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TORONTO - Once Toller Cranston left the ice behind, he focused his restless creative ingenuity on art — an all-consuming enterprise that he wryly referred to as his terrifying obsession. Christian Pulisic Jersey .The floridly innovative figure-skating great died at his home in Mexico on the weekend of an apparent heart attack at age 65.Even while marching to uncommon acclaim as a figure skater, he attended art school and conducted a career in art.Once he retired, Cranston funnelled all his boundless energy into painting. He painted with such prolific intensity that his output is now most often characterized by its staggering volume.Terrifying Obsession was the name Cranston suggested for an exhibition of his work, which was being prepped for a cross-Canadian museum tour prior to his death, according to longtime agent Christopher Talbot.And Cranston, always at odds with the figure-skating establishment, would have derived great validation from finally being accepted by arts old guard.I think his fondest wish would have been to have a show at a real, proper establishment art gallery, said Canadian fashion pillar Jeanne Beker, one of Cranstons closest friends, in a telephone interview from Paris on Wednesday.That was his dream: to have something at the Art Gallery of Ontario or somewhere, some retrospective, something. He felt he deserved to be there.He always felt that the world saw him as a skater first and an artist second. And it really drove him crazy.Talbot, who sometimes communicated with Cranston on a daily basis about his work, agreed.In his mind — and its maybe only in his mind — he never achieved the status he should have had as a figure skater. And he really wanted that as a visual artist, said Talbot, president and founder of Art Evolution Gallery, in a telephone interview from California.If Cranston never lived to see that recognition, it certainly wasnt for lack of effort.He retired from skating in 1997, more than a half-decade after his move to a sprawling compound in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. During the later stages of his skating career — and especially afterwards — Cranston was consumed by art.Friends recall an almost exclusionary drive. As Talbot tells it, Cranston was a fish out of water any time he was dragged from his work.Terrifying obsession really encapsulated Tollers role as an artist, Talbot said.He was just tenacious. He drove himself relentlessly. ... He couldnt stop.Cranstons Mexican home — or his little Shangri-La, as Beker calls it — became an overstuffed testament to his passion, even after he sold off a major part of his collection while still living in Toronto.A characteristically idiosyncratic sanctuary, Cranstons walled-in property was blanketed by a lush, professionally maintained garden. Inside, it was overgrown with artwork — by Cranston and by others, especially local Mexican artists whose work he acquired voraciously.Every square inch of his house, marvelled Talbot. If you look at a wall, you cant tell what colour it is because theres that much art on it.Beker recalls marvelling as Cranston bought works in an almost hedonistic fashion, collecting local artisans painted bowls and dishes and glass art, which hed hang from the ceiling.If he saw something he liked hed want to buy not one but 10 or 20, she recalled.I often felt that I was in the middle of a Toller Cranston painting when I was sitting there in his garden or one of his rooms. They would envelope you that way.In Cranstons estimation, his artistic style evolved little over a lifetime spent furiously creating — simply because it started off so clearly defined.As Cranston explains in an interview on the Art Evolution website, his colourful compositions grew from an interest in Eastern influences that he established at an unusually young age (specifically, he references Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Turkestan).The inclination, the subject matter, the concepts, the sense of colour, the people, the worlds, the imagery — miraculously — was in evidence when I was six years of age, Cranston said.Every painting (Ive done from) when I was six until now when Im 58, seems to come from that very same world.If nothing else, then, his work was distinctive. And his proponents argue that should count for something.No one was painting like that, said Michelle Kirkegaard, Canadian art adviser and owner of the Adele Campbell Gallery, a Whistler, B.C., space that has hosted exhibitions of Cranstons work. Anyone that has seen a painting, without seeing the signature, could say: Thats a Toller Cranston. And I think thats a sign of a very disciplined, mature and creative individual.The Cranston signature style had no shortage of devotees, people who spent thousands of dollars to acquire his work.Cranstons hunger for the validation of the art establishment, however, wouldnt be sated in his lifetime.In the echelons of the art world, the top level of which would be official recognition — he wasnt part of that world. He was loved by the people who collected his work, said celebrated Toronto artist Charles Pachter in a telephone interview Wednesday.Theres a certain type of people that fits the milieu of the official art museums, he added. Toller wasnt one of those people.He knew Cranston. The Canada Day they spent together and among friends in 1978 was immortalized in Pachters painting Six Figures in a Landscape.Pachter describes Cranstons work as kind of like Disney on acid — like the Wicked Queen from Snow White.He was outlandish, outrageous, creative, funny, droll, Pachter remembered. He was a character. He was a true original.More of Cranstons work is sure to emerge with the eventual excavation of his cluttered residence in Mexico.Even when he was alive, it wasnt easy to maintain a reliable record of his work.As soon as he put his signature on a painting, it was out of his life. It was like it didnt exist, explained Talbot.Hed paint some masterpiece, something fabulous, a $30,000 to $40,000 painting, and he wouldnt even know where the damn thing was. ... This is a six-foot-by-six-foot painting that you knocked yourself out on for two months and you dont even know where it is? The level of dysfunction was spectacular, but its just the kind of guy he was.Cranstons apparently unstoppable work ethic, his seclusion, and his habitual disorganization may have contributed to hyperbolic estimates of his artistic output.And that, his friends say, is in its own way fitting.I have seen inaccurate figures printed that he did over 70,000 works of art, said Pachter with a laugh.No artist could do that many. Maybe 7,000, but 70,000? Its ridiculous.It is an exaggeration, he added. But in many ways, Tollers whole life was an exaggeration.— Follow @CP_Patch on Twitter Sokratis Papastathopoulos Jersey . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St. Jadon Sancho Jersey . The Italian football federation announced the appointment, three days after new president Carlo Tavecchio was elected. Tavecchio and Conte spoke on the phone early Thursday. http://www.dortmundfcshop.com/c-18-gonzalo-castro-fc-borussia-dortmund-jersey.aspx . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles.BEREA, Ohio -- A day of celebration dissolved into confusion for the Browns. Hours after quarterback Johnny Manziels arrival had Clevelands football pulse racing faster than it had in years, a report that star wide receiver Josh Gordon may be facing an indefinite suspension shattered the citys collective joy. As the second round of the NFL draft was set to open Friday, ESPN reported that Gordon, who led the NFL in yards receiving last season, had failed another drug test for marijuana and could be banned for a year. The ESPN report, based on anonymous sources, described letters the Pro Bowler received about the failed test. The Browns deferred any comment on Gordons situation to the league office. Gordons agent, Drew Rosenhaus, declined comment. Gordon was suspended without pay for the first two games last season for violating the leagues substance abuse policy for the second time, but still led the league with 1,646 yards receiving in 14 games. He had 87 catches and nine touchdowns. Gordon, who was taken in the 2012 supplemental draft, entered the league with a history of substance issues. He was excused from Baylors team for twice failing drug tests and he also failed a test after transferring to Utah. The Browns have been pleased with the easygoing Gordons maturity and his off-the-field progress. The team had the 23-year-old involved in many of their off-season activities this winter, including him in meetings with free agents and keeping him apprised of their plans. At last weeks voluntary mini-camp, first-year Browns coach Mike Pettine praised Gordon for his game-breaking abilities and his willingness to accept his role with the team. Gordon spoke to a small group of reporters away from the TV cameras and ssaid he was pleased to be so entwined in the teams off-season regimen. Andriy Yarmolenko Jersey. "It was actually big. I was surprised by it," Gordon said. "It was good to have that camaraderie, we never really had that before. Nobody really tried to instil that in this group, but hopefully that brings us all together." Gordon was expected to be the top playmaker for either Manziel or incumbent starter Brian Hoyer. Its not known if the Browns were aware of Gordons possible ban before Thursdays opening round, when they traded out of the No. 4, sending that pick to Buffalo for the No. 9 pick and a first- and fourth-rounder in 2015. Buffalo used the fourth selection on Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins. If Gordon is suspended, the Browns are in big trouble at wide receiver. Greg Little and Nate Burleson would be the most experienced players at the position with newly signed Andrew Hawkins at the slot position. The Browns were expected to address their depth at receiver before the report on Gordon surfaced. But Cleveland went in a different direction in the second round, taking Nevada tackle Joel Bitonio with the No. 35 overall pick. At 6-foot-4, 302 pounds, Bitonio can also play guard and has been described as "nasty." "I like to play hard," he said. "Football is played to the whistle and you have to play as hard as you can every snap. If you can play that hard every play, then theres a good chance that if youre equally talented and use your technique well, youll be able to beat the guy youre going against. I want to play as hard as I possibly can. I know the AFC North is a tough, hard-nosed division, and I hope I can a little bit of that to the team." 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