The last lighthouse

Exhibit merges historical fact with imagination

At one time, Prince Edward County was ringed with 11 lighthouses, providing beacons of safety to the mariners who sailed the treacherous waters along its shores. The first lighthouse was built on False Duck Island early in the nineteenth century, and the last of the remaining 10 was constructed on the eve of the First World War, although some were rebuilt after falling into disrepair or being demolished. Of those lighthouses, only four remain, and their history is being celebrated by an art exhibit at Mad Dog Gallery with new works by Andrew King. He grew up in the County and came into his art career somewhat indirectly. His earliest memory of drawing is from when he was in Grade Three and he would draw mazes on the back of his math sheets and copy them for his friends. He was dissuaded from pursuing a career in art and went instead to university in a program that he didn’t really enjoy. At this time he started doing cartoons again and selling his art on the side, which eventually turned to his full-time occupation, and he established a studio in Manotick, to be relatively near the city of Ottawa and its substantial potential customer base. However, for many years he has returned to the County for a summer exhibit at Mad Dog Gallery, always on a single theme. Last year, he celebrated the barns of the County, and prior to that was the story of racing boats, in particular Miss Supertest, the boat that set a world speed record at Long Reach on November 1, 1957.

Artist Andrew King stands beside one of his paintings on exhibit at Mad Dog Gallery.

This year’s theme was lighthouses, and King came by his fascination for them at an early age. “I grew up next to a lighthouse when I lived at Nicholson’s Point. As a kid I would play in the lighthouse and I became fascinated with lighthouses,” he says. “They are such a part of this area’s maritime history, which is slowly disappearing. But lighthouses were an important part of the old County lifestyle, because everything came to the County by ship, and these lighthouses were crucial to protect the sailors and the ships that were going back and forth. The County had 11 of these lighthouses, and we’re down to four, the rest being demolished, and I thought it was important to research and document these disappearing lighthouses and paint them in my style, but actually research the history of every single one.” King’s paintings of the lighthouses are historically accurate, but he’s added his own touch to make them seem like a slice out of living history. “As much as I like factual history, I don’t want to do a static painting that replicated how the lighthouse would look in a photograph. So I add a bit of dynamic cartoony whimsical element to it. I try to make a painting look like it’s a still frame from a movie, so there’s action, some comedy, and it just gives another element to the painting.” In one painting there’s a small figure of a lighthouse keeper mowing the lawn at False Duck Island. In another, sailors are held aloft by umbrellas as the wind carries them past Point Traverse. And there’s one with his signature theme of a lighthouse flying free.

King draws a comparison with the life of a lighthouse keeper and what life has been like for many during the pandemic. “The life of a lighthouse keeper is exactly like living in a pandemic. You’re stuck in an isolated part of the world, living by yourself, no contact and social distancing to the max. It’s the perfect analogy for the life we’re living now, where everyone is kind of like their own lighthouse keeper,” he says. “This is very familiar, because working as an artist is a very solitary career. You work in a studio by yourself, you focus on your work, so the pandemic wasn’t a huge change for an artist because we’re solitary creatures. And I saw how isolation affected other people, and it actually inspired me to paint something that was happy and more whimsical, because I want to paint something that will lift people’s spirits.”

Gallery owner Anne House said that once again Andrew King’s paintings were all sold within two hours of the show opening. “That’s pretty typical of Andrew’s work, and he’s created a huge following. We told people we would sell to whoever shows up in person, and they get the first choice, and the sale starts at 10. Well, the first car in this morning [Saturday] was at 7:22 a.m., and this guy had driven in from Ottawa to be first in line. At 11 there was one painting left and we were going to post it online, but someone called and over the phone they said they’ll take it.” She said it was a bit daunting to have an art exhibit in the time of COVID, but that having an outdoor exhibit made it feel more comfortable. “This was Andrew’s suggestion, so we don’t have to restrict people being inside, because there’s only so many people we can put in the gallery. We’re being very cautious this year, and hopefully next year we can get back to a regular schedule.”

The paintings will be on display at Mad Dog Gallery (525 County Road 11) until August 15. For more information, please visit maddoggallery.ca.