Tomhu on the left

He lived with his family in Vancouver for 25 years at 2527 Quebec Street. In 1907 Tomhu's father writes "We spent more years in Vancouver than anywhere on earth."10 Because Tomhu painted in Toronto and Vancouver,we have many fine landscaped depicting Canada in the early stage of development. In his paintings he exhibits a real skill in showing natures many moods. This is especially seen in his portrayals of the sky in" Sun breaking thru Clouds". In describing Tomhu's painting in book Coast, the Sea and Canadian Art, the author says, " The air feels dense and still-quiet like Vancouver at the end of a hot July day. And the pumpkin colored cloud are a complete surprise. Robert's audacity is still a little thrilling"11 As well as landscapes like "Country Scene" or "Coastal Cottage" or "Rail Ties" Tomhu captures the informality of local activities, which seem as natural as the land around him. One sketch is "Women Combing Girl's Hair. Many paintings show people in every day activities such as " Camp Story", and and "Indian Woman Walking on on theTies."

Tomhu was very good at portraiture. His love of faces and figures is shown in his sketch books - they are full of sketches of small faces. The finesses and detail of the sketches can be seen in many of them. Tomhu's sketchbooks and paintings are not only visual but written diaries of his artistic development. He filled his sketchbooks with theories of his techniques which he late use in teaching. Some of these writing include "Mixing and Using Oil Paints". "The Easiest Way of Painting Portraits and Landscapes", Proportion and Scale in Drawing". And "Color Techniques to Make a Picture Look Real". In his dairies he has carefully written out the philosophy and thought of F.W. Moody and Ruskin. Records show that Tomhu Huron Roberts later resided at Caulfieds until his death in 1938. Without Tomhu's patient study of color, light, shade, proportion and scale early in his life, his later paintings could not have been achieved so successfully. His painting reflects the natural beauty of Canada. We are certainly luck to have the painting and sketches of Tomhu showing Canada in it's pioneer days. Comments 1, 2,4,5,6,7,8,10,12,12,13,14 are from Roberts, John Hugh Private Dairies 3 from Tomhu's writing 9. Thom.William W. "Fine Art in Vancouver" (1886-1960) A Historical Survey Thesis, University of British Columbia 11 Coasts, the Sea and Canadian Art The Gallery, Stratford, Ontario Quotes "Tomtu Roberts seem to have been the first artist to live in Vancouver and make a living as an artist. He must of see the fire firsthand, for the Roberts family came to the city in 1885. One of his first sketches (obviously named after the event ) would of been "Vancouver before the Fire." His work marks the end of the topographical era, using colours in an emotion- provoking way which would have been novel in British Columbia at the time" - "Artists Overland" - Burnaby Art Gallery "Roberts was a good portrait painter and, since he was popular in this field in the day, it is quite likely that his paintings of people will have historical as well as artistic value. " - Canadian artist's life mysterious- "CanadiAntiquer" (newspaper) April 1983 Harper claims that H Tomtu Roberts (1858-1938) arrived in Vancouver about 1886 and "dared to advertise himself as an artist". It is evidence to suggest that at least some individuals in the new city were interested in the arts." "From Fine Arts in Vancouver"(thesis) 1886-1930 Thom William W 709-711T45F "They are little gems, Even more exciting were the numerous portrait studies and figure sketches. This artist had a most penetrating eye and seemed to be able to catch not only the character and personality of his sitter or subject but also his stance whether it be charcoal or pencil or ink and pencil, he was a most accomplished draftsman. The various drawing around early days in Toronto were most impressive but I was far more fascinated with the works from the Prairies and West Coast. Possibly the most fascinating aspect are his written notes on painting and color and his various observations in art. He must of been a most interesting teacher and it would be intriguing to explore who his pupils were and what influence he may of had on the West Coast." H.Patton, Fine Arts Consultant, Toronto "He had incredible optimism to dare advertise as an artist, one wonders where he could expect to find patrons. Small oil landscaped in the Vancouver City Museum picture tall Douglas firs still growing on Granville St. He loved landscaped with atmospheric effects: on grey days, for example, he could obtain greater illusions of depth by sharp forground against vague distance." "The New Dominion" (book) 1867-1910 "Roberts, one of the earliest of the mainland's settlers, was searching for an accomodation of his traditional style to aspects of the landscape that were new to the experience." - The late nineteenth cnetury saw the opening of the transcontinental railway and a great influx of settlers and exuberant artists to the West Coast from Europe and eastern Canada. -(Also in this book is misinformation about Tomtu as being from Wales as was known later the father dairies indicate him born in Collinwood, Ontario but they did go to Wales when he was a infant but ending up coming back to Canada to live in Toronto and then Vancouver" "From Desolation to Splendor" (book) Maria Tippett & Douglas Cole "He was influenced by the artist John Constable. The pages of his notebooks are filled with on-line sketches, especially of changing skies, and notations about the angle of the sun and exact colorations. These give a rare insight in the man and his preoccupation with his work, and are much more powerful that the finished oil paintings. "The Marketing of a Gentleman artist" - Tomtu H. Roberts -(news article) Brenda White (Continue page 2 of Tomhu's work)