Pat DuBreuil and Don DeGroat — LightWisps Fine Art Photography
by Sally Hansen
For the second month in a row, art lovers in the Ottawa Valley area owe a debt of gratitude to the borderless Internet. Ten years ago adventurous American photographer Don DeGroat and Canadian software consultant Pat DuBreuil started an online “conversation” that eventually led to the creation of the “3 Yellow Tulips Art Shoppe” now enjoyed by residents and visitors to Pakenham. It is a fascinating story, and the memory of my uproarious interview with these two warm, witty community assets will bring a smile to my face for a long time.
“Do you know what her first words were to me when I got off the plane in Syracuse to meet her face-to-face for the first time?” Don asks me. “She said, ‘Do you have any money on you?’” And he laughs so hard he almost falls off his chair. Pat earnestly explains that in her excitement to pick up her new friend to drive him back to Ottawa, she hadn’t obtained any US currency and was hoping he could get them out of the parking lot. They are the perfect foils for each other. She is older and taller and describes herself as a “very rational person; everything I do is logical”. He is shorter and greyer and appraises you with an inscrutable demeanour and then catches you completely off-guard with his out-of-left-field humour.
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