An Ottawa couple has opened up an art gallery — on their front porch.
Tom Lawson and his wife, Sheila Casey, have lived in the Old Ottawa South neighbourhood for 35 years. By now, their friends and neighbours are familiar with their art obsession.
“From time to time, when people see stuff at Value Village or at Salvation Army or at somebody’s yard sale, they think, ‘Oh, that’s perfect for Tom and Sheila, let’s drop that off on their front porch,” said Lawson.
They’ve accumulated so much artwork inside their home that last year it spilled outside. That’s when the couple decided to make it official.
They created Gallery 54 and asked for submissions on Facebook.
“Over the last week or so, stuff started to appear surreptitiously on our front porch,” said Lawson.
So far, all the art has been donated anonymously. The couple warned that the art would be exposed to the elements and could get stolen.
That hasn’t deterred people from submitting all sorts of pieces at their Willard Street home.
“We do it for fun, so people who think we’re serious don’t know how to react to the art, the say — it’s very interesting,” said Casey.
Their red-brick walls now boast oil portraits, prints, photographs, woodcarvings and even a paint-by-numbers picture. All genres and mediums are welcome.
“Art is always in the eye of the beholder — one person might think that’s really ugly and another person might think, ‘That’s pretty cool,’” said Lawson.
Although the couple has no artistic background, they are passionate consumers of art.
“We never conceived of the idea that we would own a real piece of art. At one time, friends of ours, who have an antique shop on Bank Street, had an oil painting and we used to go and visit it,” said Lawson. “Then finally, the owner of the store said — why don’t you just buy the damn thing?”
They did, and now that both of them are retired, they frequent the art scene regularly. They attend art shows around Ottawa and know many of the local artists.
As newly self-made curators, the couple spend much of their time on the porch, welcoming visitors to their art gallery.
“People don’t go by without commenting on it or asking about it,” said Casey.
With artwork constantly streaming in, the couple might soon need to buy more hooks since they plan on keep the gallery open for the rest of the summer.
“It just makes it a more enjoyable experience walking down the street,” said Lawson.
