Painting from a 2008 Memory of Unionville

Recently, I began a new oil painting based on a photograph I took in 2008, when my studio was on Main Street Unionville.

At that time, I walked those streets almost every day. The church, the brick buildings, the trees, the changing light through the seasons — they were not “subjects” to me. They were simply part of my daily life.

I did not know then that I was quietly collecting memories for the future.

When I look at that old photograph now, I am not only seeing a street view. I am seeing a chapter of my own life. I remember opening my studio door in the morning, greeting neighbors and visitors, watching people stroll along the street. I remember how the light would touch the church spire and warm the brick walls. Sometimes I would stop and take a photograph, moved by something I could not fully explain.

Now, years later, as I paint from that 2008 image, I realize I am not trying to copy the photograph. I am painting what remains in my heart — the atmosphere, the quiet rhythm of the street, and the connection I once felt so naturally.

The painting begins with color and emotion before details appear. The sky, the trees, the buildings slowly return to life on the canvas, guided not only by the reference image, but by memory. It feels as though time has folded in on itself, bringing the past gently into the present with each brushstroke.

Unionville has always been an important part of my artistic journey. My studio was there from 2007 to 2009, and I continued to live and work in Markham for many years afterward. Even though I no longer live there, the streets and landscapes of York Region remain deeply rooted in my work.

This painting reminds me that places we love never truly leave us. They stay quietly within, waiting for the right moment to return.

And sometimes, many years later, they reappear — transformed into art.

This work begins a new series:

Back to Main Street — Unionville Memories Series (2007–2013).