THE DIVERSITY OF THE LANDSCAPE ARTIST - JOHN WAYNE
Canadian artist, Harold Town, was well known for his artistic diversity. In one week, out on the local antique and collectible hunt, here in Muskoka, I found a copy of a book on the life and art of landscape artist, Tom Thomson, "Silence and the Storm," (a first edition) by art historian David Silcox, and his effervescent partner, Harold Town. Then I found a second book Town had published containing a selection of his celebrity (Television, Movie, Hollywood profiles) sketches, of which he was well known, and then, in a Thrift Shop, here in Gravenhurst, I found a puzzle with a poster, featuring one of his celebrated abstracts. The puzzle was kind of a lark for Town, but the three different items, clearly showed Harold Town was a lot more than an abstract artist.
When I first looked at Richard Karon's painting of "John Wayne," it immediately reminded me of Harold Town, with a glancing patina of an Andy Warhol portrait. While there have been many thousands of words expended, thus far, on the life and art of Richard Karon, there hasn't been much focus on his lighter side. He wasn't entirely serious about his work, and although it would be agreed he had a dry sense of humor, it wasn't the case he couldn't laugh, or never saw anecdotes as amusing distractions from work at the easel. The portrait of John Wayne may be serious in the context of this biography, but it is evidence he could deviate from his landscape work, from time to time, and pursue other avenues of art expression. This painting is, of course, in stark contrast with most of the work he did, in his studio / gallery in the Township of Lake of Bays; but it may have been an attempt by the artist, to test the water, so to speak, as he had done with his other abstracts and experimental panels. They are of the quality, that he might well have pursued these interests for profit, but we have not seen these images in any of the archive photographs of his numerous "one man shows," or the work he had exhibited in his Baysville Studio. These experimental paintings are in the collection of his son, Richard Sahoff Karon. It is known, that he did sell abstracts, and they have been on sale locally, through a consignment shop. These were not being sold by the artist himself, as he had passed away many years earlier. Obviously these were paintings being sold, most likely, by a collector, who had personally purchased these from Mr. Karon, but we can not be certain from where, or when. I personally discovered these paintings, for sale, but at the time, they were priced well beyond what I could afford, so suffice to say, I studied them as an art patron. This would have been about six to seven years ago.
WHAT RICHARD KARON SAW IN THE ONTARIO LANDSCAPE - THE SOLACE HE FOUND PAINTING IN MUSKOKA
A magnificent Pilliated Woodpecker, just this moment, flew off into the shadows of our birch hollow, after a short period tapping for bugs in an old stump that I can clearly see from across the lane. As I sit down at my desk, illuminated by a bright, yet overcast day, to carry on with this journal-biography, of Artist Richard Karon, I will once again, be quite inspired by the uniqueness of the story, and pleasantly entertained by the sudden interruptions of birds at the feeder, and the persistent squirrels from the whole neighborhood, stealing the selection of seeds. It is easy for me, to slip into Richard Karon's world of art. I imagine his Lake of Bays studio / gallery, tucked neatly into the Muskoka woods, inspired him much the same, as Birch Hollow nurtures me when, at moments, I can feel the slow, unwelcome creep of melancholy. Stepping out of his residence each morning, to hear the familiar bird calls, and the brushing of deer against the evergreen boughs, when, all of a sudden, they leap into deeper cover. The remarkable hushing sounds of wind through pine needles, and the distant trickle of water down some mysterious, hidden decline of land, into the little pools that ripple in silence through the days and nights. It is not hard at all, to experience the natural world he found so compelling and attractive, in the Muskoka heartland, or to follow his footpath, weaving through forest and lowland, to those misty lakeshores he found so favorable to paint. At times, I will swear that I have heard his voice, asking me to sit and watch in silence, as nature paints for both of us.
It is nearly the end of March, 2012. It has been a moderate month, for temperatures, and it appears early this morning, that it will soon begin raining again. It was a mild winter, with relatively warm temperatures, from November to the end of February, with only a small amount of snow, which now, has disappeared, as has the ice in most of our Muskoka lakes. Stepping outside this morning, it feels like late April. Spring flowers are emerging earlier than we are accustomed, and the buds on our lilacs in the front yard are well advanced for the time of year. The chickadees have been almost frantic at the bird feeder, as I had been tardy re-filling it after the last part of the winter season. The pleasant din of natural sounds, constant chirping of the birds in the abutting woodland, the cawing of old crows in the tall pines across the lane, and the whipping of evergreen boughs whipped by squirrels, chasing each other, regales the arrival of a new and thriving season. These two cats, Angus and Chutney have lodged on the window sill, by my desk, and have both begun to purr. What could be a more calming influence? I shall carry on with this journal.
I have just now finished reading an email from Richard Karon Jr., who has worked closely with me during this research on his father, that included an enlightening story about a local contractor, who worked on the site preparation, for the artist's Baysville home / studio, back in the early 1970's. The son of the local contractor, used to work through the day, as a craftsman at Langford Canoes, and then join his father, later in the afternoon, to help clear the forested property, on Highway 117, (a short distance from the village), in order to dig the foundations for the future buildings. The fascinating aspect of the story, is that this contractor was paid for his work, with original Karon paintings; some of the images, of those same paintings, companioned with the email. We will share these graphics with you, in the folio of art we have uncovered during the months researching this biographical text.
While it is not unusual for an artist to barter with art work, it is another example of Karon's resourcefulness, to carry on with his plans, despite having many financial shortfalls throughout his life. He found a way of getting his projects off the ground, and a new home for his family, a studio for his art work, and small gallery to show his finished panels, in an environs he found perfect for his new life. He had grown-up having to rely on his ability to bridge what seemed, at first, as impassable chasms, and make the most of what resources he had at the time. It was no different, in this case, when a limitation of money, didn't hinder or even delay his ambitions, and he was willing to do what was necessary to get the buildings constructed. In this case, he used his talent as an artist, to create his own currency, and the paintings were seen as an acceptable means of payment. There was no objection from the recipient, Dale VanClieaf, who had shown an admiration for the landscapes of his home township. He received a number of Karon's finest landscapes. Karon himself, was delighted his work was being accepted locally, by citizens, soon to be community neighbors for the long haul. It is known by the Karon family, that he very much valued the expertise and friendship of the VanClieaf family, who were instrumental in clearing the bush lot, site preparation, and advising the artist about the eventual construction of his new homestead. At this time, he didn't know many folks in the area, and the VanClieafs were a great comfort to him, at a time when he was still nervous about the risk he was taking, abandoning North Bay, and the inroads, as an artist, he had made in that region of Ontario. The VanClieafs may have been a leveling influence at a critical time, convincing him that the investment in Muskoka was a good and sound business plan. He found Baysville a friendly and accepting community, and had many friends by the time he announced the studio's closing in the mid 1980's.
"For miles and miles our roads lead through thick bush; the trees in all their variety and beauty of foliage, closing in on either side and often meeting overhead. At every turn - a new scene to delight the artistic eye, with glades opening out and stretching away in exquisite vistas; the sombre coloring relieved by lighter tints and rich hues of wild flowers and the sheen of blue water from lake and river."
Richard Karon had never read this passage about the Muskoka region, he had become a part of, as its representative artist. Yet he would have understood what Archdeacon Gowan Gillmor, a well known and fondly remembered missionary priest, of this part of Ontario, saw on his walks through the forests and along the lakes and river-banks of the region. Known as the "Tramp," for the hundreds of miles he walked in Northern and Central Ontario, serving his widely dispersed congregation, Gillmore was an astute observer of the enchantments of the wilds. What the missionary saw and experienced on his hundred mile walks, in 1891, Richard Karon would have witnessed eighty years later, when he began his more permanent relationship with the District of Muskoka.
Earlier than these observations, by Archdeacon Gillmor, were the journal entries made by pioneer artist, Ada Florence Kinton, of Huntsville, who, in the 1880's, made many sketching excursions into the Muskoka lakeland, in an attempt to capture this new and exciting world. Having just arrived in Muskoka, after spending her young life, in the urban conundrum of Victorian London, (England), and after having only recently buried her mother and father, Ada Kinton found the scenery and realities of nature, amazingly uplifting and liberating from what she had known of life in the city. She found it all quite exotic and poetic, and when she wasn't sketching, and then painting her landscapes, at the home of her brother Mackie, in Huntsville, she was writing about her daily adventures through the woods, wreathing the pioneer hamlet.
Yet there is an interesting story contained, in the 1871 book, written by Thomas McMurray, which was intended to be a settler's guidebook to the regions of Muskoka and Parry Sound, that looks at the wilds from a much more ominous perspective…….drawing on an account of two homesteaders, who had become lost in these same Muskoka woods, that would soon come to inspire hundreds of future poets, writers and artists. The account of the incident is entitled "Lost in the Woods," and occurred in the early 1860's. There are times when even what inspires us, can cause us to become unsettled and frightened.
"The following was written some years ago, on the occasion of Moses Richardson and his wife getting lost in the woods; Draper township was then but thinly settled, and the sensation it created in the settlement was intense; I happened to be one of the party who went in search of the missing ones. Persons unacquainted with the bush should be careful not to penetrate far into it, unless provided with a compass." wrote McMurray. "The unhappy pair had gone in search of their cattle, mistaken their way, and got lost in the dense forest; with wild desperation they are forcing their way through the thickest of the swamp, or ascending the rugged mountain's brow, or climbing over logs vainly in search of the home they left; but, alas, they are totally bewildered and every step they take, leads them farther from 'the dearest place on earth - home sweet home'."
The couple is eventually found by the citizens' search party. Here is the account of their discovery, cowering in the woods. "Oh! What a sad sight was then presented to their gaze. Poor creatures, how sad their condition, how weak, how changed, what wildness in their eyes; they are mad with fright, and are starving with hunger, as one pipe of tobacco has been all that they have enjoyed for over 48 hours; the realization that they were lost, the fear of death, and the lashings of a guilty conscience for having gone out on the Sabbath day in search of their cattle…..together with their swollen limbs and bleeding forms, completed their misery and made the sight painful to behold; still there was joy mingled with sadness, every eye sparkles with delight, every countenance is lit up with a smile, all share in the triumph, men embrace each other and weep for gladness, while the forest rings with their shoutings and rejoicings."
If I had stood on that piece of land, Richard Karon had selected to build his new home and studio, and with the din of chainsaws and tractors around us, and offered, as an historian of this region, to read him McMurray's little tome about being lost in the woods, he probably would have motioned me to the side of the construction site, so as not to get hurt or delay work in progress. The reason I would have wanted to make him aware of this tale, would not have been to warn him against building a home, in those same thick woods, but rather to inform him by anecdote, that Muskoka isn't just a pretty face for an artist's amusement. He wouldn't have been wrong, or even short-sighted for booting me off the property entirely, if I continued to harangue him about the truths of modern era pioneering. This is exactly what Richard Karon was doing, when he purchased that property, in the Township of Lake of Bays. He was almost re-enacting what thousands of eager pioneers did in the same district, from the late 1850's. First they scouted the area, found temporary shelter, while constructing their homestead, and then setting about to make the most of their situation. To raise a family. Plant a garden. Seek additional means of raising money. In the 1970's, Karon had become the new era pioneer, and even though the settlement of the area had been substantial, and roads were much more numerous and substantial than the pioneer caraways, the forests were still as awe-inspiring as they were when those early settlers began thwacking, with their modest axes, at the many robust, tall pines.
A number of recent novels, produced by local authors, have dealt with this huge influence of the hinterland on the population, from those early homestead grants to the present. They have offered some enlightenment about the conditions of isolation in the woods, and the way these amazing panoramas of the lakeland and lowland, forests and steep rock cliffsides can, inspire the voyeur one moment, and generate fear and loathing within moments, when something changes in the immediate environs. The shift of light and shadow, the rolling seasons, the azure sky, the storm clouds rising along the horizon, the buds of new growth, the fall of leaves, the white blanketing frost of autumn, all of such sensory intensity, as to seriously affect the mood of the watcher in the woods. It depends on the artist's perception at the moment. It was known, for example, that artist Tom Thomson, would become quite withdrawn and moody, as he watched a storm-front move over the horizon of an Algonquin lake……much as if it mesmerized him. These periods of great contrast invigorated him to sketch the vivid, exciting contrasts, from gentle, unremarkable, colorless scenes. He would venture out on bitterly cold autumn nights, to witness the actuality of the Northern Lights, and when someone would comment later, that his depiction inspired a feeling of loneliness, the artist was pleased that he had successfully captured the mood of the occasion……as even for him, it had been a lonely vigil.
Many roaming artists, you might see these days, sitting on a sparsely treed promontory, will cause us to think the painter, as part of the landscape itself. The poetic amongst us, would look upon this scene and say, "she is capturing the spirit of the scene." Other passersby might find the artist as an intrusion on an otherwise attractive panorama. It would be true, also, in most cases of the roaming artist, that they would finish up their sketching for the day, pack up their equipment, hike back to their vehicle, and head for home. Richard Karon would photograph interesting scenes he came upon, on his tours of the region, or immerse himself on a similar peak of land, or comfortable spot on the soft, brown needles of a venerable pine, sketch, relax, enjoy the natural setting, and then think about heading home……set in the very evergreen woodlands that inspired him daily. He didn't leave the area. He immersed himself in the region he planned to represent on his canvasses. And as a homesteader, in a modern era, his harvest was proportional to the inspiration he was afforded, by the nature that surrounded his new life as a full-time landscape painter.
Richard Karon didn't need to know the story, Thomas McMurray had included in his 1871 Settler's Guide, to have been wary of the dimensions of semi-isolation in the wild woods. From his childhood, he had learned how to deal with adversity, and brutality, learning quickly the ways and means to survive against the odds. He had learned to be resilient because it was a necessity of survival. He saw the pain and suffering of thousands of people, in his community, at the hands of the occupying Nazis, in Poland, and standing out on that treed bit of paradise, in Muskoka, must have felt as if an ultimate liberation from the fetters of the past. He would have understood the parallels of that story, of being lost in the woods, but he would have equated it to having been, just then, found, and set free on a life adventure that showed no limitation. For the artist, it was an ethereal experience, to watch as his perceived paradise of trees, rock, soft, fertile ground in which to root, and endless sky, appeared at sunrise…..and was amplified by the character of the season. Illuminated so brilliantly at mid-day, the patina of history by early evening, and accented by his often depicted sunsets, glowing red and golden on the still water, of a birch bordered pond. He knew the perils of isolation, and what depression might evolve, if his art was not accepted by future customers. The risk was huge and understood. The reality these inspiring places he had already painted, could also herald his personal failure, could not have been far out of mind, as he spent his last dollars, and paintings he used as barter, to complete his new home and studio. At the end of his painting career, and the eventual closing of his studio in the mid 1980's, he might have been more receptive to reading that story, about the inherent dangers of the Muskoka woodlands, that he may have come to question during this unfortunate period. A time when his wife asked for a martial separation, taking his young son with her back to the city…..Toronto, and then eventually to Aurora, well away from what was expected to be a forever paradise for artist and family.
The region that inspired some of his finest art work, may also have been a contributor to his downfall in a number of ways. As he had imposed the lifestyle he had cherished, he had mistakenly assumed his wife and child would feel the same. Upon reading the last sentence, his son, Richard commented, " Believe me, I longed for nothing more, after my parents separation, and my subsequent move to the city, than to return to my beloved Muskoka home. That was a very hard time for me."" Might he have felt, in his final days, that he should never have removed and isolated himself, when he could have painted from a home studio, in the city, just as comfortably and conveniently. No, he was not the day-artist, sketching the Muskoka landscape, and then leaving the region behind. For well more than a decade, his home was in the midst of those precarious, some say 'enchanted', Muskoka woods. We are so thankful, as art patrons, today, that he painted so many scenes within our district…..and lived intimately and passionately as a "local" for those highly creative, productive years. To most who new him, he was a Muskokan. He understood what that meant. He appreciated the relevance of his work, and the importance of representing the landscape as both attractive and unpredictable…..as with a gentle sunset across an autumn lake, to the sudden intrusion of a violent stormscape, etching down across a rock and pine shoreline. Some who knew him, would say he found the spirit within, the legend he understood of this place on earth, and captured it with his palette knife and paint. He never feared getting lost in the woods. At least not as he had known fear in his life.
Those close to the artist, at the end of his life, recognize clearly, how he felt overwhelmed by perceived failures in art and living. Following the closing of his art studio, and selling off the property, at the same time dealing with personal difficulties which arose, when his marriage ended, and the early stages of a cancer diagnosis, it's understandable he felt betrayed by the art that had always set him free in the past. According to the artist's son, "My mother said that she cannot remember if he ever painted again after he sold the house." It was the way he had escaped the brutal realities of war in Poland, sketching scenes he found on old postcards that had been sent to his family. When he worked at jobs he disliked, he could always count on his sketching to elevate him from his anxious thoughts. When his close friends begged him to continue his art, when at times he found it impossible to improve and afford the luxury of time to study his craft, something always turned up, to motivate the fledgling artist to carry-on. Confidants encouraged him to diversify from the study of portraits and nudes, to depictions of architecture, and then rural landscapes. He had many prevailing circumstances he could have drawn on, to legitimize his sudden retirement from active painting. This was not the end he had planned, when he first opened the studio doors, to a receptive and appreciative clientele. When he walked along those well trodden, familiar pathways, down through the misty woods on those early spring mornings, with his small son walking just behind, he would not have thought it possible ethereal moments like this could end so abruptly. No one would have blamed Richard Karon, for feeling a sense of betrayal, that after all those terrible years of tortured existence in Poland, and the escape to freedom, that he would again be fettered by unpleasant reality, of which there was then, in his mind, no escape. His concept of success, as a result of hard work, was a disappointment to him, as it had never really come to fruition as it had been concocted in imagination for so many years. His last business venture, was to operate a small framing shop, in an urban environs he was not particularly comfortable. He passed away shortly after opening the business. There is no evidence he even sketched or painted after leaving his Baysville studio. Of this we may be corrected, by someone who was close to him during those final years of his life. The younger Karon added, "No, I don't think he ever did; actually that reminds me….my mother (Irma), had asked him, on several occasions, and I think even while he was sick, to do a painting of me. He never did."
Group of Seven artist, Arthur Lismer, wrote a small but poignant passage once, that reminded me of the life and times of Richard Karon Sr. I'm not exactly sure why, but this doesn't matter. I can look at any number of his haunted landscapes, and feel this passage addresses the artist's life he enjoyed at the peak of his career.
"Art is a way of life. It is experience lived, shared, and enjoyed. It is the painting and the poem. It is the rhythm and order of nature. It is in the child's drawing as well as in the great periods of art. But it seeks expression. It cannot be a dead spot in the nature of the individual, to be revived by historical or civilization memories - or by the erudition of the aesthete. It cannot thrive on words and precepts - only by active expression and self criticism, by the activities of wise guides and teachers….." This quote was taken from the 1977 first printing of the biography entitled "A Border of Beauty - Arthur Lismer's Pen and Pencil," by his daughter, Marjorie Lismer Bridges, released by the Red Rock Publishing Company, of Toronto.
A Visit to the Home of an Art Patron
On a unusually warm afternoon, on the 21st of March, I accompanied Richard Karon Jr., to the Bracebridge home of a local art patron, who will remain unnamed, (at her request) who invited us into her home to view two of his father's original art panels, the owner had purchased off me originally, in the early 1990's, from a former Manitoba Street antique shop, we ran at the time. The paintings had been acquired by my wife and I, at the Lake of Bays auction held years earlier, when the artist had decided to close his studio / gallery. I had accidentally run into our friend, shortly after commencing the biography for the Karon family, and I had asked then, if she still possessed the Karon landscapes I had sold to her. She informed me, in no uncertain terms, that if I was asking to buy them back, the answer was a blunt "No!" When I explained, to the contrary, that I was working on Richard Karon's biography, and that I very much desired to use the images of those paintings to accompany the text, she was more than willing to share the art for the enjoyment of others. She invited me over to her house to see them, and when I suggested bringing the artist's son, Richard, she insisted that it be sooner than later. She wanted, you see, to tell Richard Karon Jr., just how spiritually significant, and inspirational his father's depiction of the Lake of Bays lakeshore, has been for her, in her elegantly appointed wood, stone and natural sculpture-laden homestead; the two art panels coveted companions, for more than twenty years.
When we met her, at the front door, it was as if she had known the artist's son for years, and immediately escorted him into a beautifully decorated, and art-laden room, at the rear of the house, with large windows looking out onto artistically arranged spring gardens, a neatly manicured incline of rock and trees, a backdrop for interesting natural wood sculptures; each placed such that they appeared to have been in those hillside portals forever. But it was the central position, framed between the two large picture windows, of the largest Karon painting, of the Lake of Bays lakeshore, that clearly demonstrated the owner's passion for the art piece. Which even in the diffused outdoor light, coming through the windows naturally, fit poignantly into the multidimensional gallery of natural art, wood and rock. This depiction of a pleasantly haunted lakeshore, the perfect accent to the inspiring, graceful solitude, of this cottage within a contemporary home.
The young Mr. Karon enjoyed seeing the two paintings in her collection, and took photographs of each, for his family collection. The point of the trip, to see these paintings, was to connect with an art admirer, who had particular affections toward the paintings she possessed…..not as wall decoration, or to fill an empty space between two windows. She had a sentimental attachment to the scene, and knew precisely, in the Township of Lake of Bays, where the larger canvas had been painted. As it turned out, it was of a location on the lake, where her brother had once owned a cottage, that she frequently visited. She knew that time of the day, season of the year, and atmospheric condition, and it was thusly, a way for her to connect to the past; via the work of an artist, who had invited her to step through the art with him, to visit an old and familiar place. I felt it was important for the artist's son to talk with someone who was still as passionate about his father’s painting, as she was on the day she purchased it from me….the biographer.
As we have worked together for months now, Richard and I have realized there are quite a number of art owners, who have inherited or recently purchased original Karon paintings, who admittedly, are more concerned about evaluations and "flipping" them for profit. Ones that were originally purchased by admirers, from either his traveling one-man exhibits, or from one of several studios, one in the North Bay area and the other in Muskoka, have since been handed down or otherwise acquired by owners, who have little idea who the artist was, or even where he came from. I have been exchanging the information I have had, with hundreds of these art owners, and even, on occasion, offering "ball-park" appraisals when possible, but none could yield much enthusiasm, the way I felt the artist's son should experience it first-hand. Our art patron provided this pivotal occasion in our research, such that Richard Karon Jr. was able to witness, and fully appreciate, this unyielding respect, for his father's creations, face to face with a long-time admirer. It was an important visit, which impacted on the integrity of our mutual project, to celebrate the life and work of a talented Canadian artist……few had known much about, and that included his son, who had only been seven years of age, when his father passed away.
ART SHOW REVIEW, JULY 7TH, 1978, THE MUSKOKA SUN
(SHORTLY AFTER HIS MARRIAGE TO SECOND WIFE IRMA, IN FEBRUARY 1978)
"The artist's weekend started slowly with few visitors and disappointing sales, despite beautiful weather and heavy traffic," reported The Muskoka Sun, who sent a reporter to the Lake of Bays exhibition. "But by Sunday evening the studio had become a place for celebration. The artist's spirits were high following a busy afternoon of visitors, attracted to the Muskoka scenics which have been the driving force behind Richard Karon's art for ten years. Last weekend the Baysville resident celebrated his tenth anniversary as a Muskoka artist, with a two day show at his gallery on Highway 117. The weekend was successful but erratic, much like the way of life, to which he has been accustomed."
The article notes Mr. Karon as saying, "If you get too many buyers, you become lazy. If you get too few, you get discouraged. You have to keep plodding along, never stopping your painting and always concentrating on what you see and what you say on the canvas."
"Over 150 canvases are produced annually by the dedicated artist who uses palette knife to capture the beauty of the Muskoka landscape. The knife moves quickly and confidently across the canvas, as he displays a technique unique among Canadian landscape artists. Within minutes the scenic is finished. To assess how good the finished product is, you have to listen to your audience. 'If you listen to another artist, he will transmit his style on to yours and you become discouraged. He sees your paintings as he would do them not has you would,' Mr. Karon explains (to the reporter)."
The article continues that, "Nicholas Kane, of North Bay, seems to be an exception. The two began painting together ten years ago (which would be 1968), and work on the same philosophy that simplicity and expression should receive priority over detail and exactitude. Mr. Kane joined Mr. Karon for his weekend show, which displayed over 50 paintings and Mexican jewelry, created and arranged by Mr. Karon's wife, Irma. Although the artists use similar approaches, their work is very different. While Mr. Karon uses a variety of color, Mr. Kane specializes in monochrome, which combines white and another color, to present a canvas of contrasts. Both men prefer the knife over the brush, as they say it lends more scope and expression to the finished product."
In 1976, a short biography for his one-man show, at Phillip's Gallery, in Don Mills, Ontario, noted that, "Richard Karon was born in Poland, in the late twenties, studying and practiced his calling in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, France and Canada. He lived in Hamilton and worked as a designer, prior to his decision to devote his time to art. Richard Karon now lives in Muskoka, and reflects his feelings of nature in his palette knife paintings. He has had numerous showings in Europe and Canada, and is considered an outstanding landscape artist."
Another clipping, in the scrapbook that was kept of published articles, notices and reviews, contains some interesting observations about his painting days prior to the opening of his Baysville studio / gallery. It was published in the North Bay Nugget, prior to 1972, and was entitled, "Landscape artist to present one-man show at North Bay.
"Richard Karon's brilliant color combinations and versatility of styles have set him apart from many artists favoring the more realistic landscape form. A shy modest man, Richard Karon was commissioned by his friend, Nick Kripotos, of North Bay, to spend the summer of 1971 in the Lake Nipissing area. Richard's work and his individual style have been readily accepted by the people of the area. Many hope that he will spend more of his time in the Nipissing district, in order to assist in developing the cultural understanding of the area through the medium of landscape art."
"HAVE A PART OF MUSKOKA HANGING ON A WALL IN YOUR HOME"
In the 50th Anniversary, Lake of Bays Association Yearbook, published in the summer of 1977, there is a full page advertisement, for the art work of Baysville / Lake of Bays artist, Richard Karon. The top line of the ad reads, "Have a Part of Muskoka Hanging On a Wall in Your Home." It may have been more appropriate, to the the Association readership, if Karon had used "cottage," instead of "home," but it was an idea that worked for the artist. Cottagers did like the prospect of taking a little bit of "Muskoka" home with them, as the artist suggested, when they left after the summer season. They also purchased panels for their cottages, and it is known, that quite a large number exist in the cottage community. Many were taken back to the United States, when those seasonal residents trundled home after their vacations. The painting in the ad is typical of Karon's enduring fondness for birch trees, bogs, swamps and lowlands in general. He could have created a more marketable painting, of a township heritage property, such as Bigwin Inn, for example, to go with his ad, or a depiction of a vintage wooden watercraft, motoring on the sparkling expanse of Lake of Bays. Both more appealing, and marketable, even in 1977, than his birch trees above what may be a large pond. The painting, in reprint, lost much of its detail, so it's difficult to tell. We have re-produced an image of this particular ad.
Despite picking much less marketable landscapes, and lake scenes to paint, which was common throughout his years of work, he stubbornly stuck to the belief, the amazing intricacies of nature were infinitely more important and enjoyable to portray, than architectural themes to satisfy the market-place. It is the contradiction, of the artist as manager. An advisor, knowing how the market was expanding, for historic themes, and identifiable Muskoka landmarks, might have advised him to visit Sloan's Restaurant, in Gravenhurst, to see the outstanding watercolors, by local artist, Frank C. Johnston, who at this time, had been painting Lake Muskoka scenes, featuring the old steamships from the Navigation Company fleet, still today, considered a legendary period in the community's history. Johnston might have passed on a little wisdom to Karon, around this period, that history sells, and sells well. Karon was capable of painting just about anything, but he was prepared to suffer for the integrity of his craft. He didn't find buildings of great interest, as an artist, and with his own background, growing up in an historic city, in Poland, he would have been exposed to a cityscape, hundreds of years old, composed of grand and truly historic architecture. He would have watched much of this history being destroyed by the Nazi regime, that occupied Poland from 1939 to 1945. He chose nature on most occasions, over what was man-made, and fascinated himself with nature's four seasons. He documented these transitions, from one season to another, and you can detect in these reflective panels, the joyous arrival of spring, the lush environs of summer, the nostalgia and melancholy of autumn, and the beautiful solitude of winter.
Those who own a Karon original, at least the ones I have corresponded with, are delighted he stuck to his plan, to profile the beautiful township where he lived and worked. If you were to have seen five to ten of his art panels, depicting this part of Muskoka, you would be able to identify many of the places the artist sketched, during his years living near Baysville. My wife Suzanne, on a typical drive from Bracebridge to Dorset, will often point out little alcoves of forest, and lowland, and say, in passing, "That looks like a Richard Karon painting." Each time, I must concur.
He took intriguing places like bogs and swamps, dead trees and an overgrown shoreline, and he made it a remarkable study of Muskoka. To him, these places held something special, and each subject landscape, seemed an opportunity to challenge his patrons, to also find beauty, where one might just say….it was an interesting scene. It was as if, he was reaching for our hands, to take us to these curious portals he found unique, to then explain, in detail, why we should know these places in nature; validating in his own way, that all of nature should be viewed as precious and inspirational. To be appreciated and celebrated. His plan attained an unspecified personal if not economic success. He never changed his opinion, and his eagerness to visit remote and overgrown places, never wained until his retirement from active painting in the mid 1980's. And yet earned a comfortable living, painting places others artists thought ordinary and unremarkable. Possibly not marketable. While I'm sure his customers would have liked to see a painting of Bigwin Inn, or Robinson's Store in Dorset, and may have purchased them, they would have only been companion pieces, to what made him a respected artist in our region…….these same vibrant landscapes of hidden places, and quiet bays; bogs and swamps, and fallen pines……., venerable old birches, leaning precariously over reflective waterscapes. His customers liked his choices, and very much validated his idea, that "nature is the purest art form," and he was its willing servant. He found beauty in misshapen trees, bald rock faces, scraggly cedars, fallen branches and decaying logs. He saw enchantments in dark and mysterious alcoves, of thick evergreens, and he found an allure with the tall grasses of old farm pastures, and old sheds that had outlived the homesteads. He knew solitude and grew strong in its embrace. An approaching storm didn't chase him away. It seemed to invite him, to be its interpreter, as it brought dramatic change to the light and shadow of the day; changed the silver and green hues of the water, to a deep, black, snaking ribbon through the dull white, of old birch bark, and the velvet brown of bulbous cat-tails, dancing alone in the marsh.
This was the art of Richard Karon. It's true. His patrons did wish to have "a part of Muskoka," hanging on their walls. Home and cottage.
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