Every year our studio holds a fund-raising auction, Art Gems. We’re all asked to submit a painting which is then sold at the auction.

But this year, the Gems Committee decided to do things differently. Our studio assistant, Marlena, invited some of us artists to submit paintings. She said a jury would then decide which pieces should be entered into the auction, based on our technical skills, creativity, the medium we used and some other requirements.

When I paint, I use realism to reflect my subjects. This is a style in art  where subjects in a painting are shown as close to ‘reality’ as possible, i.e., the way the subject actually looked.

But for the auction, I decided to try something different—use an abstract style. The result? The painting featured on this page. There are lots of colours in this painting. But there is an image hidden in it. Can you see it? I’d love to hear your comments.

One Tuesday last winter, I went to the studio. On Tuesday afternoons, members of the studio are scheduled to have photography lessons. Sean, our photography instructor, was waiting for us. He usually takes us on walks in the neighbourhood and points out items of interest. He also teaches us to see with ‘fresh’ eyes. Instead of taking pictures the standard way, i.e., holding the camera horizontally, try positioning it vertically or diagonally, he suggests. That creates for interesting photos.

The Tobaggoners. Children find joy in such simple things as coasting down a snowy slope.

That particular afternoon, we walked over to Withrow Park. What I saw warmed my heart. Kids were playing in the snow. Others were tobogganing. When children fell off the toboggans or slid off them, they just dusted themselves off and walked right back to the peak of the hill. And started all over. I love kids. They’re resilient. Fearless. Free spirits.

I tried to photograph the children. Have you ever tried to capture a moving subject on film? I hadn’t. If you train your camera on your subject, you don’t get what you want. Because your subject has already moved way past your view finder. Sounds like common sense, right? But this was new to me. A novice photographer.

Sean gave me an important tip. Stand near the foot of the slope. And focus my camera on where I expect my subject to be within a couple of seconds. That made all the difference! I captured what I had set my sights on—a shot of a child flying down the slope.

A few days later, I did the same thing at Riverdale Park—near Riverdale Farm. There were loads of kids tobogganing there. I took more photos.

I printed up the shots I had taken. Then I created a collage, using photos of three of the children. And that’s how I produced my painting, The Tobogganers.