Racing Days Skiroule/Allouette Factory Teams 1970

Ray McMurry, Captain of the Skiroule Racing Team at the the winter show in Toronto 1968 riding an RTX 800 cc factory modified machine.  I was a member of the Skiroule team for 2 season, then I was invited by Bob Gaston to join the Allouette Racing Team. We had a young guy from Quebec only 17 years old, a young Gilles Villeneuve.At the time Bombardier hired John Cordts, a Grande Prix driver; that didn't last too long. You had to be a special kind of crazy to race open modified in the OSRF.

I stopped by the Skiroule factory on Doncaster in Thornhill, there it was, a dream come true, a factory modified 800 cc beast.  I just left my schoolbooks on a crate and went off racing for a few years. First thing we took the motor to our friend Toni Perroni in Whitby for some real high performance polishing and porting. It lasted for one race at the Kawartha Cup in Peterborough, I finished first before the engine blew up. We drove back to the factory overnight to pick up a replacement piston, we stripped the engine down and expected to see a mess.  This high rpm engine just vaporized the piston without scoring the cylinder walls.  Just popped the new piston in and were racing again on Sunday.

It wasn't all smooth sailing, I got lucky, I didn't get hurt too much; my pal racing partner Stormin Norman wasn't so lucky. He was severely injured in this crash. We both gave up driving after this.

My lucky day up in the Sunridge races, I went over the bank and flipped all the way down the track. The machine on its side was a modified 640cc machine.

All eyes were on World Champ Jim Adema in the open modified race at Kawartha Cup; he won of course.  Jim was fearless and he was a great guy, sadly his favorite sport caught up to him, he was killed in a race a short time later. It was a dangerous sport; still is.

I just wanted to pay tribute to one of my favorite snow machine guys Bob Gilbert. He was the head mechanic at Skiroule, a former RAF mechanic throughout WWII.  I learned a lot from Bob, especially about the importance of putting tools back in their proper place

My pal and racing partner for years Stormin Norman at the winter show in Toronto CNE.

My son Andrew and his pal Graham build rammed earth houses; no furnace, no air conditioner, always perfect. Lasts 500 years, same technology as the Great Wall of China. Most efficient houses on the market. Graham's mom Sylvia is the boss. CBC thought it was cool and did a show; it's a cool show Here's the link to the show on rammed earth. We are the 3rd segment.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2685625557

Flying Giant Hot Air Balloons

We always made headlines in the newspapers, sometimes for the wrong reasons; it  was all promotion.  On this day we took up Liberal hopeful Don Pennell, and landed in Burlington Bay under the Burlington Skyway.  Liberal makes big splash.  The coast guard made the rescue, the pilot and the politician went off to have ho toddies, I had to pull the balloon out of the lake.  We ended up on the shores of this huge mansion, I walked up and asked to make a phone call. The house was filled with cats, hundreds of cats, and this interesting older lady. She let me use the phone.  Later that night, Suzanne asked me what kind of day I had.

There's more to the story, the shore was covered in big angular boulders, the balloon was draped over them. It took hours in the freezing water diving down and freeing it up. I couldn't take a chance just leaving it there. Next day our beautiful yellow balloon was rust red from Burlington harbor. Then there was the coast guard, they tried to pull the balloon along like a giant sea anchor, wouldn't budge. Then the guy backed up and took a run at it. The gondola broke apart; designed to do that on impact to absorb fast landings. It was one of those days.

My Friend Cavouk

By far one of the most interesting people I met during my time working at the Colonnade was Onnig Cavoukian, world renowned portrait photographer. “During his career, Cavouk’s subjects included Indira Gandhi, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth, Oscar Peterson, Pierre and Margaret Trudeau, Leonid Brezhnev, Patrick Macnee, Hubert Humphrey, and Pat Nixon.

Three Canadian stamps have been made from portraits by Cavouk, of Roland Michener, Maureen Forrester, and Sam McLaughlin respectively. Here are some examples, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onnig_Cavoukian

I stopped by his studio window many times over the years as a young studedn to gaze and the most impressive color portraits I have ever seen; each month there was always a new life size color portrait. You can imagine my excitement when John Cavoukian, Onnig's son, wandered into the Colonnade Camera Shop to look at a few camera's. Earl introduced us, it was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Over the next two years I shared a cup of Turkish coffee with the Cavoukian family. Portraiture is something I grew up with, my father Erik Dzenis is recognized internationally for his oil portraits of famous people. I studied the Renaissance masters under Angela Greig at Thornton Hall in Toronto, so by the time I arrived on Mr. Cavoukian's doorstep I was ready to learn from the master. Cavoukian is considered by many as the grand master portrait photographer. Joseph Karsh is in the same league.

Mr. Cavoukian mentored me in the art of  composition, lighting, and especially engaging with the subject. Mr. Cavoukian photographed hundreds of world personalities, his secret was he made them feel comfortable during the shoot. Once he got to know them, he looked for the right moment and expression to reveal something personal about his subject. He pressed the trigger on the cable released and froze the moment in time.

Mr. Cavoukian regarded my father's oil paintings on the same scale as his own work, I'm sure this had something to do with the time we spent together. Then one day Mr. Cavoukian asked me if I wanted his color processor; he was getting a new one. Along with the famous piece of lab equipment that processed most of his works, I got the personal tutorial, the secrets of the chemistry and operation. The lessons served me well for the rest of my life, especially about interpersonal skills engaging with the subject.

This is the first 18 x24 color print I made with Mr. Cavoukian's color processor; my wife Suzanne

Erik Dzenis: Artist

Erik Dzenis Memorial Art Show at the Latvian Canadian Cultural Center in Toronto Canada 2014

 Acrylic Portrait: Karen Kain Prima Ballerina

Alex, Andrew, Ed

 Andrew Suzanne Alex

Sketch: George Ballenchine New York City Ballet

ErikDzenis - born in Latvia 1925,
"Erik … joined the Academy of Arts in Riga, … During the Second World War, his talents were put to work in the underground resistance movement, where he provided graphics, documents, sketches, and paintings,… In 1950, he was hired by TDF Artists Ltd., and over the next 27 years Erik's commercial illustrations appeared in many nationwide ad campaigns, including Laura Secord, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and many others. His commercial work played a role in the shaping of North American culture…. by the ‘60s, Erik was drawing and painting the dancers of major ballet companies. The art of dance became his study for the next 30 years….Erik was also in demand for commissions of fine art oil and pastel portraits for many prominent Canadian business and government officials." [source - CAPIC

"When Erik draws a fine line, he makes it look easy. His ability to capture a likeness in the first few seconds of drawing is where the composition takes shape; and from there, the sky’s the limit. His artistic discipline is the human form – in any setting. He is a master artist in various mediums and is well known for his classic oil portraits."
Star Portraits

 Pencil Sketch: Rudolf Nureyev

Oil Portrait

The haunting beautiful Laura Secord
Erik painted all the original miniature oil paintings for the Laura Secord logo appearing on all their products for 30 years.  It was a tradition for the miniature to go mysteriously missing every time a CEO retired. Erik was hired to replace each and everyone.

 Erik also illustrated The Jolly Green Giant for about 30 years.

Erik and Aija 1965

The Wolves