Art in the time of COVID-19
Submitted by Debbie Mosher Roy
Editor’s note:
With galleries, museums and music venues closed, the arts and culture pages of the paper are fairly thin these days.
In an effort to keep the creative juices flowing, The Record reached out to local artist Debbie Mosher Roy, who explained her creative process and where she draws inspiration. Mosher Roy also included some colouring pages to help readers de-stress.
Colouring has always been an important outlet for relaxation and
creativity s a little girl I used to sit with my mother and sister at the kitchen table to colour after supper. It was a nice quiet activity before bedtime. My mother was a very creative person and she always had a project close whether it be rug hooking, furniture finishing, knitting, poetry or other projects that she squeezed in her day while working very hard on the farm. I have vivid memories of her painting a boat from a paint by number kit and I thought to myself at a very young age, “Mommy, when I grow up I want to be an artist just like you.”
On my eighth birthday a distant cousin visited me and brought me a book and my first paint by number kit. From that time on I began my journey as an artist.
AArt classes weren’t enough
My formal background training in art includes high school, CECEP, and some university courses. I also glean much from nature walks with my camera and analyzing works from other artists. Sometimes I like to take my material, sit outside and paint what I see. Hard work, perseverance and determination to communicate my experiences in nature on canvas is my goal and joy.
Home was a haven of creativity
As a wife and mother of three grown children I never stopped being creative even when my children were young. As in my childhood, crayons, paint, paper and other artistic material was commonly found on the worktable. My husband always encouraged me as I worked to finish commissioned orders and anything extra that I had was exhibited at local fairs and stores.
After giving small group classes to my children’s friends in my home I took the challenge of teaching a six-week step by step painting class to 14 adults at the Mempremagog Community Learning Centre. I thouroughly enjoyed this experience and it began a new path in my creative journey that has continued to this day in a little church hall in Ayer’s Cliff. Two or three times a year I give ten weeks of classes to adults and children. For the adults, I prepare a painting beforehand and then do another painting step by step for my students to follow as I explain my methods. Each student is encouraged to do their own style. The children’s classes are usually after school on a Friday and each week we work on different projects using a variety of mediums.
What about my painting style?
About eight years ago on a Saturday afternoon I wanted to paint but had no commissions to fill. I discovered a palette knife and my daughter Sophie said to me, “Mom, just have fun with your painting.” And so I did. I spent the whole afternoon throwing on big globs of acrylic paint to my large canvas and as I worked it dried. I scraped and added and scraped some more. I had so much fun and once again I found myself travelling down a new path of discovery. Since that day I have been building a collection of acrylic paintings and exposing them at various places. For seven years my work has been seen at the Festival des Art in Fitch Bay /Georgeville, at the Symposium de l’espoire in Lachine and at other gallery settings.
My subject?
I grew up in the country and always enjoyed nature and wildlife. When I am not teaching or painting people can usually find me walking along the local trails or by the river or in the woods taking photos of the beauty I see. Sometimes I like to bring my painting supplies with me and do plein air painting where I produce a painting of what I see and try to capture the moment. Flying ducks are pretty difficult to paint on the spot so of course my camera becomes a great tool. I work both from sight and from photographs. It is the moment I experienced that I desire to recreate, not necessarily the perfected detail that might come from a strange unknown scene. It is for this reason that most of my paintings are from this region and are from my photos.
A creative meeting place
A desire to encourage creativity within our community brought about a group of artists called Art Ayer’s Cliff. We meet every Monday from 1-4 p.m. at the same place I give lessons. Several tables are there and artists using various mediums and styles are invited to come and share their talents with the group as they work on their own projects. Refreshments and pleasant conversation accompany the worktime.
So how did I start making
colouring pages?
My two adult daughters came home for a weekend and were colouring at the kitchen table using beautiful new pencil crayons and markers. Their colouring books were none I had ever seen. The drawings were far more sophisticated and on very nice quality paper. They were so excited to show me their newfound pastime-colouring. They explained it was something new to help them to relax and unwind. The next time I went to the art store to get my supplies I saw more of these antistress, relax therapy colouring books. Immediately I was inspired to create my own colouring book using nature as my theme. I called it Colour our World- Wildlife. With the help of my oldest daughter Cynthia I put together 40 designs with photographs of the design I drew as a model at the back of the book to use as a colouring guide. People seemed to really enjoy it and so this was followed by a ten-page poster kit of farm animals. Colouring never goes out of style, so I am presently in the process of creating another book.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a real eye opener to the world we live in. Many people, adults and children alike are in need of healthy pastimes. It is for this reason I am happy to share a few colouring pages to help relieve some of the anxiety and stress that may happen. It doesn’t matter a person’s skill level or accuracy. The idea is to relax and enjoy the moment. Leave behind the worries of the day and focus on your paper and your colours.
How can you contact me?
During the current crisis all my classes and shows have been cancelled, but you can search out my work at www.debmosheroy.com or www. facebook.com/debmosheroy. It would be a pleasure for me to hear about your creative projects.
Please keep safe, be creative!
See page 8 for a colouring
page by Debbie