Thursday 3 October 2019

Aunt Gwen and fall fair

A few weekends ago, husband and I drove down to the community where I grew up. My cousin decided to hold an art "show" featuring her mom's work from years gone by. My Aunt Gwen was my mother's only sister. She enjoyed painting and produced quite a lot of work when she was younger. She died about a year ago, and so in honour of her, my cousin created a display of her work at a local fall fair (where Aunt Gwen grew up). My siblings and some other cousins gathered there, so this was a nice chance to catch up (as one of my cousins mentioned, it seems like it's only funerals or maybe weddings where we see each other, so this was a welcome change!).

I truly don't have a judgement whether my Auntie Gwen was a fabulous artist or not. I'm certainly no artist, and probably one of the least artistic of all of my siblings. But I do know that her paintings were a constant in my childhood. "Over at the farm", many of her paintings hung in the big craftsman style farmhouse. My parents, of course, had some of her paintings as well, and so they hung in our living room or in the kitchen. I'm now lucky enough to have two of them to keep in my home. I loved their frames, and just the feeling they invoked - homey and contented. Some of the paintings at the art show, I had never seen before because they hung in her home in Saskatchewan where she moved with her husband after living on the farm in Ontario.








These aren't all of the paintings that were there, but it gives you an example of her style.

Aunt Gwen was a very selfless, giving person. She sewed all of my grandmother's dresses to her specifications (sleeveless and polyester prints), she mailed us big cardboard boxes of clothes and special little treats - all the way from Saskatchewan - which was pretty exciting when my sister and I were kids, and she and her husband, my Uncle Al, and their two children would make the long trek across provinces to come back 'home' for a few weeks in the summer to stay at the farm house and do "spring cleaning" and various other tasks, as well as have some visits with friends and family in Ontario.

It was lovely to look at her work and remember the special person she was.

At the same time, we wandered around enjoying a typical fall fair atmosphere. Here are some pictures of the 4-H calf shows and some horses that were taken through their hunter / jumper paces.





To top it off, we enjoyed some extra greasy, salty, ketchupy fries in the open air and then had a lovely visit with friends who live in the area that we don't see nearly enough.

25 comments:

  1. Jenn, I think your aunt was a very good artist. So many pretty pictures. She sounds as if she was sweet to her whole family. Blessings to you and yours, xoxo, Susie
    p.s. hope the digging is over at your property.

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  2. They are certainly something to treasure. I particularly like the snow scenes. Good that the weather held for the Fair - it has certainly deteriorated since then.

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  3. I love the fourth one up from the bottom. Soooo pretty.

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  4. She did beautiful work! Aren't fall fair fries the best?!

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  5. She was impressive. Her talent really shines.

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  6. Lovely paintings. Some of them have a very ethereal quality about them.

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  7. Your Aunt is a well taught natural. She gives great attention to the classic painting style and uses color well. What a treat for you and your family. And what a wonderful way to honor her.

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  8. I love them! You are right they are comforting. I'm so glad you were all able to get together and celebrate. Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed.

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  9. WOW your Aunt was very talented. What a wonderful way to celebrate & honour her with an art showing. ... Mary-Lou =^..^=

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  10. I think your aunt was very talented, her paintings are brilliant. The art show was the perfect way to celebrate her.

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  11. A very talented artist. Lovely that you have a couple of her paintings in your home.

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  12. Well she was obviously very skilful, regardless of what you think of the subject matter.

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  13. I think your Auntie was very talented in that very specific style of painting. I'm sure her art gave her and others great joy!

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  14. Oh, I believe your Aunt had quite a talent. If I were to sit down and try to paint like that (a style I like) it would look like a 5 year old tried to do it. Lovely!

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  15. What a lovely tribute to your Aunt Gwen & her talents. The paintings are lovely. Who can blame you for having salty fries in the fresh air, visiting with friends....all simple joys.

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  16. Oh my, I love your aunt's paintings. My favorite is the one with the girl kneeling in front of the cottage. Such a wonderful talent! Thank you for sharing these with us. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

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  17. No doubt, Gwen was a great artist! It's so wonderful that you have some of her art at home, and how it brings up that cozy, warm and homey memory for you! Oh...I need to eat greasy fries with ketchup very soon! Maybe I can blend them lol...

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  18. Your aunt was a very talented artist.

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  19. While I too am not an artist in that sense, your Aunt Gwen was very talented and I enjoyed seeing some of her paintings, Jen. It’s nice that you have some in your home to remember her.

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  20. what a really wonderful time. And what a terrific way to honor your aunt. I really love her style of painting. Each one seems to tell a story and her work moves you through it. Sometimes pastoral, sometimes inspiring and sometimes just charming. You are lucky to have some of her work.

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  21. How cool it would be to have a bunch of paintings like that.

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  22. She was very talented! I particularly like the lake scene on the left in the series of three. It reminds me of the northern Saskatchewan lakes with the pine trees and rock. It could, of course, be northern Ontario as well.

    Too true, that visits tend to revolve around weddings and funerals. This must have been fun!

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  23. It was nice to read about your memories about your aunt. I like her paintings. My favorite is the last one with winter.

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  24. Lovely and homey.... And they bring back such warm memories, of your Aunt.

    🍁🍂🎃🍁🍎🍂🍁

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