A captured heart
Joy Laking gave in to the lure of Nova Scotia 44 years ago
The Wild Blueberry Harvest Festival started Aug. 19 and runs to Sept. 3 with many activities and events offered (www.blueberryfest.com). As part of the festival, the Holiday Inn Truro, 437 Prince Street, is again hosting an art show in their beautiful Birch room. Along with Joy Laking and Darlene Watters, I feel very privileged to be part of this annual event. “Out of the Blue” will feature original artwork inspired by ‘our Nova Scotia’ and the colour blue.
Forty-four years ago, after completing a degree in Fine Art from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Laking moved to Nova Scotia with the expectation of being here a year or two and then moving west. The ocean, the people, the old villages, the pace of life, and the natural beauty captured her heart and now she is undoubtedly one of our province’s favourite artists.
“I love Nova Scotia,” said Laking. “For many years, I felt most at home with the rocks and water of the wild Atlantic. Gradually the beauty of the Bay of Fundy, with its huge tides and vast mud flats wormed its way into my soul. Now I am like an old tree that has put down its roots and I am truly happy. We live in the middle of blueberry country; Jim and I actually have a blueberry patch on our property, so for many, many years I have painted blueberry blossoms, and blueberries. The past two years, I have done at least one large oil each year of the berries. I sit in a blueberry field for a number of days and paint en plein air.
“This past week, I was sitting outside for my second day of work on a painting for Out of the Blue when the wind made painting on location almost impossible. On a really windy day, I can only paint a small watercolour on location because I can anchor it with my body. My large oil on a wobbly easel was continually swaying and I was forced to move across the road where I was sheltered by trees.
“I was able to continue, but I couldn’t clearly see this year’s subject of blueberries. This year, I am trying to capture blueberries as they ripen. The July blueberry flowers are gone and now there are tiny green berries that Joy Laking, in her element, painting among the blueberries for this year’s “Out of the Blue” art show.
are turning to pink and then to blue. Then the blueberries gradually increase in size until they are all sweet, plump, delicious and ready to harvest.”
Laking usually paints within an hour of her home in Portaupique, between Great Village and Bass River. She also believes it is important every year to paint in unfamiliar places so she can return home with fresh eyes. This year she painted in Africa for two months and then a couple of weeks ago, she had the privilege of being this year’s Port Bickerton Lighthouse Resident Artist. She spent 14 days capturing the beauty of this special area including the fog, and the tides on Nova Scotia’s eastern shore.
“In addition to painting in unfamiliar surroundings, I also reinvigorate my creative life, by trying unfamiliar mediums, as well as unfamiliar materials, new papers and new approaches,” said Laking.
“Out of the Blue”, leaves an artist a wide range of freedom for creative expression, so it will be interesting to see what each artist brings to the show. We will be hanging the show on Sunday and the opening reception will be held Monday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m. We invite everyone to join us in celebrating our province’s bountiful beauty and would love to hear feedback from you. The show runs to Sept. 2.