A PERSONAL JOURNEY THROUGH ART
I didn’t grow up with art. At the one-room school in New Brunswick where I started my academic career, there were no art classes. Heck, there wasn’t even a kindergarten, so how could there be an art class. Readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmatic were the order of the day. The next year I was bused to a two-room school, but still no art. By the time I landed in Toronto in grade 5, it was too late. I was seriously art-deprived.
When my husband pointed out some forty years later, after yet another early morning/late night at the office, that I had become one-dimensional, I thought to myself, “Right! I’ll take up a hobby that I know absolutely nothing about, excel in it, and become rich and famous. I’ll take up Art!” Well, the “know absolutely nothing about” was true anyway.
Of course, I started out in the medium that looks easiest and in reality is one of the hardest to master – watercolour. Despite what I recognize today as really pathetic first efforts, I quickly discovered a couple of things: I could actually draw, and I revelled in colour. I didn’t last too long in watercolour; I couldn’t get beyond the pastel overtones. Then I switched to acrylics, and my paintings took on a life of their own (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).
I have had a number of art teachers over the years, each of whom taught me something different and all of whom displayed extraordinary patience. I have been with my current mentor, Kathryn Naylor (www.kathrynnaylor.com), for several years now. It is my good fortune that she possesses a wicked sense of humour along with her excellent artistic and teaching skills. She even remains calm in the face of adversity (namely me), such as the time I got carried away doing a snow scene, to the extent that the whole painting – trees, snow drifts, shadows, sky – ended up shades of bright orange!
I sometimes think it’s a good thing that I didn’t have an early-childhood grounding in art because now everything I tackle is new, interesting and challenging to me. I'm free to paint with the enthusiasm of a child, and if the finished product looks child-like, that’s fine with me too. I derive great pleasure from painting, and I hope you will share some of that pleasure in looking at a selection of my works.
So … no prestigious art schools, no art degrees on the walls, no gallery showings or lists of works hanging in national collections. Just art for the sake of art. Enjoy!
P.S. Thanks for taking the time to look at my website. Please let me know what you think of the site and of my work. I would appreciate your feedback. Click here for direct contact.