Father and son artists preserve the character of Hamiltons North End

[projekktor id=’19510′]

It may be hard to see the things that join one generation to the next, but the line that binds 88 year old Ken Davy to his father … was drawn, with a brush.

“Well my father actually got me into painting, he was a mill-worker — worked at James Street cotton mill on James Street, and he kept himself sane, so my mother says, by painting and doing pen and ink work during the depression. ”

J. Dennis Davy worked with watercolour, pen and ink, and perhaps, not surprisingly — after spending the day in the hammering industrial heart of the city — preferred to sketch, and paint bucolic landscapes.

“We would go out sketching in the country in the country and so on, and I just kind of grew up in that environment. ”

And like a canvas infused with paint, Ken absorbed the artistic passion, his father displayed. His first painting, boathouse on the Dundas marsh, came to life in 1946. But increasingly, he found himself drawn to the everyday scenes, right outside his door.

“You know, there’s so many interesting old buildings in the north end, and it’s part of my heritage. So I came back and started looking around and before you know it, I was knocking off quite a few paintings.”

So many, he’s not even sure of the exact number. But in nearly 70 years of painting, they have never gone on exhibit – until now. Ken’s daughter, former Hamilton Spectator reporter Denise Davy, decided that it was time to bring her father’s work to light. As a Christmas present, she purchased gallery space at the James Street bookseller.

Although much is changing in the north end, the hard-scrabble character of the neighbourhood, can still be seen in Ken’s work. Preserved in oil, and drawn down through the generations: father to son.

“His legacy to me was introducing me to art, and it’s been a great joy over the years .”

And now, Ken can share that joy – and feels the passion of painting pulling at his heart, once more:

“I haven’t been painting for the last year or so but I think all of this activity has got me looking at my paint box again ”

Ken’s paintings will be on display through Fathers day.