A Painted Paddle Changed My Life

Several years ago, a Fonthill Periodontist and a Painted Paddle Auction set into motion a series of events that would open up a new and wondrous path in my life, full of exploration and excitement.

For three decades, I’ve been fortunate to find success as an Architectural Rendering artist. For those who might not find this term familiar, my job is to take designs, blue prints (yes I’m that old) or CAD files of homes, buildings, or entire communities, and create beautiful images to show potential home buyers, investors, or municipalities what this project would look like. In the simplest terms, I convert all the technical plans and drawings into pretty pictures that everyone can understand and appreciate. Typically this is accomplished in watercolour paint, pen and ink, or more recently, digitally. My work is seen throughout the GTA, Canada, and Internationally. I was extremely honoured to do the renderings for the largest home in Canada (at the time), a 43,000 square foot home named Chelster Hall in Oakville.

Working with some of Ontario’s most talented Architects, Builders, Designers and Ad Agencies has been tremendously enriching, and at times, incredibly stressful with tight deadlines and heavy workloads. It wasn’t uncommon for me to work through the night. Working from my home-based studio, maintaining a work/life balance was always a challenge. Finding time to paint for “fun” never seemed to be priority.

In 2020, my wife Carla was working at a Stoney Creek dental office and brought to my attention the “Paint a Paddle” fundraiser to benefit ALS research, organized by Dr. Peter Fritz of Dr. Peter C. Fritz Periodontal Wellness and Implant Surgery Clinic in Fonthill. Dr. Fritz is an avid outdoorsman and paddler. His office is decorated with canoes hanging from the ceiling and canoe-themed art throughout the office, leaving no doubt about his passion for paddling. The staff at Carla’s office asked if I would paint a paddle on behalf of their office. I agreed without hesitation, as I’ve known several people who have suffered from ALS.

I was very excited to design and paint this paddle. In an effort to be different, I painted the entire paddle, all the way to the grip, not just the blade. I painted the shaft to look like birch, and added some red and yellow Maple leaves to the shoulder to transition to the black background. For the main painting, I chose 3 animals that every Algonquin Park paddler is excited to see… the Wolf, Moose and Black Bear. On the flip-side I painted an Inukshuk.

Originally, the fundraiser was intended to be an in-person Gala event, with a silent and on-line auction, but unfortunately Covid had other ideas. So it became an online only auction event. The generous Dr. Fritz had also donated a canoe to be awarded to the artist/paddle with the highest bid. This fundraiser attracted 220 beautiful paddles, submitted from extremely talented artists. I bid on several myself but did not win. A few beautiful paddles took off to well deserved early leads with high bids, but to my surprise, a late bidding war among several people propelled my paddle to receive the highest bid of $1305! I couldn’t believe my eyes.

As it turns out, the auction raised almost $37000, and I won the canoe that Dr. Fritz had donated. (Niagara This Week Article) It was a beautiful blue Swift Prospector in Kevlar Fusion. By many standards, this was the ultimate canoe for back-country tripping. Feather light and easily portaged. In the world of canoes, this was an ultralight Ferrari compared to my run-of-the-mill canoe, so I was beyond excited.

The process of designing and painting this paddle, winning the canoe, and subsequently learning about the cult-like following that Swift Canoes has earned among campers, paddlers and adventurers, re-kindled a passion for fine art, camping and the outdoors that had become buried under the relentless pace of my daily life. Within a few weeks, I had planned my first solo back-country camping trip in Algonquin Park for the upcoming season (you can read about my first trip here…The Frisky Moose). I studied gear choices, I watched YouTube videos, and talked to people who were seasoned on the subject, learning enough to give me the courage to paddle off into the wilderness on my own, and the knowledge to safely return. The Algonquin Park ‘culture’ quickly became deeply rooted in me, and I wanted to make it a bigger part of my life. My enthusiasm was infectious, and Carla began joining me on some of these adventures. Trying to capture that magical feeling and the images I had seen on canvas was a natural progression… and Mark Janeck Fine Art was born.

I am still very active in the commercial art world with my Architectural Rendering business (www.janeck.ca), but now it is balanced with fresh air, clear lakes, pine trees, oil paint, and adventure.

And it all started with a painted paddle.

It all started with a Painted Paddle

The wonderful people who placed the winning bid on this paddle have become repeat collectors of my artwork.

Thank You for your patronage!