By: Stephanie Haines
Ottawa is very fortunate that in 2015 Roy Van Hooydonk chose to settle down here with his wife Theresa after a 32-year career as a counsellor, consultant, and teacher of music, art and literature in the Alberta public school system, and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta. Just after arriving, a whim led him to audition for a role at the Ottawa Little Theatre and a rich relationship began which would involve acting, music and art. Roy made many great friends during that first play, who are still comrades and artistic colleagues today. And for three weeks during Murder on the Orient Express, we get to view and appreciate his visual talents once again.
When it comes to art and painting, Roy doesn’t recall a time when he wasn’t drawing, carving or sculpting; to find a calm place to disappear into and find that ‘flow’ people crave. Roy getting immersed in a project usually starts with a flash of an image or a dream that pokes at his subconscious until he starts to create. His inspiration is to see if he can make the imaginary real in some way; to bring an idea into the world so that it can be shared.
This multi-talented individual has great memories of being on stage at OLT. He enjoyed the swordplay in The Three Musketeers; playing terrible brutes, like Arthur Birling in An Inspector Calls, and chewing the scenery as the evil, grasping Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life.
"It is getting more rare to find those moments with other people and I think the work we do in theatre really matters to society in general."
For Roy, the best part of the theatre experience is the rehearsal process. He enjoys finding nuance in a character over the run, sensing that the audience will respond emotionally to the manifestation. He believes theatre to be a social good, bringing people together to share an experience and an empathetic emotional state. “It is getting more rare to find those moments with other people and I think the work we do in theatre really matters to society in general. One of the coolest things in theatre is when an entire audience bursts into laughter or gasps at the same moment. Very powerful stuff.”
Roy has been creating art of all forms in a variety of media since early childhood. Some examples are present at his showing including Linoleum Block prints; a medium creating a mirror image where a sculptured plate is formed and multiple prints can be made from the original “sculpture”.
Roy tends to paint the world as he would like it to be, but there are many happy accidents that occur in the process, so at times he just lets the piece manifest itself. “There are times where it feels I am not in charge so much as channeling an idea. It is weird in a wonderful way.”
Roy feels that in art there are no rules that have to be followed, including the laws of physics, though he does paint a lot of landscapes and scenes that are fairly conventional. He tries to put little hidden details into his work, for people who ‘lean in close’. Having spent a great deal of time in Algonquin Park and the prairies, those images come up over and over again, giving a haunting beauty.
As to a favourite piece of art, Roy recently completed a painting of an old house on his street. He painted it when it was still rural, surrounded by nature, and beautifully captured an early summer evening vibe.
The majority of work displayed in the Janigan Studio once hung on the walls of Roy’s house. He enjoyed them, then felt the need to let them go. He is pleased when people experience his art and find personal meaning, memories and emotional responses. “I really love that kind of human connection,” he states.
Roy’s work tells a story. The piece entitled Nyhaven recounts a trip he took with a school group to Copenhagen during a Jazz Festival and a visit to the castle, which was the basis of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Street Dog Dreams (pictured below) is an artistic representation of an event that occurred while he and his wife were living in Southern Portugal. They were dining at their favourite local restaurant when their usual waiter loaned him a guitar to play. Roy was thrilled because, space being limited, he had only brought his ukulele and longed to play a guitar. This culminated in concerts for expats frequenting the establishment. The characters portrayed in the painting are actually actors that they met throughout the years (perhaps even at the OLT).
One thing that Roy truly enjoys is speaking with lovers of his work, be they purchasers or just admirers. Sometimes they can have a completely different perception and interpretation of what he has created. This may even involve a story that they bring to the work that is completely disconnected from his own thought process while creating the art. Roy feels that the customer is always right, and he will accommodate their selection of colours even if they are not within his preferred colour palate.
If you are interested to find our more about Roy’s work or to purchase a piece, please contact him at his studio at home RoyVan90@hotmail.com.