Two remarkably talented women and reputable West coast authors have in common a connection with a very special artist among Canada’s rich culture and history.
Both held a unique relationship with an iconic Canadian painter and shared their experience to create a beautiful piece of literature that has recently earned them The Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada 2015 Information Book Award.
Combining their passion for story-telling with their own personal account of the painter, it’s not surprising the result is nothing short of award-winning.
The children’s novel is titled ‘A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison’.
Born Edward Hardy Harrison in the small village of Wingate in County Durham, England, Ted Harrison came to Canada on an art teaching position offer. He and his wife settled in the Yukon and from his love of the open, rugged landscape and its people, Harrison found national acclaim through his charming artistic portrayal of Canada’s north.
Co-written by Katherine Gibson from the Comox Valley and Margriet Ruurs of Salt Spring Island, ‘A Brush Full of Colour’ brings the adventurous life story of this renowned Canadian artist and his worldly experience to young readers.
The book is beautifully produced by Pajama Press with colorfully rich, feel-good illustrations of Harrison’s paintings throughout the pages.
This is Gibson’s first children’s novel and for Ruurs it is her only biography-style picture book for children. Ruurs has written 30 other children’s stories. Ruurs life entwined with Harrison in the very location that gave birth to his much celebrated style of painting, Whitehorse, Yukon.
“Ted and his wife Nicky lived just around the corner from us. We had young children and they loved kids,” shares Ruurs. “I would visit and they would paint with Ted in the basement. Ted and I were both writers and did some of our signings together at the local bookstore.”
Gibson’s life entwined with Harrison almost poetically. The chance encounter with Canada’s beloved painter has enriched her life both as an author and as an individual. “It was serendipity,” marvels Gibson. “Everything about him was serendipity.”
On the mantle rests the Bicks sauerkraut jar Ted Harrison used to hold his paint brushes – a gift he gave to Katherine Gibson before his passing in January 2014. His biography, Paintings in Paradise, was the premise to a Brush Full of Colour, a children’s book about the painter, which earned Gibson and co-author Margriet Ruurs the prestigious Canadian Roundtable Literature Award.
As a teacher, Gibson would read ‘The Cremation of Sam McGee’ by Robert W. Service to her students, but not just from any edition. Gibson preferred the Kids Can Press (1986) version that was reprinted using illustrations of a bright, bold colorful Yukon scenery that was central to Harrison’s renowned artwork. Quite fitting for the famous Canadian poem.
Gibson was a well established best-selling author who had written several articles on travel, leisure, lifestyles and social issues when an opportunity to write an art exhibit for a Victoria magazine came her way. She had the choice between two subjects, motorcycle artist Ted Suzuki or Ted Harrison. The choice was obvious.
Three weeks after Gibson went calling on Harrison at his home in Victoria, he contacted her inviting her to lunch and to pitch an offer for Gibson to write his life’s journey.
Her four-year writing endeavour produced ‘Painting in Paradise’ a beautifully written, insightful tale of a man whom, as Gibson explains, summarized her work as a ‘masterpiece.’
Described by Gibson in both her books, Harrison was an adventurous man, never playing it safe and who, with the same zest for life, answered the call for an art teaching job in a country he always sought to go to one day. Uprooting from County Durham, England to the Yukon, Harrison entered uncharted territory both as an artist and a new resident in Canada. It was there in the North that Harrison found his signature style of painting.
Gibson describes first hand the hardship Harrison endured living through the Depression and yet he always kept a profoundly positive outlook as portrayed in his work – simple life lessons people of all ages can appreciate.
“He knew the worst of life. He experienced the worst in life but he could find the sunshine in a drop of rain,” explains Gibson “He showed us how much fun it is to be a Canadian.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Ruurs. “Ted was a kind and generous person who followed his own heart. I loved his example of creating the art that you are driven to produce, not as others tell you to do.”
Bringing these remarkable tales of the talented painter to younger readers was important for Gibson and Ruurs when they set out on their journey to create ‘A Brush Full of Colour’.
Margriet Ruurs has authored 30 children’s literature books. With a Master of Education degree from Simon Fraser University, she teaches writing workshops at elementary schools across North America and around the world. When not traveling, Ruurs runs a booklovers’ Bed & Breakfast on Salt Spring Island.
Ruurs began writing poems and stories in first grade and never stopped. Her passion led to a career as an author and flourished into the field of education in children’s literature. She now conducts writing workshops worldwide showing students how the spark of an idea can manifest into a poem or fictional story. Ruurs is the editor of KIDSWRITE, a web-based magazine that publishes the literary works of children.
Living relatively close to one another allowed the authors to combine their own unique perspectives on Harrison to produce an educational project for school students prior to venturing into publishing a book together.
“We met at his place in Victoria and collaborated on an educational proposal for schools,” explains Ruurs. “We both saw the need for a book for children about Ted.”
The children’s nonfiction novel, which recently won the prestigious Canadian Roundtable Literature Award, was a finalist for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.
“The TD Canada book awards are a big deal. It is a huge honor to have our book selected as one of the five best books for children published in Canada this year,” expresses Ruurs. “Considering the number and quality of books in our country, this is thrilling.”
‘A Brush Full of Colour’ also received attention from CBC West. The broadcast radio program held contests for children and schools to win books and vote on their favorite.
“I’m thrilled that so many children, as well as adults, were introduced to our book about Ted Harrison this way,” adds Ruurs. “Ted deserves to remain in the spotlight as a unique Canadian artist.”
“Ted was a man of unshakeable integrity. He’s not only influenced me as a writer but as an individual,” adds Gibson.
‘A Brush Full of Colour’ has been nominated for four additional awards including the Rocky Mountain Book Award, the OLA Forest of Reading Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award, the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, and the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award.
Mary Lee
Owner/Director
MGG Communications & Consulting Inc.
250-792-3428
Website
See all articles by Mary Lee