Gordon Leverton
- Erin Dunham
- 20 May 2016
It was very cool to meet Gord at a busy Starbucks (we sat at tables beside each other for a while before we sorted out our mistake). His artwork is urban based, primarily focused on the downtown; it’s semi-abstract, but a beautiful collection of shapes and colours.
You can find him online at www.gordonleverton.com, or @HamiltonArtist on Instagram and Twitter.
Why Hamilton?
I’ve lived here for 20 years, moved here from London, Ontario. I guess it was just my surroundings, so I started painting my surroundings. It happened serendipitously, my wife got a job here. There was a flow to it, I just started walking around our neighbourhood and seeing the things I liked.
What is your favourite outdoor space in Hamilton?
Probably the trails, and Princess Point. It’s the place you can go in the city and get some real quiet and solitude (other than the 403 in the background of course).
Probably the trails, and Princess Point. It’s the place you can go in the city and get some real quiet and solitude (other than the 403 in the background of course).
What’s your favourite indoor space in Hamilton?
Probably my studio in my house. We are off of Locke Street. We open to the public once a year for the West Hamilton Artists Tours. It’s coming up on May 7th and 8th.
What is your guilty pleasure?
I guess pop music. I would have to say Rihanna. For my wife’s 40th, I took her to see Rihanna.
Erin: was that more of a present for her or you?
Gord: No, it was for her. We felt very old. It was kind of the opposite effect I wanted to give her on her birthday.
Say World War 3 breaks out and you wanted to hold up for safety in Hamilton. Where would you go?
Probably Mixed Media. Just hang out there. Dave’s a good guy to hang out with. Plus, he has a basement.
Erin: *nods her head with respect and approval*
Who would win in a fight; Mayor Eisenberger or MP Bratina and why?
Bratina probably, because he has the arm length. (For the record, he acted out Bratina punching in a humorous manner, reflecting his impressive arm length)
What is your favourite Hamilton memory?
The bike race in 2003 was pretty cool. That was the time, before the renaissance started happening. I just remember feeling like the whole world was here and everybody loves it. Everybody sees the city the way I see it, and not with any preconception. That was a really cool time where I thought “Yeah, it’s not just me, there’s other people that see this too.”
Do you have a favourite thing you do annually?
Yeah, for sure. Supercrawl. We go out to pick apples once a year; that’s sort of a family tradition. We go to art crawl every month. It’s a great city; there’s so much going on here, now especially.
What reality TV show would you go on, if forced to?
It would have to be Amazing Race, just because I want to see all the cities. I would go with my wife. We would kill each other but she would bring the best out of me.
Do you have an old building in Hamilton that you’ve done that you love? Or one that you love that you’d like to do?
I did one of the old Ream Factory buildings. It’s in the collection of the Museum of Steam and Technology. It’s in their collection, I don’
t know if it’s on display right now. It could have been something, like they do with them in Pittsburgh. Buildings like that, they either get a life or they don’t.
If you got stuck on a desert island, and you had to pick 3 animals to take with you, any 3, which would you take and why?
Probably my cat, for companionship. A couple of chickens for eggs. And a dolphin. Because they’re smart, and they could help me figure out how to get off the island.
If Hamilton went to battle with any of its surrounding cities, which one would we be guaranteed to win against?
That’s tough, there are a lot of tough cities; Dunnville for example. I don’t know if we’d do well against Brantford. Paris maybe? Guelph maybe? Nothing against the great people of Guelph, they’re a little more peaceful. We’re a little tougher.
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