As a young artist I relied on step-by-step how to paint reference books, learning from my many mistakes and those accidents you learn to leave alone. My paper route provided the funds for my artistic obsession.

 

I was primarily raised and lived in Southwestern Ontario most of my life. After working in the photographic industry I studied Visual Arts and Mathematics at Carleton University and the University of Windsor along with a Bachelor's Degree in Education. Although now retired, I taught for the Lambton Kent District School Board, primarily teaching in grades seven and eight.

 

Throughout my life I have been drawn to the natural world and have spent every opportunity exploring Canada's nature preserves.  My trips to Western Canada were stirring after being raised on the flatlands of Southwestern Ontario. So much of my youth was spent on the water and at the beaches throughout Ontario, so it is no wonder that my wife and I have made Bright's Grove in Lambton County our home. With quick access to the natural beauty in this region of our province I rarely go anywhere without my camera or easel. There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of subject matter to paint

​

For the love of Nature and the Art it inspires, 

George Van Humbeck