HomeMy WebLinkAboutRobert Bateman visits students at school named after him - CBC News - 10/24/2017 - CBC News - 10/24/201710/25/2017 Robert Bateman visits students at school named after him - Ottawa - CBC News
Robert Bateman visits students at school named after him
Young students met accomplished artist at Robert Bateman Public School Monday
CBC Radio Posted: Oct 24, 2017 11:12 AM ET Last Updated: Oct 24, 2017 11:12 AM ET
Robert Bateman loved being a teacher, but he admits part of the reason why he got into teaching
was because he liked having two months away from school.
But that doesn't mean he was a beach bum during the summer months. Instead, he spent the time off
doing what he loved most — painting.
"My motivation was not that I love holidays. I don't believe in relaxation orjust sitting around doing
nothing so to speak," he told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Monday.
"I just do art all the time."
On Monday, the award-winning Canadian artist visited an Ottawa school named after him to talk to
students about being an artist and teach them a lesson in painting.
Q&A with students
Students at Robert Bateman Public School filled the gymnasium to ask him questions about his storied
career as an artist. The acclaimed artist and author is a recipient of the Order of Canada, the Queen
Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal and has several other accomplishments to his name.
His paintings of birds can be found in the school's library, but on Monday they heard from Bateman
directly about his encounters with a pack of lions during his sketches on a safari, and students asked
him everything from what his favourite animal is and how long it takes to do a painting to how much his
paintings cost.
"I want to learn how to shade like Mr. Robert Bateman. I love his shading," said one student during his
visit.
'You're either born an artist or you're not'
Bateman has been teaching since he was 16, starting out early at the Royal Ontario Museum teaching a
junior field -naturalist. In 1955, he became a high school art and geography teacher, a career that
spanned 20 years before becoming a professor at Royal Roads University.
So it's no surprise the 87 -year-old wound up stepping into another school again to answer questions
from young, curious minds.
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10/25/2017 Robert Bateman visits students at school named after him - Ottawa - CBC News
He said he wants students who clearly have the gift of art to seize on the opportunity to use their skills in
the real world.
"You're either born an artist or you're not," he said in an interview.
"I don't think you can take a bunch of art courses. It's in your heart ... you should get out there and do it."
His visit comes as the Bateman Foundation rolls out a nature sketch program across the country. Youth
who participate in the program are guided by a sketch artist as they sketch wildlife in natural habitats.
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Sketching lesson from Robert Bateman @11:aaterriairmcei ntre
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