Woodchuck Gallery & B. Martinus. F.
Woodchuck Gallery features the work of B. Martinus F., an accomplished artist from Gananoque, Ontario.
Born Barend Martinus Fioole in 1937, Rotterdam, Netherlands, he experienced “the full ugliness” of WWII as a child. After heavy bombings, the family of eight fled the city to live in the small village of Haastrecht. While there he studied art and music.
In 1959, he married his best friend, Janny Hagen –and the two remain soulmates 65 years later.
His professional career began as a commercial artist before he joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a musician in 1960. After an initial posting in Soest, Germany the band went on to tour Europe and the Middle East.
In 1962, the band was posted back to Canada, first to Oromocto, New Brunswick and then Kingston, Ontario in 1968. After 12 years of near-constant tours throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States, it was time for a change. After retiring from the band in 1974, he and Janny opened their first art business: “The Woodchuck”, in Kingston. It became the first venue for his paintings.
In 1985, they moved home and business to Gananoque, a famous tourist destination in the Thousand Islands region. There they bought and renovated an historic 1907 TD Bank and renamed it “Woodchuck Gallery”.
In the (almost) fifty years since, the artist’s paintings have become increasingly sought after, purchased by art lovers in Canada and the USA, Europe and Russia.
His work covers a myriad of subjects: from architecture to natural landscapes, aquatic sea life to abstract ideas. Yet it is clear portraits of people is where he draws particular inspiration.
“I love the whole drama of life,” he explains.
At the age of 86, the artist is still painting, enjoying life to the fullest, and inspired by the wonders of the Creator.
B. Martinus. F. at work; his studio is also located in Woodchuck Gallery.
Woodchuck Gallery is located in the heart of Gananoque, where the artist and his wife purchased a 1907 Toronto Dominion Bank.
