Remembering Jerry F Albert

Jerry F Albert

The recent and sudden passing of the well-known Canadian artist Jerry F Albert has stunned the art world in Canada and abroad.  Jerry not only leaves behind his family, including his wife of almost 50 years, Susan, his two daughters Kristina (Lloyd) Dyrow and Shanna Albert, and his grandson Andrew, he also leaves behind a legacy in his art.

Jerry was born ‘Jaroslav’ in the Medvednica mountain ranges (translated as bear mountain) of central Croatia. He immigrated to Canada, first landing in Toronto but quickly moving on to settle in Frankford Ontario where he grew up. He attended Kemptville College where he met his soon-to-be wife Susan.

Jerry made a career as a paper broker, a profession that had him moving from time to time. He lived in Trenton and then Belleville, across the country to Western Canada, family in tow, and then down into Washington State, USA where he lived for many years. Jerry enjoyed travelling, being out in nature, photography, sketching wildlife and landscapes and wood carving too.

He always wanted to paint, but for reasons of his own, he left that passion waiting. Sometimes we can almost fear the enormity of our passions, so they wait. Or sometimes all we need is a heavy nudge, and the latter is exactly what Jerry got when his wife presented him with his first set of paints – he was 52 years old. It was the permission he needed to pursue his passion for painting, something he did everyday for the rest of his life. He was reading an article in “American Artists Magazine” featuring artist Matt Smith which led him to sign up for a workshop and from there his painting studies began.

Jerry’s favourite place to paint was en plein air – out in nature. He was known to drive out into the country side and set up his easel in the back of the truck. While living south of the border, Jerry painted some epic landscapes in places like Jackson Hole Wyoming, Ouray Colorado, Scottsdale Arizona, Carmel and Laguna California, and Wells Maine.

His spectacular landscapes continued when he returned home to Canada to Baltimore Ontario in 2003. His travels took him across the country which he documented in paint. Once while painting in Canmore Alberta, he had a dangerously close encounter with a grizzly bear. He did not panic, instead observed this beautiful creature in its own wild habitat. Once a hunter, Jerry was now a naturalist, a painter, somewhat known as a bear himself. Animals were just naturally attracted to him, and that was mutual. He was the Papa Bear to his family, a moniker his grandson used to call his grandpa.

Although well travelled, Jerry always referred to Northumberland County and surrounding area affectionately as home. Spring, summer and fall, he was rarely without a camera and his paints; he loved taking the back roads, going on day trips and finding trails where he could photograph, sketch and paint this beautiful region. In winter with the First Snow, like the bear, he was ready to hibernate. His passion moved indoors and he used this time to create his larger pieces, working from the photos he took, the sketches he did and the memories he kept.

Referred to as the next Manly MacDonald, Jerry continued to paint amassing a huge collection of art. In August of 2017, Jerry took ill and was diagnosed with terminal cancer. A short twelve days later he died. Sudden. We are left with the paintings that reflect his journey, the journey of that bear wandering through the woods, through his travels all the way to his hibernation.

©Janet Jarrell 2017