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ArtsceneLate Chatfield painting on way to QE Park centreBy Carlie Oreskovichmaking donations of artwork toSPECIAL TO THE BEAVERthe Town. To date there are about90 pieces in the Town's collection. Oakville artist Thomas F.Loughheed, describing the giftChatfield has been dead for a littleas extraordinary, says that themore than 10 years, but his imagesTown has been working on thestill stir the imagination and nowpolicy to bring it up to date forone of his largest canvasses will besome time and now they have all of a key part of the community centrethe legal language in place in orderat the former Queen Elizabethto be able to move ahead withPark Secondary School (Queenaccepting the gift.Elizabeth Park Community Centre)Before we really didn't have thewhen it opens in 2012.appropriate paperwork to acceptA 4 x 6 foot Chatfield painting,such a gift. She points out thattitled Red Maple, was recentlyChatfield has been very importantdonated to the Town by a Chatfieldto the local art scene. Within thefriend and fellow artist Marjorieartistic community in Oakville, heMarlatt Mason.is extremely well known. He wasn'tMason said the painting hadflamboyant, not a self promoter, hebeen a big part of the decor in herwas just a superbly talented localhome. It was taking up a wholepainter. He loved being in Oakville,wall in my den. Of course no onehe loved being a part of the artssaw it. It was sad that no one saw itscene and I think he was enor-or enjoyed it and when I heardmously generous with other art-about QE Park, I thought it wouldists.be a good fit.I think he was probably a fabu-Mason, whose husband Bob,lous mentor, whether it was a for-died in 1989, said she feels it wasmalized relationship or an infor-the right decision. I was wonder-mal one. He was well recognized,ing what to do with it. Let's face it,but I think he was an artist whereI'm not getting any younger. Whathis profile was never really thatRIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVERam I going to do with it? I liked thehigh.BIG RED:Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and Marjorie Marlatt Mason pose in front of theRed Maplepainting done by idea of it having a place to goMason, who was part of a smallwhere peopthe late Oakville artist Thomas Chatfield. Mason donated the painting to the Town of Oakville to be eventually placed on le can appreciate it. group that often painted withWdisplay at the soon-to-open Queen Elizabeth Park Community Centre.ith this in mind she calledChatfield, says that he approachedClaire Loughheed, senior manager,her and her husband with thefit in the QE centre.first large canvas he had attempted.three-dimensional. The Red Maple, cultural services for Oakville. Ipainting when they had a televi-The painting, in acrylic, is of a Mason says he was very energetic.which the Masons purchased from told her what I was thinking, saidsion store on Lakeshore Road. HeMason.fall landscape in Ontario. It is dom-He did not sketch and he couldChatfield in the '70s, for $2,600, told them he had a painting thatinated by a brilliant red maple have a painting done by the timeand paid off in monthly install-It sounded like she was delight-took up too much room at homeunder a larger tree. Mason said everyone else was setting up. Inments, was appraised by the town ed and aware of Chatfield's workand asked if he could hang it at theChatfield typically used a palette some of his works the paint is sofor $26,000 and comes in under and came over to see it. Sheback of the store. They said yes andknife to apply paints, and it was the thick the subject seemed to bethe updated regulations regarding thought it would be a really goodSee Chatfield page 3129 Friday, March 4, 2011 OAKVILLE BEAVER www.insideHALTON.com