Art is about finding your technique, ‘and doing it’

Charlie Teeple, 85, enjoys his time in the Simcoe Seniors Centre art group, and is an afternoon dart player.

Chris Abbott

Editor

The Creative Arts (painting and collage) group meets Friday mornings at the Simcoe Seniors Centre.

“Sometimes 10-12 people, sometimes more,” said artist (and dart player) Charlie Teeple. Teeple, 85, has been doing art since he was five or six years old.

“My dad taught me, and I kept on going.”

With almost 80 years experience, he knows what he likes, and he’s honed his craft in various mediums.

“They like doing acrylic, I don’t like doing acrylic, so I do my own thing,” Teeple smiled, sharing the art on his cellular phone. “I can do acrylic, but… I like to go around and help people, help them out.

“This one here is all done in ink, the one of the horse, that’s ink. This one’s oil-based colouring pencils. And that one’s just ordinary pencil. This one is done with little dots. Eventually, I want to get into something like this… oil pastels on black paper.”

He is fond of his sketchbook, but does not focus on commercial – if someone wants his art he will sell it. Or sometimes give it away.

“I give more away than I sell,” he laughed. He also enjoys teaching children art – their willingness to learn and experiment with new techniques.

“Art isn’t trying to copy somebody else’s technique, it’s getting your own, and do it. Just because I say ‘this is the way I do it,’ doesn’t mean you have to do it that way.”

Other activities at the Simcoe Seniors Centre (182 South Drive) include: billiards, Qigong, walkabout, crafts, line dancing, cornhole, bingo, cards, table tennis, strength training and fitness, yoga, pickleball, table shuffleboard, floor shuffleboard, knitting, and garden and nature.