Exploring my artistic side

One of the luxuries of retirement is the time to develop new interests and skills. I've been captivated by oil painting after attending a workshop this summer at Norton's Cove Studio (my most favorite haunt in New Wes Valley!) and learning some basics from Tara Bryan, a fabulous instructor from St. John's who started life in Texas (another place that I love).

My first paintings were of the wild roses in my yard, and I painted them from photos I had taken.

Then I found recorded programs of Ed Martiniuk demonstrating a "wet on wet" technique on satellite tv. The two at the top were painted by following his instructions. I have a fondness for the one that shows the hay bales piled in the field. I used to drive the tractor while my dad loaded them onto a tiny trailer that would pile them into this shape and then dump them to dry before putting them into a huge stack.

Enjoying Tuesdays this past winter

One of my pleasures this past winter has been spending Tuesdays in Janet Davis’s shop Norton Cove Studio which is both an art gallery and an active artist’s studio. The studio is housed in a heritage building which was Job Kean’s general store from the 1890's. It has been a labor of love to restore both this building and the grand home behind that Janet, Duke her husband, and Frederick, her son, live in.

Janet earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design graduating in 1998. Since then she has been a prolific artist in many kinds of media. Her current passion is fish! She sketches them, oil paints them, linotypes them, etc! Her art gallery features not only cod, but capelin, squid, dolphins, then branches into moose, puffins and historical buildings of the area.

I was first attracted to Janet because of her quick wit, and her expertise as an artist and teacher. Last winter both Hugh and I took some classes and hung some of our renderings. But I’m also drawn to her because of her passion for Newfoundland. I loved the times she shared stories of her family, her take on the social fabric of this fabulous province.

I've found the studio a magical place, just being there causes me to want to express myself creatively. I've been drawing and painting. What fun! What a magnificent time of life where I no longer care what others think, I love being who I am. To me, retirement means recreating yourself in other dimensions that make you feel full alive. Yes, life is good here at the Studio!