Neil Newton

Photograph by David Seath

Neil Newton grew up in a home where art was considered important, and paintings by reputable artists hung on the walls. Newton wondered what it must be like to enjoy the fame of a Constable or a Turner.

He began sketching even as a young boy, and took training at St. Martin's School of Art. He was eventually pulled, however, into photography, and felt a strong urge to document the daily life of his rural Ontario community.

He pursued a career as a professional photographer, doing primarily portraits and commercial work, but he always turned to his documentary work for pleasure. He produced a one-man show based on his images of rural Ontario, which was hung in several major galleries, and in Canada House in London. The show was purchased by the federal government and the works are exhibited in several national institutions.

Newton continued his career after he moved to Chemainus. It paid the bills, but he always wanted to be free of the burden of the business side of his work.

Now almost 75, Newton has wound up his business. Is he slowing down? Not a chance - he continues to work both on his art and his photography. "It's what keeps me going," he says, and adds, "I'm more relaxed now, so I can see things in a different light."

He has given up his large-format equipment and uses only single-lens reflex digital cameras now. He finds the world of computer manipulation of images both challenging and rewarding.

Newton still loves to sketch - something he feels is fundamental in art. For his colour work he most often turns to pastels. He likes the flexibility and immediacy of the medium. "It allows me to get it right without thinking," he says.

"I like to move people," Newton says of his art, but he adds, "I have to please myself first." It seems he has pleased both the public and the arts community, for in 1980 he was nominated to and accepted by the Royal Canadian Academy.