Evan Macdonald

``A Painter's Life is a shot in the arm for any creative soul who feels blocked or uninspired. It's for those of us who, when staring at a blank screen or pristine canvas, point to our family or job as an excuse for our poor productivity. It's easy to relate to Evan Macdonald in this book. He too railed against the limitations of business and domestic life. The difference is that, instead of holding out for the perfect time and place to create, he took every opportunity to develop his craft. He also opened his mind to depicting the people and places that surrounded him. The result is a range of unpretentious works that reveal the artist's skilled hand and fresh vision. The story of Evan Macdonald reminds us to enjoy making art. And what's possible if just open your eyes, focus on what interests you, and get to work.'' -- Deb Davis, painter and writer (Guelph, Ontario) -- 200809
``The study reflects the commitment of both the art gallery and the university press to significant regional achievement in the arts.... Intimate, personal and affectionate.'' -- Robert Reid -- Guelph Mercury, September 22, 2008, 200809
``There is an intimacy, a quiet fierceness in a daughter's watching of her father. A looking upto that escapes language, a stirring in and out of light and dark that gathers among silver mines, walks the edges of Hope Bay, and traces architectural ruins of memory and return. With narratives sketches, Flora Macdonald Spencer revisits and awakens the temporal spaces of Evan Macdonald, to tell what has not been told of her father's lie, a painter's life.'' -- Sorouja Moll, writer, playwright and MA candidate, School of English & TheatreStudies, University of Guelph, Ontario -- 200809