JUANITA CROOK GALLERY

As a young adult who excelled in school, I had to make a career choice between attending Art School or continuing my education at university. Although I was strongly motivated to pursue my living as an artist, it was clear that my academic skills would provide a more certain route to success.

 

I went on to Medical School and a distinguished career as a Radiation Oncologist and professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto and subsequently at the University of British Columbia. Despite long hours, multiple publications and two children, I never abandoned or forgot my dream.

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From time to time, sometimes with gaps measured in years, I would succumb to the need to paint. Although I experimented with pen and ink, pencil crayon and conte, my medium was acrylic. My source material back then was often National Geographic. I would flip through old issues until an image grabbed me and I would say “Hey, I could paint that!” My style is very careful and detailed.

 

I have copied a couple of paintings by Tom Thomson in order to try to loosen up and develop my color interpretation. I have had no formal classes or training since my high school art teacher, Miss Buckles, inspired me. More recently, and especially since moving to the Okanagan, I paint from my own photographs.

 

The light, and the ever-changing sky over Okanagan Lake, fascinate me. I have not yet disentangled myself from my demanding career, so my artistic output is sparse. In a banner year, 2021, I completed 3 works, but most years I’m proud

to produce just one.