Paris is known as the ‘City of Love.’ Opulent, imperious, and mythical, Paris draws close to 50 million tourists each year, and last year, James Huctwith was one of them.
The center of classic fine art for almost two hundred years, and the birthplace of modern art, Paris is a city of light for artists, where the world’s most famous galleries can be found. James dreamt about going as a young man, studied its art in University, and notes its influence throughout his adult work.
Paris Inspiration and Fine Art Influence on James Huctwith
The oil paintings James has created from his own photos and sketches of Paris are nothing short of magnificent. His painting, titled ‘Maintenance Workers, Eiffel Tower’, currently on display at the O’Connor Gallery in Gananoque, depicts a unique perspective of the tower, both utilitarian and iconic. James currently resides in Kitchener, where he paints almost daily in his studio at 44 Gaukel.
Art Education and Academic Influence
James spoke with both passion and a sense of wonder as he described his opinions of the city he found. Professors Suzy Lake and Walter Bachinsky of the University of Guelph were pivotal in shaping his appreciation for art theory and architecture during his studies. Their influence may help explain why he was drawn to Paris with the expectation of encountering a true metropolis of imagination. “An imaginative homecoming.”
$4,000
12 x 21 inches
Oil On Panel
2025
O’Connor Gallery, Gananoque, Ontario.
www.oconnorgallery.ca
Finding Home Through Light, Place, and Perspective
“Yet once I arrived,” James recants, “The city was more old and new, complex and intense, than I had the means to easily grasp. I was more aware I was an outsider, as it became more insistently real.” But looking at the late afternoon light on a garden from his hotel window, Paris gave him a gift. “For the first time, I saw that the light where I live in Kitchener falls the same way there, as it does here. Beautifully.”
It helped him realize the power of art, love, and the imagination did not necessarily reside in a city, however famous: it dwells everywhere.
Southern Ontario Identity and Community Values
From a distance, he had built up imaginative hopes in his mind about everything Paris would be. Although it was all those things, he was able to recognize, while he was there, that he could feel comfort and appreciation in his current hometown. Don’t get me wrong, James paints Paris with a lucid brush; he describes every walkway as it meanders towards a spectacular monument, and he describes every building with architectural grandeur. But he also is more at peace with our different beauty here in Southern Ontario and Waterloo Region since that visit. He sees our hometown as comparatively new, but one built on more unpretentious ethical practices, pragmatic hard work, and quiet community fundamentals. He notices our clean parks, strong social supports, and a community of people genuinely attempting to help our marginalized members. “A place that does good things quietly, and well.”
$14,000
60 x 36 inches
Oil On Canvas
2025
O’Connor Gallery, Gananoque, Ontario.
www.oconnorgallery.ca
Returning to Paris While Remaining Rooted in Kitchener-Waterloo
James plans to return to Paris this year, drawn back by the promise of new reference photos and the chance to wander deeper into its layered history, revealed through thousands of paintings lining miles of gallery walls. Yet it is here, in Kitchener-Waterloo, where his gaze ultimately comes to rest. For those not boarding a plane this season, I offer you an invitation; Look again at the Region we have shaped, to notice its art, its culture, and the ‘Love’ our surroundings have curated.
www.jameshuctwith.com
Helen Fidler seeks to create beautiful spaces that evoke strong emotions in her audience. Her bold and unique visual vocabulary observes her favourite artists and architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Jackson Pollock. She free-flows from surrealism into an unrestrained abstract style when she paints, which carries over into her interiors when decorating clients’ homes. “My art is an expression of how I work through the troublesome realities of this world in a way that hopes to bring beauty to everything I touch,” she explains. For her, designing gorgeous interiors and creating stimulating paintings are essential to making the world around her a more beautiful space.
