If it’s a nice day in Hamilton, chances are good that Antonio Merino will be sitting at his special spot alongside the Escarpment Rail Trail.
His nook on the Mountain side of the trail, near the foot of the Margate Stairs, can’t be missed – it’s a solid 15 metres of sculptures and artwork made from painted rocks, fallen branches and other found objects.
A curvy branch juts from a log, evoking the head and body of a swan. Painted rocks are everywhere, bearing messages supporting essential workers or in remembrance of people who have died. There’s a row of sticks that have been painted blue to look like a pond, with wooden birds and alligators looking over it and a fish trapped on a line inside.
“It’s just a passion for me,” said Merino, enjoying his home-away-from-home on a recent, hot-as-an-oven summer day. “It’s a way to express without words. I did this all because I like to see a better world.”
Tall wooden stakes hold up a tarp with two seats underneath it – one for Merino and one for the litany of guests who stop by for a visit each day. The densely treed area of the Niagara Escarpment provides plenty of canopy shade as well, with the little sun that is able to peek through the trees forming a speckled, cheetah-print of light on the forest floor.
Nearly everyone who walks by says hi to Merino, who has become a central part of the community that has developed among regular trail users. “He’s the mayor of the trail,” said one passerby.
Antonio Merino sits among his creations on a hot day in Hamilton, in June 2022. (Saira Peesker/CBC)
“It’s really great to see somebody utilize the space, utilize found objects and just make it their own,” said Laura Heaney, who stopped to visit while walking past with her dog. “My first impressions were that somebody had a creative streak in them and wanted to put it out there in the world.”
Sandra France, who hikes past twice a day, says the spot has become a focal point for trail users.
“It’s like a little community down here and this is the hub,” she says. “Sometimes you’ve got to take a number if you want to be able to say hello to him because he’s very popular and keeps everyone going around here.”
‘This is helping me to release pain, sorrow’
Merino is 53, with a slight frame and gentle smile. His ever-present dark sunglasses are held on with a cord, and his dark hair is thick and cut short.
He takes pride in the fact that the space he’s created brings joy to the people who go by, but he’s also made pieces that hint at what is beneath his positive countenance.
“A man from nowhere, just giving hope,” reads one. “Lost soul,” says another.
“This is helping me to release my pain, my sorrow, and the horror that I lived in the past,” he told CBC Hamilton. “When people say, ‘The past is gone, yesterday is gone,’ it all depends. Yesterday can be gone, but the horror stays. There are two choices: do you live in hell or learn how to live with the hell inside you?”
Merino was born in El Salvador, raised by his grandmother after his mother abandoned him when he was three months old, he says. The brutality and chaos of the civil war took over his life at age 10, its atrocities echoing in his head to this day.
The war would go on to kill more than 75,000 people between 1979 and 1992, and about 8,000 more would disappear, according to the United Nations. Some of those were Merino’s family members, neighbours and friends – including his grandmother, which left him on his own at age 11.
The pain brought me here, but that pain made my heart soften.– Rail trail artist Antonio Merino
Later, the threat of being forced to join the army made him flee the country. He moved through Costa Rica and Mexico while waiting for a Canadian visa, finally moving to this country on Aug. 16, 1989.
“The pain brought me here, but that pain made my heart soften and I learned how to be more kindful,” says Merino, who lives with post-traumatic stress disorder and receives disability support payments as a result. “All the people I saw get killed, I believe their spirits came to me to protect me.”
He lived in Belleville and Cambridge before eventually settling in Hamilton many years ago.
When COVID-19 hit, Merino was in the process of trying to get his high school diploma through an adult education school, which he says shut down with the pandemic. The isolation of that period combined with his existing mental health struggles left him in a dark place, until the day he discovered the rail trail.
“My first impressions were that somebody had a creative streak in them and wanted to put it out there in the world,” says Laura Heaney, standing along the trail, June 21, 2022. (Saira Peesker/CBC)
“I actually live by the trail, a half a block, and did not know the trail was here,” he says, noting he’s been in the same Wentworth Street apartment for 16 years.
That first day on the trail, he found a lost photo album, an interesting rock, an emerald, and another rock painted with the words, “you are loved” – which he saw right at the spot where he now sits daily.
“I got this crazy feeling that something was going on,” he said. “Then I came back the next day and started collecting rocks.”
‘2 years ago, I was just a masked man in a ghost town’
Now Merino spends six to 10 hours a day near the spot, sanding, painting and arranging the rocks and other natural items he finds. He attributes almost a mystical power to some of his most special finds.
“I have some rocks I won’t sell because I believe I will be cursed if I sell them. I believe Mother Nature brought them to me,” he says.
His friends along the trail also bring him rocks sometimes, as well as money – he has a donation box, but says things have dried up lately with the hard times people are facing. Some people ask him to make rock art to honour deceased loved ones. One woman even begged him to let her kiss his hand, after sensing he was a special person.
“It feels very strange,” Merino said. “I said to this lady, ‘I am a normal person. I am not an angel. I am nobody.'” He let her kiss it anyway.
He also gets plenty of attention from local children; a “blessing,” he says.
“I have maybe 50 letters and rocks that kids made for me… Parents come here and lend me the kids and I babysit them. I teach them art.
“Two years ago I was just a masked man in a ghost town. Nobody knew me. [Now] sometimes when I am downtown, police officers put the siren on and say, ‘Antonio!’ People downtown say, ‘Hey, I know you!'”
He says feeling like he’s part of something has changed his outlook, and he hopes to provide a piece of that to others.
“I always want to be a humble person and bring positive energy to everyone who goes by here. That’s my main goal.”
Antonio Merino decorates a section of the rail trial with artwork made from painted rocks, fallen branches and other found objects. (Saira Peesker/CBC)
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
