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Artist pairs paint with prose in new book (10 photos)

Local artist, Kathleen Anderson, released a new book detailing stories behind her paintings.

THUNDER BAY - There’s a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. For local artist, Kathleen Anderson, who has painted nearly 100 water colours in the last 12 years, sometimes a picture needs a few extra words to truly tell its story.

“The paintings seemed to want to have a voice in words,” she said.

This weekend, Anderson held an art exhibition entitled Paint and Prose, showcasing her many works of art and a new book that tells the story of each one.

“I wanted to leave behind for my family a flavour of what life was like,” she said. “We can say it in words, but if you write it down, it seems to be more permanent and I wanted to pass that down.”

The book, In Paint and Prose, includes stories behind the paintings, from travels to faraway places, to more intimate family moments.

One of her first paintings, Early Morning Haul, depicts a group of people in Tobago pulling in a net from the ocean. The painting itself is beautiful in its simplicity, portraying the local people hard at work in the early morning. But there is much more to the story than just the colours on canvas.

“We went for an early morning walk, and while unbeknown to me, you don’t take photos without going up and asking someone,” Anderson said. “It was not the thing to do, because a lady whirled around and gave me a chase and I didn’t know what was happening. I guess they are afraid of the camera in that remote island. So I regretted interrupting their early morning work and the fear of the camera.”

The book recounts the story behind 60 of Anderson’s paintings. But painting was not something Anderson set out to do.

“It was not my career,” she said. “Painting was not in my career path at all. I fell into the paint pot shortly after my husband passed away. He encouraged me and this has become a real passion.”

Now that is a passion that can be shared with family, friends, and the public and the works of art, coupled with words, have already left a lasting impression.

“The proof of that one day was when my grandson, after reading a bit of the book came and said: Grandma, I’m so happy you did that and I will pass this on to my children and to my children’s children,” Anderson said.

For more information and to order a copy of In Paint and Prose, contact Anderson at kayandy@shaw.ca.  



Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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