Cecil R. Barlow was born in 1919, and his passion for art began at a very young age. His very first art teacher was Hortense Gordon, a Hamilton artist who was a member of the Painters Eleven.

During WWll, Cecil created the War Bonds posters, and you can see the influence this time had on his own paintings. His other influences were Canadian Alex Colville and American painter Andrew Wyeth.

Career

Cecil worked as a commercial artist for Clark Productions, a silk screen advertising company once located in Dundas, Ontario. His paintings won numerous 1st place finishes in the annual CKOC Art Shows in the 70s, and in the 1980s, he became a founding member of the Escarpment Group of Painters. This group consisted of 13 artists from Hamilton, Burlington and St. Catherines. They held art shows annually and displayed their works in local galleries. Cecil’s work also went national and was featured in galleries from the West Coast as well as the East Coast.

His Work

He enjoyed plein-air painting, capturing landscapes in natural light. At a time when Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism were popular, he bucked the trend as a Realist.

Barlow painted with a vivid palette. The 1970s timeframe reflected his choice of the ‘Hippie Colour palette’: green, gold, cerise, orange, azure, and cerulean. As time and his technique progressed, he began painting with a more muted palette. His choice of medium was mostly mixed media: watercolour, gouache, and egg tempera.

Sales and Proceeds

The promotion and sales of the Barlow “Dundas Train Station” print is a collaboration between the Dundas Museum and Archives and McMaster Fine Art. Printing and layout are by Paul Simon Photography. All proceeds from Museum sales support the continued operations of the Museum.