Retired, Richmond Hill and Kleinburg Businessman, John MacEachern, has turned his life long hobby of Art into his full time passion. Having been raised from the age of eight in Kleinburg, Ontario, John received a very early appreciation of Art as his parents were good friends of Robert and Signe McMichael. He would accompany his parents as they would visit the McMichaels in their home before it became the famous gallery it is now. He would often be told to go and look at the paintings [i.e. “Get Lost”]. This never bothered him for as a camper on Canoe Lake he was mesmerized by the tales of people seeing the ghost of Tom Thompson paddling across the lake in the mist. Now he was awe struck as he looked at Tom Thompson’s “real” paintings.

John did his first pencil sketch in the Canadian Rockies as he worked as a summer student at the Banff Springs Hotel. As he attended the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration at Cornell University he decided to take an “out of school” elective art course in the School of Fine Art. Professor Gillian Peterson-Krag taught John the basics and encouraged him to continue, however being in the Hospitality Industry left little time for him to pursue his hobby, which would later become his passion.

In 1972 John purchased the Doctor’s House Tea Room, which his mother operated, and turned it into a five star country restaurant known as the Doctor’s House and Livery. When he sold it he decided to take some night watercolour courses from well known Aurora artist Dorothy Clarke McClure. After that John took a number of workshops from renowned watercolourist Jack Reid, whom John considers one of Canada’s finest. He has also studied under Richmond Hill artist Susan Chater.

American Artist Andrew Wyeth always fascinated John, and this interest led John to find a teacher in Wyeth’s historic medium: Egg Tempera. John soon found Canada’s most respected Icon Artist Zaria Manook who took John under his wing and tutored him in Egg Tempera, a medium that dates back to 100 A.D.

John has since demonstrated Egg Tempera at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg and now we have come full circle. He only paints subjects that move him and so his works are somewhat eclectic, although he fully admits that he always seems to be drawn to the incredible Canadian Landscape; he doesn’t like to limit himself to only this, as he is also fond of painting animals and interesting scenes with people; scenes which effect an emotion.

His work is in private collections in Canada, United States, and Australia.