This Month’s OLT Artist Klaas van Weringh: A Modern-Day Renaissance Man
By Albert Lightstone
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with Klaas and his wife Joanne. He is an artist, as well as a playwright and an actor/director at the Ottawa Little Theatre. According to Joanne, he is by definition a true renaissance man – a person who has wide interests and is expert in several areas.
Immigrating from the Netherlands (the surname is a give-away), his family arrived in Halifax, then moved around a bit before settling in Kingston, Ontario. He pursued his studies at Queen’s University in Physics, Math and English and finally landed a job at Nortel during the firm’s better days.
But before his career at Nortel, Klaas focussed his attention and efforts on art, a passion since he was a young boy.
While taking some life drawing classes at St Lawrence College, his talents were so impressive that his teacher suggested that he actually take over the class, as the prof was leaving the school. Klaas enthusiastically accepted his new role.
Following that, he showcased his growing catalogue of work in numerous successful shows, was advertised in an edition of Canadian Art Magazine, and got to meet with his hero, well known artist Alex Colville.
The path to the OLT was pretty linear. Starting as a choral singer, he then got involved with an Irish Choir which led to being part of the Savoy Society, TotoToo, Orpheus and the Tara Players and finally the Ottawa Little Theatre.
Since 2001, he has been involved with the OLT, having acted in two productions (Hay Fever and On Golden Pond) and directed five plays (Flare Path, Breaking the Code, Translations, The Interview and A Little Gilbert). He has served in a number of other roles including sitting on the OLT Board of Directors.
He works out of a cozy studio that he had built in his backyard home in New Edinburgh. It takes Klaas approximately three months to complete a work so he averaged about four pieces a year. He dabbles in all sorts of media including paint, pencil, acrylic and oil blends. Although acrylic tends to dry faster, he finds the oil easier to control.
For inspiration, when he sees something of interest he uses it as a foundation for what he calls a composition. He works from photos because, as he jokes, it is difficult for a subject to sit still for three months.
He is particularly proud of one drawing of a swimmer. He saw a swimmer doing laps, and wanted to create something unique by avoiding a standard image of the person gliding through the water. Instead, he focused on their arm movement in mid-glide juxtaposed with, ironically, a nearby loon which also caught his eye, having a similar angle. So, he combined the two images in a painting that flowed beautifully, pardon the pun.
The OLT has been an important part of Klaas’s life and he wants his friends and colleagues to get to know him a little bit better; not necessarily to see just his paintings and drawings, but to be aware that he actually created them and what he is capable of as an artist. So, when he heard that Venetia was looking for artists affiliated with the theatre to showcase their works, he jumped at the chance .
Klaas states that “Visual art and theatre are both important to me. In my paintings, I’ve always insisted on capturing the likeness of my models, though I didn’t really know why that should be important, because the paintings weren’t necessarily about the models. I always felt the models were actors in a play. But as every director knows, the most significant thing an actor brings to the stage is him or herself.”
A truly perfect blend of being a director and a visual artist.
Please enjoy his work at the Spotlight Gallery in the Janigan Studio.
Klaas can be contacted at klaas.van.weringh@gmail.com
Some Excerpts From Reviews:
“Klaas van Weringh’s strongly realistic drawings and oil paintings…are haunting and sometimes disturbing.” (The Whig Standard, Nov. 15, 1980)
“Images of lasting importance…betray the artist’s philosophy, express an emotion, or simply strike a sympathetic chord….a more-than-photographic quality.” (The Whig Standard, Nov. 29, 1980)
[The Rodman Hall Jury Exhibition includes a] “beauty by Kingston artist Klaas R. van Weringh that is incredible in its realism.”- St. Catharine’s Standard, April 7, 1979
“Perhaps the most dazzling piece in the show is Klaas van Weringh’s…which shows a mastery of drawing technique in tandem with simple design and profound detail….stunning in its clarity and lifelike quality – The Whig Standard, Sept. 23, 1978
