Artist AIMS "Belle Swartz" : Early Years

As an only child, Belle's Uncle Harry became a great influence. He introduced Belle to music, art and dancing. Harry inspired Belle to play the piano but after her mother became ill, Belle was asked not to practice the piano anymore. At the age of 8 Belle started her career as an artist. By 1930 Belle lived in Montreal in the outskirts of Verdun near the St. Lawrence River. She frequented the book store on St. Catherines Street and built up a sizeable collection of art books. The only paintings she was close to in Parry Sound were two Paul Kane portraits of Native Americans that her great grandmother, Sarah Crysler, owned. Her first Montreal gallery visits introduced her to the bright and airy landscapes of Clarence Gagnon and Cornelius Kreighoff.

Belle attended public school in Verdun Quebec. There she met Lorraine Spurrell, (Monk). They quickly became best friends and were tremendous support and influences on each other's lives. Belle and Lorraine travelled by train to Valcourt Quebec where Joseph Armand Bombardier picked them up at the train station and drove them to Lorraine's Uncle Stewart's farm in Boscobel. In the summertime Armand drove the girls in a horse drawn carriage. In the winter he drove them in his first snowmobile. He had converted an old tank into a vehicle to take his pigs to market in winter.