Susan M. Mertens was born in Toronto and educated at the universities of Carleton, Guelph and British Columbia in Canada, and the University of Cambridge, England, in philosophy. She was a senior arts critic for twelve years with the Vancouver Sun, and it was early in this role when she first encountered Jack Shadbolt and his paintings.

For twenty-five years she and Shadbolt enjoyed a professional friendship “talking aesthetics.” She recalls: “Jack always said he had no small talk but he had a marathon stamina for meaningful art talk.”

Mertens lives in Lions Bay, British Columbia, Canada. The research and writing of this book were facilitated by a Doris and Jack Shadbolt Fellowship at Simon Fraser University.

BOOKS PUBLISHED WITH FIGURE 1:

Jack Shadbolt