A passion for art drove a lifetime of creativity as Whealism was born
Internationally celebrated Manitoulin artist Ivan Trevor Wheale (90) known for his hyper-realistic paintings, particularly of the wild shorelines of Georgian Bay, has finally put away his paints and brushes, passing away August 9 under his own terms at the Manitoulin Health Centre in Little Current, surrounded by friends and family.
Born on November 8, 1934 in Sunderland, England to the late Arthur Wheale and Doris Wheale (Parker), he was a dear brother to the late Anglican Bishop Gerald (Jean) and Hilary Millichamp, who still lives in Oxford, England. He was married for 57 years to his beloved Jean Wheale (Livingston, predeceased in 2014) and was father to four children: Geoff (Cindy), Mike (Evyonne predeceased), Kathy and June (Darryl) as well as nine grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.
While he was primarily best known for his artwork that hangs in collections ranging from Buckingham Palace to the Art Gallery of Ontario and countless corporate offices, Mr. Wheale was far from being a one-trick pony. A tireless community activist, he not only served on community boards, such as hospitals and libraries, but made innumerable donations to worthy causes over the course of his lifetime.
photo by Michael Erskine
An avid outdoorsman, his sister Hillary Millicham described her older brother to The Expositor as a “Nature Boy,” in the sense of the Nate King Cole hit from the 1948 of the same name, and that song so aptly described his character.
Ms. Millichamp, a self-confessed ‘city girl,’ recalled her brother taking her on trips up into the North Country above the large town where he would build a hide out of the bracken and instruct her to be very still and just observe. She learned to not mind the scratches on her legs and arms and to revel in the wonders around them. Years later, when she would come to Manitoulin for a visit, Mr. Wheale would take her up onto Willisville Mountain to look upon the wonders below.
Mr. Wheale’s daughter June recalled to The Expositor that her father would take the family camping and just build a lean-to, cobbled together with whatever was at hand and they would sleep under the stars. The family would spend summers sailing, fishing and exploring nature. Winters were for skiing.
Mr. Wheale and his beloved wife Jean were accomplished dancers and skiers—observers comment on how the couple were always in synch whether on the dance floor or the slopes. They joined the Ski Patrol, where Mr. Wheale met his lifelong chum of 62 years, Peter Dow (Mr. Dow recently passed as well).
Over the past decade since his wife Jean passed, Mr. Wheale was known for taking his boat out in the early morning to explore the North Channel and not returning until nearly sunset (much to the consternation of the marina staff, he was after all over 80 years old by that time). But soon he would pull in hauling the days catch on a stringer and with his head filled with new ideas and images.
His adventurous spirit led him to explore Canada’s far North, settling into the shores of Baffin Island’s Pond Inlet with nothing more than a pup tent and a knapsack filled with dried food. The resulting paintings remain among some of his most sought-after works.
Mr. Wheale described his favourite times of the day as being “just before sunrise and just after sunset, when the shadows are much longer.” Light played a critical role in his artwork and observers looking at one of his works are amazed at his deft utilization of light and shadow to make his subjects “pop.”
While casual observers might say that his work resembles a photograph, Mr. Wheale’s “Whealism” is reality made better. “I take an image from somewhere like the Benjamin’s (a collection of islands that are a popular sailing destination in the North Channel) and I add, or take away from that image to make it better,” he said. “In a sense, it’s better than real.”
“I can’t paint anything that does not grab me,” he said. “I have to be passionate about it or it just doesn’t happen.”
A self-taught artist, Mr. Wheale became consumed with a driving passion to pursue his art fulltime after seeing an exhibition of the works of Van Gogh in Toronto during the 1960s. He left his job at a Sudbury lumber yard and set his sights on that goal.
It wasn’t easy.
“For the first year my friends and family bought my work,” he said. “But after that there were 18 months that were pretty lean.” Mr. Wheale discovered that the ditches in front of where people would watch the slag being dumped were chock-a-block with discarded beer bottles. “It was those beer bottles that bought groceries for my family during those days,” he said.
Then a judge from one of the many exhibitions he entered recommended him to galleries in Toronto and Montreal and everything changed. “I never looked back after that,” he said.
Although he is known primarily these days for his oil paintings, Mr. Wheale actually began more as a water colourist and it was one of his watercolour works that was chosen by artists across Canada to be presented to Queen Elizabeth II. It went on to join a number of barn paintings that were already in the Queen’s collections.
Mr. Wheale’s influence is reflected in the work of his countless students, taught over the years at colleges and universities and, most recently, in the art workshop classes for Perivale Gallery.
The unveiling of the annual Ivan Wheale collection at Perivale Gallery has always been the unofficial start of the summer art season on Manitoulin, faithfully covered by The Expositor for decades.
Along with the late Peg Forbes, Mr. Wheale co-founded the La Cloche Art Show and he was central to the establishment of the Sudbury Museum and Fine Arts Centre—both venues that have helped to promote and nurture countless area artists through the years. For many years, the Ivan Wheale Award and the Peg Forbes Award (both judged by Mr. Wheale himself) have been the most sought after ribbons at the La Cloche Art Show. Mr. Wheale was proud to be able to judge again this one last time at the July show, although declining health meant that he was not able to attend the artists’ reception this year—but still managing to send a video message from his hospital bed instead.
Leafing through the scrapbooks of yellowing news clippings maintained by Mr. Wheale’s wife Jean over the years of Ivan’s career, not a page goes by that does not contain a clipping documenting his generosity toward hospitals, cancer societies, schools, libraries and symphonies—and there are many, many pages in those scrapbooks. Mr. Wheale was the recipient of the Rotary Club’s highest honour, the Paul Harris Fellowship and, most recently, being nominated for a King Charles II Coronation Medal for his contributions to the community and many, many other accolades, including the Little Current Citizen of the Year.
Mr. Wheale was also known for his good humour and mischievous side and for years was the anonymous author of a series of “368” classified ads in this newspaper containing a joke. He also penned a number of articles and series for the paper. The final 368 classified ad ended, for more details call 368-heaven.
He will be missed, but his art and contributions to the community will live on. His ashes, mingled with those of his beloved Jean have been committed to the waters of the North Channel.
A video documentary by Laurentian’s Kathy Browning of Mr. Wheale describing his work can be found online at laurentian.ca/videos-visual-artists-greater-sudbury.
