Rendez-Vous with special artists

At the Bayview Centre in Pointe Claire, watercolor portraits of animals and landscapes hang on the white-washed walls of Kevin Norwell’s room. As I examine his paintings, Norwell tests my ability to discern each image. “What’s that?” he asks playfully, pointing to a portrait of koalas.

I answer, and he nods happily. He does this a few times, and each time he points to one, he smiles approvingly when I answer correctly.

There are a variety of watercolors of animals including a blue jay, golden retriever and deer, and a landscape painting of an iceberg, which he says is a scene from Newfoundland.

After moving into the Bayview Centre in Pointe-Claire, he started painting lessons through the Rendez-Vous Arts program offered by West Island Citizen Advocacy (WICA).

RVA is a program which matches volunteer art teachers with artists in the community who are living with an intellectual or physical challenge or experiencing mental health problems. His artwork will be on display as part of Rendez-Vous Arts exhibition and sale on Sunday, Oct. 4 from noon to 4 p.m.

Norwell clearly loves to paint, and judging by the accuracy of the images, you would never know that he had to learn how to paint with his left hand after a motorcycle accident left the right side of his body impaired.

That was over 30 years ago.

After many years of rehabilitation, Norwell has slowly regained the use of both hands but he still needs the use of a wheelchair to get around. “I’m ambidextrous,” says the soft-spoken Norwell, gently touching my arm as if to illustrate his point.

The accident happened when he was 21years old. Norwell had his chauffeur license and loved to take road trips across North America with his ex-girlfriend. His life has changed dramatically since then.

A few months following the accident, he said his right leg became shaky and he began to lose his balance and fall often. When it became too difficult to walk, he began to use a wheelchair to get around.

Like Norwell, the other artists who participate in RVA face a variety of challenges. The courses are taught at the Bayview and the Citizen Advocacy office in Pointe Claire and the artists prepare for months for an annual art exhibition and sale. Many of Norwell’s pieces have been displayed over the years and when I ask if he enjoys the exhibition, he nods enthusiastically. “I know a lot of people there, a lot of artists,” he says.

Norwell says he is grateful to have the opportunity to participate in RVA and adds that he has never seen a program like it anywhere else. “You can accomplish so much,” he says, about RVA. “I now have more understanding of myself in the world.”

The seventh annual RVA art exhibition, sponsored Fondation Rêve d’Esther and the Lachine Lions Club, takes place on Oct. 4 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Surrey Centre at 1945 Parkfield Ave., Dorval. For more information, call 514-694-5850, 514-631-9151 or visit www.westislandcitizenadvocacy.com.