Jono Pye – Artist

By Joe Thomson – Musician

I met Jono Pye in 1975.

We attended High School together and in 1979 after being accepted he went off to Trent university to study all things art related and I headed out on the road to pursue a full time career in the music industry. We remained close friends and in touch until 1982.

Fast forward 35 years.

After 45 years I retired from being a full time performing musician and decided to realize my dream of building a state of the art “home recording studio” in my Mississauga townhouse basement.

Somewhere I could write, produce and create new music. Somewhere I could feel inspired.

Enter Jono Pye – stage left.

After reconnecting at our 2017 High School class reunion we picked up where we left off as friends, it was like no time had passed.

And his art was now possessed with so much soul it was almost palpable.

Over the next 6 years I commissioned 5 pieces.

To be clear, these pieces were to be hung in my new studio.

My personal creative space.

My fortress of solitude if you will.

Their placement meant eye contact was unavoidable.

They were to be looked at EVERY day as I created my own new musical compositions. They would literally be in my line of sight all the time!

No pressure Jono…

So, to say that I was thrilled (and somewhat relieved) when the work was created, presented and displayed would be an understatement.

I was inspired!!

Without fail, every time I’ve viewed and admired Jono’s “from the heart” painting style that’s how I’ve felt.

As a lover of art I can say he has touched my heart with his brushes.

In closing: I’m not prone to hyperbolic or outlandish statements regarding someone else’s talent. In this case though I can say with absolute confidence “the man can paint”.

Long live Jono.

The Tricycle

By Darcy O’Quinn

A bright red tricycle in the shadows of a blue void. A child’s toy, a child’s plaything, a child’s means of transport perhaps even a child identity. In a very dark place.

The composition brings back memories of tricycles had and tricycles given and the joy they did bring.

But where is the child? Where is the tricycle and why was it abandoned in such a place?

Jono is able to conjure up so much, in such a loose and whimsical portrait. A true mark of his ability and understanding of the medium and composition.

Behind the mind of an artist, is the next Big idea. Of course, like a lens, the idea is backwards and upside down. The artist has to translate it into the form that it must be shown in.

For Jono, that upside down Studio in his mind, it’s a very busy place.

Perhaps further crowded by a glance. A new idea. Look at that Apple. Why is the light hitting it like that? Is someone trying to drive me crazy?

With haste and certainty, he will surround and absorb, translate and project. This new and latest image. This insight to what we all seem to have missed. Do we not desperately need to see the determined eyes. of a poet Long gone, but long remembered.

The Conte, the content, The colour, The crayons, the calamity, The comedy, The call. The oil, the charcoal. It’s all there in his mind… Waiting. And so are we. Let this boy draw. Let this man paint.

Jamie Watling is a singer-songwriter. Helping to fill the world with little songs. With big dreams of playing for free at a local pub as a three-piece band. Jamie is best described as “emotion in slow motion”. https://youtu.be/livrQmtCERI

By Jordan MacLachlan

When I look at Jono’s paintings I am reminded of how when I was a child I believed that the characters in my picture books would come to life whenever no-one was home to see. They would jump off the pages and socialize, play with the budgie and raid the refrigerator.

It’s the liveliness and apparent sense of individual will and movement that I sense when enjoying Jono’s work – from fruits to teapots to trees and persons I expect them all to have a life separate from the canvas.

Speaking as an artist I could say the reason is that I possess a romance for the sincere pursuit and love on the part of another artist for his or her materials and subject matter, which translates into a certain vibrancy of spirit in the work itself, evident here in Jono’s paintings. I thank them for bringing such a smile of possibility to my heart.

Jordan MacLachlan is a professional sculptor, whose work is exhibited in Paris & New York.

By Raymond Helkio

Have you ever wanted to own a Picasso or a Tom Thomson? These are just two of the subjects from paintings by Jono Pye who is jointly showing works along with David Bateman at The Secret Handshake Gallery in Kensington Market. Prices range from $500 to $50 a painting, with postcard sized prints from $5. And yes, art always makes for a perfect gift…

Read Raymond’s full review here.