Larin Stephen

Article written by Erika Glassberg
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October 2, 2012

INGLESIDE - After many years of working in the medical field, Stephen Larin is finally able to settle down and do what interests him most.

Larin retired from nursing about five years ago, and it didn't take long for him to start a variety of art classes and follow his dream to be an artist. "It's been a long time coming;' he said. "I've always had an interest in art and now that I'm doing it, I think I'm a little easier to live with. I've been wanting to do this all my life but life gets in the way.''

After loving some art classes that he took in 1988 with artist Karen Carriere, Larin's journey to discover different ways of painting began. Only a few months after retiring, he stumbled upon a poster for water colours with watercolour artist, Alan Bain. And then he learned basic watercolour techniques and skills. After a few years of fine tuning his watercolour abilities, Larin moved on to drawing portraits

Then (Ana) moved, Emily Macleod and Tracy-Lynn Chisholm began teaching courses and they've taken me to another level.'' And that journey to become an artist has changed his life "It's brought my life to a different level, he said of painting. "

I worked in a stressful work environment, in an emergency room as a nurse for 25 years. I pushed off the side of me that was wanting to do art. When I'm sitting in front of a canvas, I just feel at home, I feel great.

Even though - for the most part - Larin paints for himself, he hopes his artwork sparks reaction. "I want people to look at them and draw into them and ... look at it and not just say ""Oh, that's a flower"" but feel something. Really, the whole life experience is feeling,"' he said. "In my past work life, I've seen so many people finish their lives unsuccessful, not money success but not feeling good about themselves. For me, everyday gets better. I meet wonderful people.''