Crafty Canadians

Turning adversity into creative expression

Painting has always been something I wanted to be able to do but despite several attempts with acrylics and watercolour, the end result was always less than what I’d hoped for.

Then one day, a tragedy occurred and, as a result, an opportunity opened up. My mother had suffered a severe stroke and one of the caregivers who came to our home was a wonderful woman who also taught watercolour at my local community centre.

Sadly, my mother passed away a week after I started my classes and it wasn’t in my heart to continue. My teacher wouldn’t give up on me though and encouraged me to keep painting. It was the right thing to do. Without her support and the support of my classmates and friends, it would have been far more difficult to get past the heartbreak and grief. It also helped me through my battle with cancer and the unexpected passing of my father. What was most surprising to me, however, was the discovery that I could paint and that I loved it.

In my admittedly biased opinion, watercolour is the most beautiful of the painting mediums. The colours are vibrant, transparent and versatile. No other medium glows the way watercolour can. It can be unforgiving if you do something unintentionally, as you cannot just cover up mistakes due to the transparency of the medium, but some of those “errors” can create a stunning impact in the final painting.

After four years of taking courses at the community centre, the highlight came when I sold a painting to the City of Dorval, Que., for one of its municipal offices. One of the city councillors had seen my painting of a cardinal in a birch tree on a snowy day and it had reminded him of a cardinal he had seen just that morning. It was such a wonderful feeling to know that something I had

created could have that kind of impact on another person.

Painting has also brought me back in touch with my own municipality. Having worked in the city centre all my life, I was unaware of much of what was happening in my own backyard. A few years ago, I rediscovered an old friend from high school when she also decided to take up watercolour. I’ve made many new friends and started volunteering in the community after joining the local art association. I had no idea that taking painting lessons would enrich my entire life to such a degree!

Never will my paintings be worth millions, but they make me happy and that’s really all that matters. My teacher once told me that the only people who have to like a painting are the artist and the person who buys it—now I will just have to find more buyers! ■