Terry was born in 1948 in Kitchener, Ontario, and raised in Preston (now Cambridge.)
In the early 70's, he completed two years at the University of Waterloo majoring in the study of Eastern Religions. In 1981 he graduated from The Ontario College of Art and finished his B.A. at the University Of Guelph with a Fine Arts major.
Terry has been actively producing and showing his art since 1981 with galleries around Southern Ontario including in Toronto, Mississauga, Guelph, Cambridge, Peterborough, Whitby, Flesherton, Owen Sound, Meaford and Fergus/Elora. He has also ventured into the US with a gallery in Royal Oak Michigan near Detroit with two one man shows in 1983 and 1985 and a showing at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1982. More recently Terry has had showings in Long Island City, New York and at Grand Palais, Paris, France.
From 1987-1989, Terry took employment as the Museum Designer and Preparator at the Wellington County Museum. Here he designed and constructed their permanent exhibits, which normally have a 15 year life. A log cabin of his construction is still living at the museum.
From 1989 to 2001, Terry became a high school teacher, finishing his B.Ed. and teaching Communications Technology (the graphic arts) and Fine Art. He retired from teaching in 2001 to better pursue his love of art and music. Terry served on the executive of the Colour & Form Society from 1987-1998 and Chaired the Insights Juried Art Show in Elora from 1986-1988
Terry is currently living in Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, B.C. with his wife Lynda.A
A complicated dynamic process.
"After having decided on size, colours and composition, it becomes a game with decisions vs reaction, intellect vs emotions, control vs chance. The players in the production are the paint, the application and me. The eventual result is an unknown as the image will evolve with the interaction of the players. There is no model. There is only a history of images that have come before.
Each painting has its own evolution. My initial concern is in creating a unified composition of colour and form. As the piece progresses, I find the paint revealing playful forms, abstract characters with their own narratives. My work falls somewhat in line with AUTOMATSM, a method of painting (or writing) used by surrealists, that depends on “the re-emergence of subconscious images.” In applying chance or accidents to mark-making, the painting is to some extent freed of rational control. Hence the painting produced may be attributed in part to the subconscious. Just as in the work pioneered by Andre Masson, my work involves both unconscious and conscious activity.
I refer to the results as "Abstract Surrealism"."
