The Impact of Muskoka on an Artist's Son - Richard Sahoff Karon
I have made mention, many times through this biography, of the artist's son, as he has been my most important resource on this biographical project. He was pulled away from Muskoka at around four years of age, when his parents decided, after some period of marital strife, they had irreconcilable differences. Richard was to live with his mother and, while the couple did get back together shortly before the death of her husband, he was only seven when he stood at the side of the hospital bed, wondering what was about to happen. He was pretty young to appreciate the full scope of the loss he had just incurred. In only three years, Richard Sahoff Karon had endured being uprooted from the family home, leaving Muskoka, being transplanted in the city, living apart from his father, having his father return, only to die a short while later. It's should be no wonder, that he has invested several years now, trying to find out more about this father. It was two years ago that he first contacted me, about the possibility of helping him find more information out, about his father's painting accomplishments in Muskoka. It was the case, we didn't get together until January of this year, but in the meantime, I had been thinking a lot about previous articles I'd written on Richard Karon, dating back to my years with The Herald-Gazette, and the Muskoka Sun. I had two years to think about, whether I could help him or not. After meeting him here in Gravenhurst, in early January, I was convinced this was a young man who needed to know more. As an historian and art admirer, who had some time on his hands, I had signed onto the project after the first five minutes of our meeting. The story was an interesting one, and something different for me, after writing loads of political critiques and scathing editorials in the months leading up to this biographical research. I needed some unique story to immerse myself in, and use the winter season hiatus, in the antique trade, to start some digging into the past. I have been fascinated ever since.
What I have stated, from the beginning of this project, is that it is, above all else, a Muskoka story. Richard Karon Sr., chose building a home / studio in Muskoka, tucked into the woodlands of the beautiful Township of Lake of Bays, when he could have worked more profitably in commercial art in Toronto. He had many friends and colleagues in the art community in North Bay, and potentially backers for his idea of creating a school for the arts in the city. He decided instead, to invest in Muskoka. We're glad he did. It is very much the case today, that the artist's son has a strong passion for the Muskoka his father painted, and each year, makes many trips here to visit the places he remembers as a child; the former home he lived-in for those first few years of life, and of course, a stop in the Village of Baysville, where his father had many friends. Although he doesn't live here, at present, he has a place in his heart for the lakeland where his own biography began.
When he was in High School, he wrote a short essay about Muskoka. It was very much influenced by the reality, his father had been one of the region's well known representative painters, from the late 1960's to the mid 1980's; and the fact he had very much enjoyed his short time living in this beautiful hinterland of Ontario. I felt it was appropriate to publish this essay, as part of his father's biography, as I think the elder Karon, would have very much appreciated that his son had been so enthusiastically influenced, by this beautiful region on earth. Now in the words of Richard Sahoff Karon:
When ever I, see any pictures or things which are related to Muskoka, I, feel this great joy, this pride which to someone who is not Muskokan or familiar with the region may not understand. This land which has touched so many people’s lives is quintessentially Canadian in character. Muskoka is a land of sparkling lakes, thick green forests, thundering waterfalls and rocky granite outcroppings. The elemental piece of Muskoka, the one thing that I, and many other Muskokans feel is essential to the beauty and character of Muskoka, is the huge chunks of granite. These beautiful pink, black, and crystalline granite rocks look like giants frozen in time. The attachment that I, have for these rocks is something that is very difficult to explain and perhaps only something that a true Muskokan can understand.
Over the course of time, natural events have shaped this place into a land of many lakes. The mist which can be seen hovering over the lakes in the morning, is so very typical of the area. My father was fortunate enough to capture this essence onto canvas with oil paints and a palette knife. He was an artist, and like so many other people was drawn to the beauty of this land and decided to call it home. Making a living in Muskoka is not an easy task, for the terrain is not one that is accommodating to people. Perhaps this is why this land has remained so undeveloped. However its beauty has not been ignored, and every summer flocks of people migrate ‘up north’ to relax and enjoy the tranquillity of the lakes and the sounds of nature.
Muskoka is a wonderful place to visit any time of the year, not just in the summer.
In the spring life slowly begins to emerge from its wintery sleep. The sounds of chickadees and other birds fill the spring skies. One by one the cottagers and tourists also begin their migration north from their winter grounds. The leaves from the previous fall begin to shine through the snow, carrying with them a musty smell. The black depths of the lakes begin to reveal them selves through the melting ice. It is difficult to predict when the last snowfall of the year will come as the spring weather is very unpredictable. When I, was one year old the last snowfall came at the commencement of June. Spring is the time when all life returns to the land.
Summer is by far the busiest time of the year. One is no longer obligated to wear layer upon layer of winter, weather protection. Summers in Muskoka can be as hot as the tropics in the day and a comfortable cool at night. The lakes beacon people to take a dip in their sparkling freshness. The dense green forests summon visitors to explore their seemingly endless reaches, where each steps seems to bring you closer to God. The rocks beg to be climbed and explored. If one is daring and fortunate enough to find an adequate depth of water beneath a rock face, one can experience what its like to be a bird for a few seconds before crashing into the refreshing water. The taste of a Kawartha’s ice cream is one that can never be forgotten, and perhaps one that your t-shirt will never forget either. The summer rains also bring with it them a smell that is engraved into habitants of Muskoka.
The fiery colours of the autumn foliage brings around the second wave of tourists to the area. The decomposition of chlorophyll in the leaves of deciduous trees attracts many painters, which also included my father. He said that this was the best time of year to paint because of the contrasting colours, as opposed to summer which is just a sea of green. This past autumn I, brought my cousin ‘up north.’ This is his first visit to Canada. He lives in Acapulco, Mexico, and was astounded that the colour of the leaves could be so bright. When I lived in Baysville, a small community of some 250 permanent residents, I would go out with my mother and collect leaves. We would place them in books so that the leaves would retain their colours. To this day the leaves are almost as colourful as the day we collected them.
Wintertime in Muskoka is just as exciting as any other season. The blankets of snow which cover the land grow with each snowfall. It is not uncommon for the depth of snow to reach a meter or more. There is a picture of my mother in a shoveled out walk-way with snow up, past her hips. The cold clear winter nights reveal a beach of stars which are impossible to count. Without the bright lights of near by towns the god like arms of the Milky Way are plainly visible. However not all is asleep. Snowmobile tracks abound on the numerous lakes, and ice can grow thick enough for cars and trucks to cross. I even recall seeing a large dump-truck on a lake once.
The drive ‘up north’ is impressive enough. One leaves the populated regions of the south and travels up the 400. It is easy to see the changing terrain from factories, buildings and houses to farms and the rolling hills of the Oak Ridges moraine. Barrie and Orillia are the last two large towns that one crosses before arriving in Muskoka. Just before crossing the Severn River one can begin to see the pink beauty of the granite rising from the ground. As soon as you cross the bridge you get your first site of a large outcropping. It is at this point that you know that you’ve made it home. When I, was about 14 years old I, hadn’t been back home for nearly 6 years. When I, finally convinced my mom to go, my eyes began to water as I, crossed the bridge and saw that big royal blue sign which reads, “Regional Municipality of Muskoka.” It was the combination of vegetation, water and that gorgeous granite which convinced me that this was indeed my home.
TO BEGIN, WE MUST CREDIT THOSE WHO ASSISTED OUR RESEARCH
The biography, in chapters, published on this blogsite, was done without compensation for any of the research assistants, the song writer, singer, guitarist, video creator, and for me, the primary writer. This was not designed as a project for profit, and we have depended on the generosity of painting owners to advance the graphics portion of this biography. Many of these contributions have been included in the YouTube tribute video, which you can access from this site. What this inventory of Richard Karon's paintings will provide, in the future, is a reference collection for those who may wish to learn more about the artist, and his range of paintings from abstracts to landscapes. This is not a site to set prices for his paintings, because only the market place, and the principles of supply and demand can determine this. We would be eager to learn of recent acquisition prices, and what auctions of his work may have established, as a price ceiling. But we will refrain from providing evaluations and estimations, for works today, via this biography. We will most certainly assist, where we can, to provide information to auction houses when requested.
In March 2012 I was getting a little concerned about the volume of art work available, to advance our research, and then to companion (as graphics) the eventual online biography, of former Muskoka Artist, Richard Karon. I decided to seek help from our local newspaper, here in Muskoka, known as "The Weekender," which is a free and home-delivered publication, serving our region of Ontario. The news staff was kind enough to publish my letter to the editor, seeking out those readers who might have an original Richard Karon painting, they wouldn't mind sharing with the public, via this planned biography. Within hours of the paper hitting the driveways, through Muskoka, I began receiving emails, with offers, and attachments of original paintings, from their private collections. As well, I was also receiving personal information about Mr. Karon, from those art patrons who had met with him personally, to buy his artwork, during the period of his studio / gallery, near the Village of Baysville, in the Township of Lake of Bays.
In fact, the response from The Weekender's letter was so significant, that we went from having twenty images of his originals, to more than fifty in just over one week, including a photograph sent by well known Muskoka Artist, Janet Stahle-Fraser, also of Lake of Bays, showing Richard Karon's original art easel, that he had given her personally, after the closure of his studio in the mid 1980's. Janet even invited the artist's son, Richard Sahoff Karon, to her studio, to see the easel once used daily by his father, who had died when he was only seven years of age. We are greatly indebted to the kind folks of Muskoka, like Janet Stahle-Fraser, for helping us develop a preliminary biography of an artist few knew much about previously, despite the fact he was one of the region's most prolific painters, during the period of the late 1960's to shortly before his death in March 1987. The biography has been set up, on this blogsite, with the plan to update the text, whenever new information becomes available in the future. It will eventually be re-published on a special "Richard Karon" blogsite, sometime prior to July 2012.
The purpose of this biography, is to help researchers looking into the careers of Canadian, and Ontario regional artists, and will be offered to the research libraries of both the National Art Gallery in Ottawa, and the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto, as an information resource. It will additionally benefit the many hundreds of painting owners, who greatly appreciate Mr. Karon's palette knife landscapes, but would like to know more about his life and career in the arts. We expect, over time, to be offered more images of his work, to publish on the blog-site, to provide a more diverse cross section of paintings for comparison's sake. We hope to draw on experts in the art field, to make comment on his paintings, which will also be published, on this site, for future reference.
With the larger than expected number of art (image) submissions, thanks in large part to The Weekender's readership, we were also able to create a short music video tribute to Mr. Karon, which you can link onto through this blog. The music was provided by Gravenhurst singer, Dani O'Connor, and guitarist Robert Currie, who also created the video. Both volunteered their time and talents to help out with this interesting biography.
I want to also thank Gravenhurst Banner columnist Fred Schulz, one of the true patrons of the arts in our region, for giving us some needed promotion prior to today's online publication. I must also thank my wife Suzanne, who is my effervescent research partner, who has always been there to guide the frustrated writer past obstacles, onward to yet another completed project. Son Andrew, my eldest, is always a reliable source of information, when I'm looking for music advice, and youngest son Robert, who can pull rabbits out of the hat when only a perfect rabbit will do! The angelic voice of Dani O'Connor, well, she had us in tears. What a kind heart she has, to have volunteered to help us with the tribute video.
When I met Richard Sahoff Karon, for the first time this winter, at our boy's music studio, here in Gravenhurst, it's like we'd known each other for years. It wouldn't be a stretch to say we both felt the presence of his artist father, that afternoon, as we planned-out a preliminary plan of action, to create a biography based on, what could only be described as, "thin information," held between us, about his father's life and work. With many coincidences occurring over three months, and serendipitous offers of assistance from unanticipated sources, and all the public kindnesses received, we both felt something wonderful had just happened that, frankly, had caught us by surprise. Richard and I both want to extend sincere and heartfelt thanks, to all those who have offered, in some way, to advance this biography. Before we begin our story, we would like very much to recognize those people who have contacted us, and generously made images of their original art pieces available, to include throughout this biography. Your participation has greatly broadened the gallery collection, and this will benefit visitors to the Karon blogsite for many years to come. And as well, your kindness will inspire other painting owners, to join this collective of admirers, and submit images of paintings they own, to be included in the ongoing project to document his diversity of art work.
Please accept our thanks. As images of art work are still being emailed and posted to us, at this time, we will provide a complete list of all those painting owners, who have loaned us images, at the conclusion of the biography, for easy reference. If for reasons of security or personal choice, you have sent us the image of a painting, and do not wish a credit in this biography, please let us know in advance, and we will omit your name. The photographs of original art work, contained in this blog, are not for re-production, and copying for profit is prohibited. Portions of this biography may be quoted, and in the case of larger sections used, this must be by permission of the author. As it was originally intended, we welcome use of this material by researchers at the National Art Gallery, and the Art Gallery of Ontario, and other art institutes and reference libraries in Canada.
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