A Life In A Landscape

Blueroof history begins circa 1802 and was pioneered by Sarah Phillips, a widow, until she died in 1839.

Kim Ondaatje and her then husband Michael bought the 100-acre property in 1973 as a family retreat. Since then the house with its brilliant blue roof has expanded from a small settlers log cabin to one with six bedrooms, five full bathrooms, a warm country kitchen, and an in-law suite, which Kim has been occupying since opening up the property as a private retreat from 1988-2002. With the use of knotty pine, and Kim’s authentic designs, the new house blends in perfectly with the original building which comprises the living room.

Kim describes Blueroof Farm as her "three dimensional painting, her final canvas". As an active environmentalist, Kim has insured that the property has never been chemically sprayed or fertilized and everything is grown organically. The house has geo-thermal heat and thermal windows, wood burning stoves, and south-facing windows. It also has modern conveniences. However, Kim has been as careful in the art of creating the beauty of the property as well as the functionality. The garden, which could be seen as a wilderness garden, has been designed with care, and over the years Kim has planted hundreds of spring bulbs as well as thousands of beautiful trees and shrubs.

Divided into 3 parts, the property consists of 22 acres on one side of the road and 77 acres on the other, and about 5 acres surrounding the house itself. Blueroof Farm has a stunning expanse of country landscaping that includes three ponds with waterfalls, perennial gardens, secret paths, a completely secluded private swimming beach on a deep river, an organic vegetable garden with raised beds, a playing field, a gazebo, a coach-house with a games room and dancing area above and five kilometres of nature trails that take you through pastures, into forests, and over a bridge into a wildlife reserve. Kim spent 34 years creating the 5 acres of landscaping around the farmhouse. She designed and built the three interlocking ponds, bridges and waterfalls, and large perennial flowerbeds.

The property is currently for sale. In the past it has seen a great family, a historic collection of artists and some of the greatest minds in Canadian history pass through its doors. With its rich history and its unique approach to alternative living in beautiful surroundings, it is sure to inspire its new owners as it has its current one.

Kim was born in Toronto, Ontario, and studied at the Ontario College of Art and McGill University. She completed a M.A. in Canadian Literature at Queen’s University, while on a teaching fellowship. Until 1964, Kim served as a part-time lecturer at Wilfred Laurier University and Sherbrooke University. In the early 1960s she returned to the visual arts again and by 1965 was painting full time. In 1967, with fellow Canadian artists Jack Chambers and Tony Urquhart, Kim joined the executive of Canadian Artists Representation (CAR), which today is the Canadian Artists Representation/Frontes des Artistes Canadiens (CARFAC). CAR was the first artist organization in the world to establish a fee structure for museum and gallery exhibitions of contemporary artists.

Primarily a visual artist, Kim later directed short documentary films and published books of photography. Kim became renowned in Europe for her print making, but her paintings were famous all over North America. In her paintings she pursued a variety of interests. Along with abstract and impressionistic landscapes she composed three series of paintings: a landscape group entitled the Hill Series; an interior-based group of paintings titled The House on Piccadilly Street; and a final group of large industrial landscapes entitled the Factory Series, completed in the mid-1970s. Kim’s research on traditional Ontario quilt-making and design led to a large national touring exhibition of patchwork quilts and a documentary film.

During the course of her career, she worked for the London Public Gallery, the Agnes Etherington, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Emily Carr College’s Outreach as a traveling artist with her work from 1969 to 1981.

The paintings and films of Kim Ondaatje are part of various collections in galleries across Canada including: the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Doris McCarthy Gallery at the University of Toronto, the MacIntosh Gallery, University of Western Ontario, London, the Windsor Public Gallery, Simon Fraser University, B.C., and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, in Prince Edward Island.

Kim stopped print making due to its use of toxic solvents and chemicals, which she has avoided in her home and on the land. Blueroof Farm, her environmentally friendly property, has become one of her greatest works of art.

Date: 2008