Gravenhurst Main Street Painted By Frank Johnston in 1991

1991 Watercolour of the main street of Gravenhurst by artist Frank Johnston

Our oldest hand written recipe book circa 1877 found in Orillia

The spring melt is still flooding in the bog. (Rob Currie photo)

FRANK JOHNSTON'S 1991 STREETSCAPE OF GRAVENHURST, A MOST UNIQUE IMPRESSION OF HIS HOMETOWN

WHAT WE ARE MISSING IN THIS TOWN, IS THE PUBLIC EXHIBITION OF THIS EXCEPTIONAL ARTIST'S WORK

     THE ARTIST AS HISTORIAN. MAYBE FRANK JOHNSTON WASN'T AN HISTORIAN BY PROFESSION, IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE, BUT HIS ART WORK WAS PROOF, HE KNEW THE IMPORTANCE OF CAPTURING HERITAGE FOR POSTERITY; SCENES, AND HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE, BEFORE IT BECAME A DIMINISHED INTEREST. HIS BRUSH STROKES, FOR EXAMPLE, IF COMPARED TO MY GRANDIOSE EXPLANATIONS, WERE EFFICIENT, OF SENSIBLE PROPORTION, AND ALTOGETHER EFFECTIVE, TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS; THAT THIS WAS A NICE PLACE TO VISIT, AND A HELL OF A PLACE TO LIVE. AT LEAST THAT'S HOW I VIEW THE FRANK JOHNSTON PRINT, RE-PUBLISHED ABOVE. THE BONUS, IS THAT IT WAS PAINTED WITH AN INTIMATE, FRIENDLY GESTURE, MAKING IT CLEAR TO THE VOYEUR, THE ARTIST FOUND THIS AN AGREEABLE TOWN FROM WHICH TO WORK. IT WAS JUST ONE OF HUNDREDS OF ART PANELS HE WORKED ON, DEPICTING LOCAL AND REGIONAL LANDMARKS, AND FAMILIAR MAIN STREETS. LATER IN THIS SHORT SERIES OF BLOGS, I WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME OF HIS WATERCOLOUR LANDSCAPES, WHICH ARE EQUALLY FAMILIAR, AS PLACES MOST OF US CAN IDENTIFY, BUT UNIQUE IN HIS IMPRESSIONS; OF RIVERS AND WATERFALLS YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR, IF YOU WERE TO LISTEN CAREFULLY, OR FEEL THE MIST FROM THE CRASH OF THE CATARACT. 

     IT USED TO BE, THAT TO SEE AND ENJOY, THE HERITAGE WATERCOLORS PAINTED BY GRAVENHURST ARTIST, FRANK JOHNSTON, YOU JUST HAD TO OPEN THE DOOR OF THE FORMER SLOANS RESTAURANT, ON MUSKOKA ROAD. AS I'VE NOTED ABOUT A HUNDRED TIMES BEFORE, THE RESTAURANT WAS AS MUCH, AT TIMES, TO SOME OF THE PATRONS, A GALLERY FOR JOHNSTON'S ART WORK, BEING ALL GRAVENHURST AND MUSKOKA DEPICTIONS. THE FOOD WAS GREAT AND ESPECIALLY THE BLUEBERRY PIE, BUT WHAT WAS ESPECIALLY COMPELLING, WERE THOSE MASSIVE WATERCOLORS OF TRAINS AND STEAMING BOATS, OF THE NAVIGATION COMPANY; STOPPED FOR PASSENGER EXCHANGES, AT THE WHARF ON MUSKOKA BAY. THE 1990'S ERA PRINT, OF AN ORIGINAL FRANK JOHNSTON WATERCOLOR, WAS OFFERED TO ME, FOR DISPLAY, BY THE JOHNSTON FAMILY RECENTLY, AND NEEDLESS TO SAY, I'M TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE. THIS IMAGE SHOULD BE ON PUBLIC DISPLAY IN THIS TOWN. UNFORTUNATELY, THE MAJOR ART PIECES WERE SOLD OFF SOME YEARS BACK, WHEN SLOANS, AS WE KNEW IT, WAS CLOSED. WE LOST A LOT OF HERITAGE WITH THOSE PAINTINGS. AND TO A DEGREE, THE CONFIDENCE FRANK JOHNSTON HAD WITH HIS FORMER HOMETOWN. IT WAS UNDERSTOOD BY THE ARTIST, THAT TOWN HALL WOULD GET THE PAINTINGS, IF THERE WAS EVER AN END TO SLOAN'S RESTAURANT.

     IT WAS ONCE NOTED, BY GROUP OF SEVEN ARTIST, A.J. CASSON, THAT CONTEMPORARY MUSKOKA (PROBABLY IN THE 1950'S), NO LONGER HAD INTERESTING ARCHITECTURE TO PORTRAY IN HIS ART. HE HAD PAINTED HERE PREVIOUSLY, AS DID OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GROUP OF SEVEN, PARTICULARLY IN THE GEORGIAN BAY REGION OF THE DISTRICT. FRANK JOHNSTON, (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH FRANZ JOHNSTON, OF THE GROUP OF SEVEN), FOUND THE EXACT OPPOSITE, EVEN WELL INTO THE 1990'S, AS THE DEPICTION ABOVE FULLY ILLUSTRATES. BEYOND THE FAMILIAR POST OFFICE BUILDING, AND CLOCK TOWER, YOU CAN SEE THE ADVERTISING SIGN, OF THE FORMER "ECONOMY STORE," AND I REMEMBER IT WELL. THE ORIGINAL PAINTING DATED 1991, REMINDS ME OF OUR FIRST YEARS AS NEW RESIDENTS TO TOWN, HAVING ARRIVED HERE LATE IN 1989.

    GRAVENHURST IS WHERE JOHNSTON HAD HIS STUDIO, AND PRINTING PRESS, IN A SHADED, HISTORIC, HOME ON, SITUATED QUAINTLY, NEATLY, WELL BACK FROM THE ROAD, ON QUIET, LOW TRAFFIC, HUGHSON STREET. WHILE FRANK JOHNSTON WAS A COMMERCIAL ARTIST, WHO MADE MONEY SELLING HIS PRINTS, EVEN ON GREETING CARDS, HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BOTHERED PAINTING SOMETHING HE DIDN'T FIND OF HISTORICAL MERIT, AND ARCHITECTURAL INTRIGUE. IN THE STREETSCAPE, THERE IS A SOCIAL, CULTURAL BUSINESS GOING ON, AND LITTLE DOUBT IS LEFT, THAT THIS RURAL COMMUNITY IS BUSTLING. HIS COLOURFUL IMPRESSION OF THE TOWN, IS BOTH POSITIVE, AND PROMOTIONAL; AND TO CAPTURE SUCH A LIFE FORCE WITHIN, HE HAS MADE A CLEAR STATEMENT, THAT ALTHOUGH GRAVENHURST ISN'T A LARGE COMMUNITY, IT IS A WARM, COMFORTABLE, "BEDFORD FALLS," KIND OF PLACE, (FROM THE MOVIE "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE," THAT EMBRACES ALL ITS SOCIAL-CULTURAL HERITAGE, BUT SENSIBLY IN THE CONTEMPORARY SENSE. THIS SCENE WOULD HAVE MADE A GREAT COVER FOR A BOOK ABOUT GRAVENHURST. MAYBE ONE DAY.

    I WAS CHASED OUT OF OUR MUSKOKA ROAD SHOP TODAY, BECAUSE OF A LARGE RECORDING SESSION, GOING ON IN THE MUSIC STUDIO. QUITE A TROOP OF STUDENTS WERE COMING IN, TO RECORD UPWARDS OF THREE SONGS, AND THERE WASN'T AN INCH TO SPARE. AS I TAKE UP MANY INCHES OF FLOOR SPACE, IT WAS JUST EASIER TO RETREAT BACK TO BIRCH HOLLOW, AND LET THE CREATIVE ARTS CARRY ON, UNENCUMBERED. THE ONLY THING TO DISTRACT ME NOW, ARE THE SUCCESSION OF HUNGRY BIRDS LANDING AT THE FEEDER, AND THE OCCASIONAL SQUABBLE WITH OUR RESIDENT SQUIRRELS. AS I'VE NOTED PREVIOUSLY, MY ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE IS DECLINING, AS QUICKLY AS MY ABILITY TO WRITE, WHEN THERE IS ANY HUBBUB GOING ON WHATSOEVER. TO COPE WITH THE BUSY NATURE OF THE SHOP AND MUSIC STUDIO, THESE DAYS, (WHICH I'M NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT IN THE BUSINESS SENSE), I OFTEN INCORPORATE WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE TIME; FOR EXAMPLE, A COUPLE OF MUSICIANS INVADING THE ROOM, TRYING OUT SOME OF THE STUDIO EQUIPMENT. I LIKE THIS KIND OF ACTUALITY, BUT I STILL FIND IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE DURING THE VISIT. I MAKE HANDWRITTEN NOTES INSTEAD, AND THEN TYPE THEM INTO THE BLOG WHEN SOLITUDE HAS RETURNED. TODAY, THERE WAS NO CHANCE OF WORKING AMIDST THE BUSTLE OF A LARGE, YOUTHFUL, ENTHUSIASTIC GROUP, EXCITED ABOUT PUTTING THEIR SOUNDS ONTO A CD. IT WAS NEAT BUT I FEEL DREADFULLY OUT OF PLACE IN CROWDS THESE DAYS. AT ONE TIME, IT WAS THE LIFE FORCE OF JUST SUCH A CROWD, THAT INSPIRED ME TO WRITE. NOW I FEEL OVERWHELMED, IF THERE ARE MORE THAN FOUR PEOPLE IN THE SAME ROOM WITH ME; AND SUZANNE QUIPS THAT IT'S ON ACCOUNT OF MY OLD AGE. I SHOULD PROBABLY ARGUE WITH HER, AS SHE IS ONE YEAR OLDER, BUT HONESTLY, I THINK SHE'S MORE RIGHT THAN WRONG. GADS, THE OLD NEWSPAPER OFFICE AT THE HERALD-GAZETTE, WAS ALWAYS FULL OF STAFFERS, AND OTHER ASSORTED GUESTS, AND PASSERSBY. IN FACT, WHERE I USED TO WRITE, WAS LIKE A BIG HALLWAY, TO OFFICES AT THE REAR OF THE BUILDING. I COULDN'T AFFORD TO BE DISTRACTED, ESPECIALLY WHEN PRODUCTION STAFF KEPT COMING UP TO OUR OFFICE, ON PRESS DAYS, DEMANDING WE SPEED UP OUR COPY OUT-PUT. I GUESS MORE THAN AGE, IT'S THE FACT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO WRITE IN QUIET ROOM HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, FOR A LOT OF YEARS NOW, AND HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW I COPED WITH MOB-RULE ONCE UPON A TIME.

     TO WRITE THIS BLOG, I FIRST SET OUT FRANK JOHNSTON'S PRINT, ON A SOFA ACROSS FROM ME, SO I COULD OCCASIONALLY GLANCE AT IT, AS THE STORY PROGRESSED. I HAD TO MOVE THREE TIMES, BECAUSE OF STUDENT TOURS, CIRCULATING TO EVERY PART OF THE BUILDING. AND AGAIN, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A PARAGRAPH, (WHICH SENDS ME BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD) I HAD TO RESCUE THE ART WORK, WHEN A GROUP SUDDENLY COMPROMISED THE LAST BIT OF OPEN SPACE IN THE BUILDING; AND THEN ANOTHER, AND ANOTHER. I THINK, KNOWING FRANK'S SENSE OF HUMOR (HE ONCE DID MY PORTRAIT FOR A COLUMN-HEAD, WHEN I WROTE FOR MUSKOKA TODAY), HE WOULD HAVE OFFERED A DEEP, RASPY CHUCKLE, THAT HIS ART WORK HAD BEEN AT THE CENTRE OF SUCH VIBRANT, YOUTHFUL ACTIVITY. SO NOT BEING ABLE TO GET THROUGH THE WHOLE BLOG, WITH HIS ART WORK CLEARLY SITUATED FOR EASY VIEWING, I FINALLY PACKED IT BACK UP, IN PROTECTIVE TISSUE, AND DECIDED TO FINISH THE REST, SITTING ON THE VERANDAH HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW; WHERE SOME KNOB HAS NOW FIRED UP AN ATOMIC-STRENGTH LEAF BLOWER, SUCH THAT I CAN NO LONG HEAR THE CHEERFUL CHIRPING OF THE BIRDS, AND A SQUIRREL COULD BE CHATTERING AT ME, FROM THE RAILING RIGHT IN FRONT, AND I'D HAVE TO READ HIS LIPS, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS....PRESUMABLY WITH THE GREEDY BIRDS HOGGING THE FEEDER SEEDS. WELL, AT LEAST THERE ARE NO DYNAMITE BLASTS THIS AFTERNOON, OF WHICH OCCUR RATHER FREELY AT JOB SITES, IN THIS AREA OF TOWN; AND THE CHAP WITH THE DIRT BIKE HAS NOW GOOSED HIS WAY TO A HIGHER STREET, SUCH THAT I BENEFIT FROM LESSER NOISE THAN A MOMENT EARLIER. YET, WHEN I LOOK AT FRANK'S MAIN STREET PROFILE, IT'S THE REMARKABLE TALENT OF THIS ARTIST, THAT I CAN HEAR THE SOUNDS OF OUR TOWN, WITHOUT THERE BEING ANY SOUND AT ALL. THIS IS WHAT I FEEL, IS THE TRUE TALENT OF THIS WELL RESPECTED CANADIAN ARTIST / PRINT MAKER, WHO USED TO CALL GRAVENHURST HIS HOME TOWN.

    HIS WORK INSPIRES SENSORY PERCEPTION, AND WE FIND OURSELVES IMAGINING ALL FORWARD PROGRESSIONS, SUCH AS THE SOUND OF CITIZEN FOOTFALLS, AND AUTOMOBILE AND TRUCK ENGINES, AIR BRAKES BEING ENGAGED ON BIG TRUCKS, AND THE OCCASIONAL BLASTING HORN, FROM CAR OR TRAIN, IN THE DAILY ACT OF "JUST PASSING BY." IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE STATIC, BUT IT'S NOT. ART, THAT IS! INSTEAD, IT'S FULL OF LIFE AND MECHANIZATION, NATURE AND HISTORY, AND NO FRAME CAN HOLD IT ALL IN!

     FRANK JOHNSTON BELIEVED IN THIS PICTURE. HE WOULDN'T HAVE SELECTED THIS VANTAGE POINT, IF HE COULDN'T CONCEIVE IT AS A PLACE OF CONSIDERABLE BUSTLE; AND PLEASANT AMALGAMATIONS, OF ALL THAT IS INHERENT TO OUR SMALL TOWN. EACH OF HIS PANELS IS AS MUCH AS STORY, AS THEY ARE VISUALLY IMPRESSIVE UPON THE SENSES. JUST BY VIEWING THE ART WORK, YOU GET A HISTORY LESSON, AND A CONTEMPORARY OVERVIEW, MERGING TOGETHER IN ONE SUBTLE MESSAGE; THAT THIS MUST BE A NICE PLACE TO LIVE. LONG BEFORE WE MOVED TO GRAVENHURST, I WAS A FAN OF FRANK JOHNSTON'S ART WORK. SUZANNE AND I USED TO BRING OUR YOUNG SONS FROM BRACEBRIDGE, AT LEAST TWICE A MONTH, TO HAVE A SATURDAY AFTERNOON LUNCH, OF CRISPY FRENCH FRIES AND HAMBURGERS ALL ROUND, IN THE COLORFUL MIDST OF THIS FRANK JOHNSTON GALLERY, AT SLOANS RESTAURANT. MAYBE HIS ART WAS MORE INFLUENTIAL, IN INSPIRING OUR MOVE SOUTH, THAN I PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT, BECAUSE SON OF A GUN, JUST LOOKING AT THIS PAINTING, I CAN HEAR THE ECHO OF THAT WELCOMING VOICE, OF HUGH CLAIRMONT, FROM SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD; POSSIBLY FROM THE FRONT ALCOVE OF SLOANS, CALLING OUT TO ME, TO COME FOR A COFFEE. WE OFTEN MET UP IN THE COZY QUARTERS OF "THE INNER SANCTUM," A SPECIAL ROOM FOR FINE DINING, WHERE HUGH FREQUENTLY HELD COURT. IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT HUGH AND FRANK WERE GOOD FRIENDS, SUCH THAT WHEN HE AND SON MARK, OPENED THE LOCAL PUBLICATION, "MUSKOKA TODAY," HE FELT NO COMPUNCTION WHATSOEVER, ASKING HIS ARTIST FRIEND TO DO SKETCHES OF EACH OF THE COLUMNISTS. MINE INCLUDED.

     WELL, AFTER A QUARTER CENTURY, LIVING IN GRAVENHURST, WE CURRIES ARE JUST AS HAPPY TO BE HERE, AS WHEN YOU COULD STILL HEAR THE LOUD BELLOW OF HUGH CLAIRMONT, AND THE GROWL OF THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, GRINDING THAT OLD PRINTING PRESS, TO REGALE US ONCE MORE, WITH AN IMAGE CAST DOWN BY HIS CAPABLE HAND; OF THE HOME REGION WE CALL, WITH REVERENCE, GOD'S COUNTRY.

     AT THIS PRECIOUS MOMENT, FEELING I HAVE DONE MY BEST TO REPRESENT THIS BEAUTIFUL ART WORK, BY MR. JOHNSTON, I'D WISH ONLY, HE COULD JOIN ME NOW FOR AN AFTER-WORK LIBATION, IN THE CELEBRATION OF THIS VIEW OF THE BOG, WHERE TWO DEER ARE NOW FEEDING; AND WHERE A PLETHORA OF GOD'S CREATURES, ARE WORKING AWAY, IN THE SLOWLY CHANGING HABITAT OF A COLDER THAN USUAL SPRING. A TINY BIRD FLITS ABOUT THROUGH THE OLD LEAVES, STILL COVERING OVER OUR GARDEN, IN SEARCH OF SEEDS THAT HAVE BEEN PUSHED OVER THE EDGE OF THE FEEDER, BY THE PUSH AND SHOVE OF GRAY AND BLACK SQUIRRELS. A MOURNING DOVE CALLS OUT, AND A CROW ANSWERS. IT IS A PLEASANT SOLITUDE WITH INTERESTING INTERVENTIONS; LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE CHIPMUNK, THAT JUST RAN OVER MY SHOE, WITH A PEANUT, STILL IN THE SHELL, PROTRUDING AWKWARDLY FROM ITS MOUTH. SUCH AN AMBITIOUS LITTLE FELLOW.

     THANKS SO MUCH FOR VISITING THIS BLOG TODAY. MORE OF FRANK JOHNSTON'S WATERCOLORS COMING DAILY, FOR THE REST OF THIS WEEK. GLAD YOU COULD BE A PART OF THIS SMALL FRANK JOHNSTON RETROSPECTIVE.