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South of France provides inspiration for Peacock By DIANE HART Special to the Beaver For 30 years, the man has toiled away in the madcap world of advertisâ€" ing as art director and creative director of some of the leading ad agencies in Canada, including Vickers and Benson. Cold calls â€" those stressâ€" inducing calls where the salesperson must call on people "coldly" without warning, are just a part of the busiâ€" ness. David Peacock knows all about "cold" calls. But about a year ago, he had a truly memorable cold call. Armed with slides of his recently completed paintings, he knocked on the door of a Toronto gallery and, was warmly received. One year later, he has his first solo exhibit of 17 paintâ€" ings. Peacock‘s work, at the Alexander Gallery on Queen Street East in Toronto, is on view until the end of the month. "I am delighted and overâ€" whelmed," says Peacock, speaking the day after the successful opening of his exhibit. And as much as the selfâ€"effacâ€" ing Peacock obviously was uncomâ€" fortable in the role of the artist expousing on his work â€" like most artists he would rather make it than try Like so many before him, the south of France has been the source of inspiâ€" ration for Peacock who only began painting three years ago. And, like writer Peter Mayle, another advertisâ€" ing man who has been inspired by Provence, Peacock returns to it time and time again to put it on canvas. Yet, unlike Mayle, who manages to celebrate idyllic parts of Provence in all of his hugely popular books, Peacock chooses to reveal more layers to Provence, hinting at its darker side. "To me, it seems to have two dimensions to it," says Peacock. "When most people think of the south of France, they think of the sunny, touristy side. But I think there is a more melancholy side. It is lovely on the surface, but there is more underâ€" neath." to articulate it â€" he is happy others like it so much they will buy it. In some of his work, notably the diptychs, he has gone a step further and stated clearly that darker underâ€" currents lie under the traditional idylâ€" lic French village. "I needed more than one visual to complete the sentence," says Peacock. And it seems he can‘t resist poking fun at both himself and accepted notions of high art either. At one point, he and his wife, Suzanne, were drivâ€" But for now, the man who has rediscovered the joy in putting paint to canvas, just wants the simple life. "I just want to paint," he says. He wants to now investigate the mood of the south of France in greater depth and move into paintings which reflect the more sombre mood â€" what he calls a sense of "impending hapâ€" pening". "I feel as though I am doing what I want to do," he says. Peacock says he has dry spells and then paints furiousâ€" ly for two weeks while still juggling his work in advertising. Painting for Peacock has become a source of joy, harkening back to the days when he dreamed of being an artist in high school. In fact, he spent a blissful time at the Banff School of Fine Arts before graduating from the Ontario College of Art. But when his career in advertising took over, he put all his dreams of being an artist aside. ing through villages near where Van Gogh painted and they saw a large field of dead sunflowers exposed to the light that is so much a part of Provence. What does Peacock do? "I felt I had to paint it," he says. In â€" "I Could Hear Van Gogh Screaming" â€" Peacock has the droopâ€" ing sunflowers with a brooding Van Gogh in the foreground. It is an amusâ€" ing piece of work, yet slyly takes issue with the traditional notion of the south of France as an endless sea of beauty. "...a unique melding of traditional and folk music, shot right up the middle with the zanniest humour this side of Monty Python." Sunday Express, St. John‘s "If laughter is the best medicine, Buddy Wasisname and the Other gellers are the miracle cure of the 0‘s." Newfoundland‘s Favourite musical/comedy trio C MONDAY MARCH 28th 8 P.M. OAKVILLE CENTRE 905â€"815â€"2021 Reserved Seating Grand Falls Advertiser David Peacock, who has been art director and creative director of some of the leading ad agencies in Canada, has his first solo exhibit of 17 paintings at Toronto‘s Alexander Gallery until the end of March. Church Reynolds 323 Church St. JOIN US FOR SUNDAY BRUNCH 3i0. (in Miller Mews) (Photo by Riziero Verto!li)