Mike Mason
Trish
29 June 2012 — Oil, 16"x20" : $400.00
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Minnie
July 1, 2012 — oil on canvas, 16"x20" : $450.00
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Stalls [3rd Place]
January 21, 2011 — guache and ink on mylar, 8"x10" : $400.00
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I was born in Belleville Ontario, raised in Trenton on an apple orchard until the age 10 whereupon my family relocated to the City of Guelph. For the last 16 years my family and I have resided on a little farm just outside the city in Puslinch Township. Around the age of 13 I became interested in sheep and purchased my first purebread Suffolk lamb for my 4-H project. Over the last 13 years that interest has expanded into the purebred sheep breeding business I have today. My family and I have shown sheep at almost every local fair in Southern Ontario and have sold sheep across the country. The sheep have been an integral part of my life. Growing up as a child I always liked to draw and colour. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be an artist or do something within the arts. In high school I took as many art courses as I could fit within my timetable. It was here that I began to flourish as an artist. The subject matter that I created in all my works was already predetermined...and of course the subject matter were my sheep. It was my passion for them and the artwork I created that propelled me over 4 years of high school to win an award from the school for best senior painting and directly into The Ontario College of Art and Design or OCAD (what it was called at the time). It was during my time at OCAD that I truly developed a style of painting and perfected my painting skills. I started painting with Oil In my last year and completed a body of work featuring sheep for my thesis. It was also during this time that I found two other loves in my life, a love for teaching and for the army. During my third year at OCAD I joined the Canadian Forces Army Reserve where I have served over the last 6 years in the infantry with the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada in Waterloo. At the end of my 4 Years at OCAD I graduated with an honours BA, majoring in drawing and painting with a minor in English. I was then accepted into The University of Western Ontario and completed my teaching degree within the year. Over the last 2 years I have been attempting to make my way in the world of education. I have been working in the Upper Grand District School board where out of teachers college I received a job teaching 2 periods of art the first semester. Throughout this time I have continued to make art either for myself or for others through commission. I recently took part/ am taking part in the Wyndham Art Supplies charity Auction where 50 local artists were asked to take part and complete a 10"x10" canvas board fulfilling the theme of endangered or extinct. Of course, I painted a sheep...a California Big Horn Sheep that is currently endangered. I am currently living downtown Guelph with my girlfriend of 2 years with our 2 cats and 1 dog.