ABOVE: Wedding in Kleinburg.
In days gone by, Kleinburg weddings took place in the Methodist Church on Nashville Road where the monument now stands. It was a large white wooden structure with frosted windows. The heart of the community. Weddings in Kleinburg have always been special.

ABOVE: Folk Art Pyramid
This lovely old arrangement of farm animals has been
painted for over l00 years in one form or another. I have
painted it many times myself. I think it really represents
the country feeling.
This painting is the cookbook cover of this year's Feast of Fields culinary event, which takes place in King Township in September. The original artwork has been donated by Mary, and is being auctioned to raise money for the children’s organic garden at Cold Creek Conservation area. Visit www.feastoffields.org and click on ‘silent auction’ to place a bid on the painting. Click here for more information on Feast of Fields.

ABOVE: Milking Time
There is something so comforting about rural life. I always wished I had grown up on a farm. The cows coming back to the barn to be milked is just like the tide coming in – it happens without fail. What a sad thing that our family farms are disappearing. There are still a few of these beautiful homesteads left to the north and west of Kleinburg and
my husband and I enjoy driving around the countryside to see them.

Inspired by days gone by

After getting lost en-route to Mary Scattergood’s home, I was glad to see the Kleinburg artist waving me in as I approached her driveway. Mary greeted me happily with her little dog under her arm. The coffee was on, she said. And I thought, gee, I’m liking this interview already.

Mary brought me into her gallery, where I had an opportunity to look at her art alone, while she got the coffee. I purposefully did not prepare for the interview by looking at her work on-line, or reading her bio. I wanted to go in without any preconceived notions about her, or her work, an interview technique that has gotten me into trouble in the past, especially when I don’t connect with the artist. The first thing I noticed about Mary’s work was that it was simple. And very pleasing. Winter scenes, children playing outdoors, animals by the river. The second thing I noticed was her medium – acrylic on masonite. Very different.

Mary returned to her gallery, little dog in tow, as I was paused in front of one of her larger works, featuring a winter scene.

“I think this one is my favorite,” I said, taking a closer look at the children making snow-angels.

“My favorite is this one over here,” Mary said, directing me to her painting entitled ‘Skinny Dipping’. “Many of my paintings are based on my childhood memories, and in this case, a friend of mine wanted to follow the boys down to the Humber River and sneak a peek at them while they played unabashedly that hot day. That’s us, hiding in the bushes over there,” she said, pointing out the two girls hiding in the tall grass.

Before heading up to Mary’s in-home studio, we completed the tour of her gallery. Beyond the
masonite, Mary had painted a variety of wood crafts, including grandfather clocks, benches and even coasters.

Prices in the gallery range between $325 and $4,000, with standard sizing ranging from 23"x19" to 20"x14".

I decided to rethink my original critique of Mary’s work as simple. This was major stuff here. She was
in demand, and her pieces were selling, despite the recession.

“I need to say a few things. First, there is nothing wrong with reproductions,” said Mary. “I paint and it makes me happy, and when I’m finished, I want to make lots of people happy. That is why the majority of my work is available as a print. It’s a myth that you need original art. Art is for everybody and if you love it, you should buy it. If you can’t afford an original, buy a print. It’s simple. Secondly, the art world has been taken over by the art dealers. The artists are starving, and the dealers are making big bucks. You shouldn’t feel bad that you have a reproduction, especially
if you’ve purchased it directly from the artist, if it makes you happy.”

Mary’s style is technically described as ‘primitive folk art’ but she refers to her work as ‘Memory
Paintings’, as she often draws from her own childhood for inspiration, working down a list of ideas as they come to her. “I had a wonderful childhood, I’m very fortunate,” Mary shared.

The subjects in Mary’s paintings, once referred to as “stick people” by a child, go about their daily
business, in a setting based in the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s (because “I like to throw the odd car in!”)

“Kids are drawn to my paintings and their parents have to drag them away sometimes,” she said with a chuckle. “Things are happening in my paintings and they’re interesting to look at.”

“I don’t have any illusions of grandeur,” Mary added. “My work belongs in bathrooms, hallways
and in children’s bedrooms. I do not create paintings with the intention that they will end up on office walls or in huge banquet rooms. My paintings create happy feelings, and that’s hard to come by sometimes these days. I want people to head back to a gentler time.”

As we head for Mary’s studio, a brightly lit space on the second floor of her home, I am excited to see where she creates. At this point I already know that she finishes roughly four paintings a year, some taking months to complete, and I want to see the environment that inspires her.

Mary gave me “the comfy chair”, and chose to sit in front of her latest work in progress, ‘Wedding in Kleinburg’.

“Wow, I love your studio,” I said. “It’s an artists paradise. So many brushes, every colour of paint all this space...”

“I’ve been in this house for 33 years, and I’ve created a lot of paintings here. I have a lot more I’d like to do as well,” Mary said, pointing to her ‘to-do’ list on the wall. “I don’t always follow the order on the list, I have to be inspired, or ‘in the zone’ as I like to say.”

“I really want to paint ‘The End of the Railroad’, based on an abandoned railway station that was quite literally the end of the underground railroad. I photographed it back in February, but I’ve yet to start working on it because I have to let it grow and really take shape in my mind.”

Our in-studio discussions brought forth that Mary had been interested in painting since she was in Grade 9.

“My homeroom in high school was also the art room – it couldn’t have worked out any better,” Mary said. “Nancy Main was my art teacher. I was in awe of her. That was the year I discovered the artist, my mentor, Grandma Moses, and the art world opened up to me like a candy store.”

Mary never met her idol, who's technique has inspired a lifetime of her own work, as Grandma Moses died later that year.

“I did meet her grandson Will Moses, however, and he’s an artist too,” Mary explained, adding that she now owns a few of his original paintings.

Now an accomplished artist and teacher herself, Mary sites her own family as her biggest fans.

“I wouldn’t have had the life I’ve had, and the opportunity to paint and create, if it weren’t for my husband Gary. He is truly my biggest fan. Followed closely by my grandson Duncan, who is only four, but has to go directly to my gallery every time he comes here. He puts his hands behind his back, and looks at my paintings, and if there is someone else in the house, he always leads the tour of the gallery!” Mary boasted, obviously proud.

Mary is mother to Shelagh and Ben. Shelagh is Duncan’s mom and also the mother of Mary’s two other grandchildren – Mary, age 6, and John, now 1.

For Mary Scattergood, the future will continue to lead her into the past. With ideas for paintings with names like ‘Sunday School Picnic’ and ‘Soap Box Derby’, Mary is bound to make a few new fans, and continue to serve the old ones, as young as they might be.