R.R. Dixon

Artistic Development of Reginald Richard Dixon Dec 18,1913 – Nov 12,2007

Reg was born Dec 18, 1913. His family lived on Stamford Road , Audenshaw near Manchester , England . In 1925 at Clapham Central School he enjoyed making pen and ink sketches and painting where he showed talent. He was allowed to teach the art class that subject while at school. In 1929 he was given a bicycle and on it was able to expand his horizons spending leisure hours sketching old buildings as he cycled from his home in Merton Park at Morden , England . Reg also got a box of oil paints in 1929 which laid the foundation for his painting skills. At school he loved art, history, English, and geometry. The mathematics left him cold but he began to learn about perspective and mechanical drawing.

Reg boarded the Cunard Line S.S. Ausonia, which was later sunk in the 2nd World War, at Southhampton England and left for Canada Sept 7, 1929, when he was almost 16 years old. His plan was to work his way across Canada , go down to Australia , and up through Africa back to London . The ship docked in Montreal , Reg made his way to Guelph , Ontario , and then gravitated to Peterborough . He did odd jobs and then found a job in 1930 with the Canadian General Electric (CGE) Company in the mail room. Reg would travel locally to do his pen and ink sketchings. During the early part of the depression Reg worked in other departments of CGE but was eventually laid off in 1931 as industry ground to a halt. He made ends meet by working part time at a friends shop and in his spare time doing art work such as show cards for shop windows, painting outdoor signs, etc. Reg married Ethel Taylor on his twentieth birthday Dec 18, 1933. He started to design milk bottle caps and ice cream cartons for the Sealright Company who sold to dairies across the country. In Sept 1937 Eaton’s Peterborough store became one of his customers where he did advertising layout, designed promotional displays for the windows and inside the store.

Reg joined the militia in October 1938. He was put into active service September 1940. He became an intelligence officer and served at or near the front lines during WWII. He retired from the military in 1965 as a Major.

Reg started writing poems in the fall of 1943. He drew cartoons during the months of D-day battles. In the fall of 1946 Reg enrolled at Carleton University , Ottawa , for two semesters in a Political Science course. In 1950 he continued with cartoons depicting military life. In 1952 he started to do oil painting. He started abstract paintings in 1962 and enrolled in a class on charcoal drawing. In September of 1963 he studied the History of Art at Carleton University . During this time he continued painting and took a studio course to learn how the masters produced sculptures, bronze castings, paintings, etc. In 1964 he started paintings of ideas which were inspired by music and poetry. “Cold Egg For Breakfast” was one of two or three paintings exhibited at Ottawa City Hall . In 1964 Reg enrolled in two more history of art courses at Carleton concerning Greek, Hellinistic, Roman, Barbarian, Byzantine, and early Medievil painting, architecture, and sculpture. He also took courses on the development of Greek pottery and architecture. In 1964/65 he taught an art class at Hillcrest High School . In 1965 Reg was accepted at Teachers College in Ottawa and continued with History of Art courses at Carleton. He did supply teaching for the Ottawa Board in the fall of 1965.

In April, 1966 Reg working for Parks Canada started work in Kingston , Ontario to be the curator and look after the restoration of Bellevue House, Sir John A MacDonald’s residence, which opened May 24, 1967. All his drawings, research, and correspondence made while on the project are in the archives of Queen’s University, Kingston . Reg was the tour host of Bellevue House for Queen Elizabeth during her visit on June 5,1967. During his time in Kingston Reg continued with his poetry and painting. In the fall of 1966 he enrolled at Queen’s University to study the history of English literature. In September, 1968 Parks Canada relocated Reg to Ottawa . He retired from Parks Canada December 18, 1978 on his 65th birthday.

Reg exhibited 35 paintings at the Ottawa Little Theatre in March 1970. He continued painting through the 1970’s. He exhibited paintings at a high school in the Elmvale Acres district of Ottawa in 1975. By 1976 he had painted 675 paintings and then started to taper off as he took on other major efforts such as documenting the restoration of Bellevue House, completing his autobiography along with his detailed military career. Reg also generated detailed documents, Homo Sapiens Sapiens, on the evolution of man and a time chart on the evolution of religion. He did start painting again in the final years of his life just before he died a month short of his 94th birthday. Anyone who knew him well could not deny he was an exceptional highly motivated individual with a vast knowledge of many disciplines.