The Gathering Place
The Gathering Place #4
(Released 2022 - debuted at TCAF)
The fourth issue of The Gathering Place is a collection of five short stories that celebrate the lives and works of five amazing war artists and painters - Jordi Bonet, Frederick Varley, Kazuo Nakamura, Molly Lamb Bobak, and Mary Riter Hamilton.
For updates follow: nelsoncaetano_ on Instagram
Wraparound Cover
The early life of Jordi Bonet was marked by two pivotal moments - the Spanish Civil War and the loss of his right arm, at the age of nine. From a young age, Bonet marveled at the works of the great Spanish painters, Francisco Goya, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro, and how they captured the beauty, struggle, and tragedy of life and war in their art. Encouraged by his father, Bonet studied drawing and painting in Barcelona. Immigrating to Canada, Bonet continued with his paintings and drawings and also began his studies in ceramics.
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One Hundred Days
The First World War saw Canada rise to face its first challenge on the international stage. As Canadian armed forces marched alongside their allies, the young nation proved themselves valiant on the front lines. To capture these moments on canvas, Frederick Varley was one of a handful of artists to be commissioned as an official war artists for Canada. lnitially excited to travel to Europe as a war artist, Varley would be forever haunted by the horrors of war.
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Ever Upwards
The tragedy of war is not only measured by the loss of life but in how lives are treated during times of war. Within Canadian history, there are moments that do not shine brightly or with any pride. In fact, they tarnish what should be a proud story of a beautiful and diverse nation. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour during the Second World War, the Canadian federal government interned thousands of Japanese Canadian citizens in camps throughout British Columbia. For an adolescent boy and budding artist, Kazuo Nakamura to be torn from his home and his studies were more than a loss of freedom and rights, but a loss of time.
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W110278 Revisited
A spur of the moment decision can have a dire number of consequences. Almost immediately regretting her decision to join the Canadian Women's Army Corps, Molly Lamb Bobak would soon begin her adventures within Canada's war efforts during the Second World War. These adventures (and misadventures) were chronicled in Lamb's visual journal titled, Wl10278. Bobak's journey would take her to Europe where she was appointed Canada's only official woman war artist.
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Not Forgotten
Mary Riter Hamilton was a well acknowledged and successful painter when she petitioned the Canadian War Artists Program to serve as one of Canada's official war artists during the First World War. While the Canada War Artists Program did commission women artists to create art on the home front, sending women to Europe during the First World War would have been unthinkable for that time. Nonetheless, Riter was determined to do her part to serve the war effort
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(Spring 2021)
The third issue of The Gathering Place is a collection of four short stories that celebrate the lives and works of four amazing cartoonists and illustrators - Darwyn Cooke, Doris Slater, Adrian Dingle, and Joe Shuster.
For updates follow: nelsoncaetano_ on Instagram
Cover A
(Modelled after Doris Slater's cover for Active Comics #21)
Cover B
(Celebrating diversity and the transgender community)
A chance meeting with Darwyn Cooke reignites an artist’s long obsession for illustrating comic books. Within the brief encounter, both artists recount similar early career paths in graphic design and animation, and share their passion for silver-age era comic books. Cooke’s career continued soar to even greater heights, receiving numerous honours and accolades for his beloved work as a comic book artist, writer, and cartoonist.
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Fearless
The height of the Second World War saw the birth of the Canadian comics industry, and a flourish of original stories for a Canadian audience. Doris Slater was but one of a fewer than a handful of women comics creators during the 1940’s who’s unique visual storytelling skills stood out amongst the many young artists of her time, and the only female artist to illustrate a cover for Bell Features.
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Alter Ego
The burgeoning comics industry in Canada, during the 1940’s, inspired illustrator, Adrian Dingle, to form Hillborough Studios and to create Nelvana of the Northern Lights (one of the first female super-heroes), before becoming art director at Bell Features. After the decline of Canadian comics at the end of the Second World War, Dingle returned to the easel to paint portraits and landscapes.
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Up, Up, and Away
For many urban-dwelling children of the twentieth century, the streets were an open playground. For nine-year-old, Joe Shuster, newsboy for the Toronto Star, the streets of Toronto was a blossoming metropolis filled with inspiration. Thankfully, the young artist who struggled for drawing materials had the support and encouragement at home that would propel his future to super heights.
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The Gathering Place #2
(Spring 2020)
The second issue of The Gathering Place is a collection of four short stories that celebrate the lives and works of four female creative spirits - Isabel McLaughlin, Daphne Odjig, Laura Muntz Lyall, and Edith Hester McDonald-Brown.
Accolades and Awards:
Nominated for a Joe Shuster Award - The Gene Day Award for Self-Published Comic
Nominated for the Sequential Magazine Award for Best Comic Book 2020
For updates follow: nelsoncaetano_ on Instagram
Cover A
Cover B
A Simple Truth
Doubting her work, Isabel McLaughlin searches for support and encouragement from beloved friends and fellow founding members of the Canadian Group of Painters, Lawren Harris and Yvonne McKague Housser. Although it's an innocent interpretation of her work from a young girl during the New York World's Fair of 1939 that would lift Isabel's spirit, and reaffirm her commitment to the arts. Isabel would go on to become the Canadian Group of Painters first woman president, and its most generous patron.
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Hold On
At the height of the Second World War, Daphne Odjig moved to Toronto, from Parry Sound, Ontario, to find work. The self-taught artist would regularly visit the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the AGO) to study the works of Picasso and Matisse - works that would inspire her throughout her career. Daphne had always celebrated the artistic traditions of her indigenous ancestors, including her father and grandfather who were both accomplished artists. During the few short years that Daphne lived in Toronto she would meet her first husband and with whom would have two sons.
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In Time
Acclaimed Canadian impressionist painter, Laura Muntz Lyall spent years studying and exhibiting her work throughout Europe. After her beloved sister's death, Laura returned to Toronto, Ontario, to care for her late sister's 11 children, and married her brother-in-law to facilitate this process. With her focus on raising her nieces and nephews, Laura would go on to spend years without ever lifting a paint brush. In time her husband would convert the attic into a studio, and Laura eventually returned to painting with a renewed intensity. She did so until her final days.
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Steam
Quite little is known about Edith Hester McDonald-Brown, the Nova Scotian painter who has become accepted as Canada's first black female painter. She was raised in Africville, the once prosperous African-Canadian community north of Halifax, and studied painting in Montreal, Quebec. Edith was well aware of the burden her artistic talent carried, and the hope that she represented. The loving support and fearful warnings she receives on this trip to Montreal only weighs down on the young artistic's heart. However, it is the hope that burns within her, and the hope she represents that would propel Edith forward on her journey.
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For updates follow: nelsoncaetano_ on Instagram
The Gathering Place #1
(Spring 2019)
The Gathering Place is a collection of four short stories about Toronto artists, illustrators, and storytellers. Each chapter captures a moment within the artist’s life that allows us the opportunity for a greater appreciation for these artist’s works.
Accolades and Awards:
Third Place Winner for the Sequential Magazine Award for Favourite Artist 2019
Debuted May 2019 at VanCAF.
Cover
(Inspired by Pine Island, Georgian Bay,
by Tom Thomson)
An Enduring Presence: The enduring presence of Canada's Aboriginal people on the lands now known as Toronto are illustrated to highlight their commitment to the arts, and serve as an inspiration to those working within the Toronto arts community.
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The Traveller: On an ordinary Friday afternoon, a young Tom Thomson looks forward to a weekend landscape painting trip with his colleagues from Grip LTD., Frank Johnston and Franklin Carmichael.
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(Panel three background image
is a Tom Thomson inspired original
artwork by N. Caetano)
Stepping Off the Bridge: Having spent a life dedicated to and mastering the Nanga painting technique, Marjorie Pigott is inspired to explore innovative possibilities in her newly adoptive homeland.
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(Background image was inspired by
Majorie Pigott's original artwork)
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(Background image was inspired by
Majorie Pigott's original artwork)
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(Background image was inspired by
Majorie Pigott's original artwork)
A Master's Legacy: For three generations, the Browne Family have been responsible for painting hundreds of murals across Canada. Thomas Browne Jr. must come to terms with the prospect of becoming the last in his family to continue in this tradition.
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