In the wake of the masters
Portapique artist Joy Laking creates new paintings during holiday in Europe
Painting in Monet’s garden was something Joy Laking had wanted to do for years. And this spring, there she was with her art supplies.
Laking was in Europe for seven weeks, painting in Italy, France and Switzerland while enjoying a holiday with her husband, Jim Wyatt.
“The main reason for going to Europe was to be able to come home and look at everything with fresh eyes,” she said. “I’ve painted here for over 40 years and when you’re away things are different, colours and everything. When you return home you see things in a different way.”
Laking has visited, and painted in many places including South America, India, Japan and Africa. During this holiday she spent five weeks in Italy – a country she last visited 17 years ago – stopping in places including Rome, Monopoli, Gallipoli and Rimini. She completed 16 paintings and did 36 sketches before returning home. Colourful alleys were the subjects of much of her recent work. Often a person or animal would show up while she was working, and would be added to the painting.
“You meet a lot of people when you’re painting because they come over to watch and talk,” she said. “Sometimes that’s really interesting.”
While she was painting outside a castle a young couple began chatting. They live in and care for the castle – and they invited Laking and Wyatt in to see it.
When they rented an apartment in one town the owners invited them to their home for an authentic Italian meal.
They also checked out a place Wyatt especially wanted to see – San Marino, a micro nation surrounded by Italy.
While in France, Laking was able to do some sketching in Monet’s garden, capturing the boats, bridge and water lilies.
Wyatt will be framing much of his wife’s work during the summer and it will be displayed at her gallery in Portapique during an open house in October. The paintings can also be seen on her website at http://www.joylakinggallery.com/.
COVER PHOTO BY LYNN CURWIN/ TRURO DAILY NEWS
Joy Laking painted several scenes during her recent trip to Italy, France and Switzerland. She found the colours of Italy fascinating.