Quebec Sketchbook, 1940–2004

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Collins, editorial cartoonist for The Montreal Gazette and illustrator
for a weekly local history column, has assembled 70 of his pen-and-ink
works sketched over a 40-year period.

The subjects for his roving pen include the city of Montreal, Quebec
City, the Laurentians, St. Helen’s Island, the Eastern Townships, and
the Quebec countryside. His focus is on architectural structures,
whether city mansion, rural farmhouse, or old barns. He does wander,
however, into other subjects such as an old fence, sleighs, bake oven,
boats, trains, and the occasional scenic.

The strength of his work is an ability to capture shape and proportion
and an eye for the right details to include. He makes each piece
individual by selective use of detail to get at the essence of his
subject.

Most of the sketches lack a sense of depth; there’s little or no
shading, for example. A few are basic to the point of being crude. Some
are illustrations rather than pictures, such as the visual explanation
of how a round barn works or a comparison of different types of sleighs.
In general, the distance views are executed with the most skill, while
the close-ups are clumsy. Overall, they are what sketches are intended
to be, quick impressions captured with a few deft pen strokes.