Since moving to Niagara-on-the-Lake from Milton with her young family in 1983, Trisha Romance’s art has provided a window into the charm of the town for so many. During much of the 1980s and 1990s especially, people flocked to town to buy her paintings and to see for themselves that the picturesque scenery depicted was real.
The Local asked the artist to tell the story about how some of her most iconic paintings came to life. Remarkably, she never worked from photographs, she said.
The Birthday
“To me, it was very obvious, this is Niagara-on-the-Lake and these are real moments. That one I remember so distinctly. This one was about my birthday, and the kids were so excited about putting on a birthday party for me, so I painted that.”
The Window Shoppers
“I loved the Owl and the Pussycat,” she says about the long-time Queen Street landmark. “It used to be a toy store. We went in there for birthdays and Christmas and holidays. We were probably their best customer.
“There was this one moment that happened just before the Christmas parade. We had all the kids ready and waiting for the parade and we were window shopping. I saw this one moment and knew that was the one. This was now what I was going to paint. That moment had to happen. Every one of my pieces had a timing to it. When that moment would happen, I knew it was ready.”
Star of Wonder
“The moment that inspired this one will remain forever in my heart,” says Romance. “It was such an inspirational moment, a star-lit moment that was totally unexpected.
“I was Christmas shopping with (her youngest child) Whitney. She brought her little sleigh, it was snowing like crazy. We had walked into town from John Street. There we were, I looked at my watch because we had company coming for dinner. I turned to tell her we better get moving, because she loved moving slowly, she was an observer. She would stop and look at things for the longest time. But she was gone.
“I had this instant panic. We had been cutting up the little alley between the Courthouse and the Christmas store. When I got to Queen Street, there she was looking at the angels in the window. The star in the window was shining its light on her face and the snowflakes were coming down. I stood there and I immediately couldn’t have cared less about anyone coming for dinner. I knew I had to capture it. I wanted to sketch it right there but I didn’t have anything to sketch on. I had to depend on my heart and my visual inspiration.
“I stood there and observed everything, etching it into my brain. We got home and I took one of those large index cards I always put my grocery lists on. I grabbed a pencil so fast and I started to sketch everything I saw as quickly as I could. I ran it up to the studio then ran back down to start cooking dinner. But I couldn’t wait to get back up there later to paint it.
“When it was finished, I didn’t want to let it go. It was one of those pieces I wanted to keep and treasure myself. I still have the original. I never allowed it to be sold. I’ve had people offer a lot of money but I’ve always wanted to keep it. It was such an incredible moment that was gifted to me.”
The Candlelight Stroll
“I always knew that I wanted to paint Queen Street somehow, but I had to wait for the moment. All of a sudden, one day I was walking down Queen Street on the sunny side when I was approached by this very tall stately gentleman. He said ‘Excuse me, are you Trisha Romance?
“His name was Arthur Neudorf. He told me he had a dream to have a stroll at Christmas time. His company made candles, he said, and they had just supplied candles for the Calgary Olympics. He wanted to bring the town together to share a moment and to raise money for someone in need. I told him that sounded absolutely magical.
“He asked me if I would do a sketch for the candle cup. I told him I was in and he was so excited. So I became involved with the project. And my sketch was used for the very first candlelight stroll, which of course still goes on today.
“But that was the moment. I knew I wanted to do a painting of that moment. So I did the full sketch of Queen Street with the cenotaph. And I put the tall man in it selling the very first candle to this little boy. I originally called it ‘The Candle Man; but I changed the title at the very last minute to honour his dream. It became one of my most popular paintings. And I had so much fun doing it.”
The Recital
When I think about how many paintings came out of our John Street home (210 John St. East, now the McArthur Estate) it’s amazing. Not only did I have this beautiful town to paint but I had this beautiful home. I painted nearly every room in that house.
“It was a ground-up restoration from the time we first purchased it in 1985. Every time we would finish a room I would want to do a painting, but a certain moment had to happen in that room.
“I was so excited when we finished the music room, but it wasn’t ready yet for a painting. I hadn’t had that moment yet. Then one day this impromptu recital happened with Tanya singing and Nathan playing the piano after dinner. The two of them were giving this mini-concert and I was sitting in the chair holding baby Whitney. I knew I had to paint that scene. It was what the music room was all about. It was an emotional moment.
Most people would have taken a photograph of it. Other mothers kept journals or made baby books of their kids. I never had a baby book. I just painted them.”
