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.L. ETHELWYN CARLYLE
L. Ethelwyn Carlyle was a native of Brant County raised at “Bieldy Knowes”, the family farm between Brantford and Paris, Ontario, (Canada), built by her grandfather with funds from his uncle, the writer Thomas Carlyle.
After graduating from Brantford Collegiate, Ethelwyn attended a two-year art program at Hamilton’s Westdale Technical School . Over the years, she also studied under Ida Hamilton; at Doon School of Fine Art, under Adrian Dingle, Carl Schaefer, R. York Wilson, and Jack Bechtel.
In the 1940’s to 1950’s Ethelwyn was a free-lance designer craftswoman with a wide knowledge of and experience in leather construction and decoration, who also experimented widely with collage, batik and mixed media, and published a book of designs, Canadian Book of Designs for Hobby Craftsmen in 1949. She worked at Gunther’s, a manufacturer of jewelry boxes, drafting designs.
Ethelwyn was a technical illustrator for 10 years for Cockshutt Engineering, a farm equipment company in Brantford. It was there that she met and became friends with Tony Onley, with whom she painted and sketched. She credited him with encouraging her to pursue a career in an art-related field. Her own business, Carlyle’s Arts and Crafts Store, in Brantford, thrived for 23 years, from 1952 to 1976, and fostered many friendships. Artists from the community found the area’s finest selection of art supplies along with distinctive craft materials.
In the 1950’s to 60’s (Barry’s Bay years) Ethelwyn was a friend of and sketched and painted with; Hazel Wallington Devereaux, A.Y. Jackson and A.J. Casson. All stayed at or near Stevenson’s Lodge, in the Combermere area near Algonquin Park.
As a watercolourist, she painted many countryside landmarks, including the construction of Highway 403. Her sweeping landscapes are strong and moving. Her approach was to capture “what’s in front of her” as she said in her no-nonsense way, having most often painted on site. Studies were often then reworked in the studio room of the same comfortable home where Ethelwyn grew up. A sense of adventure led her to explore the challenge of collage, using a palette from her significant watercolour archives.
Ethelwyn’s artworks are in many private and public collections throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. Her works have been shown in many solo and group exhibitions locally since 1960.
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