I recently shared a photograph of a beautiful painting my cousin Jacqui posted on her Facebook page. It was truly exquisite and I was especially proud of her efforts.
Though I stated as much in my comments on her post, I don’t believe any amount of verbiage could effectively express my awe and shock. I was completely unaware that Jacqui was painting and this work was so extraordinary that she had either spent years practicing in secret or possessed an innate set of skills that would undoubtedly catapult her into an especially elite group of Newfoundland artisans.
Needless to say, Jacqui was at the forefront of my mind for the remainder of the month and she was often the topic of conversation whenever I spoke to any of my family or with friends in the arts world. I marvelled at her talents and the depth of Newfoundland’s art community; including the many rich and varied genius we had yet to discover among us.
Newfoundland exhibits a vast pool of artists in every genre of this community. Over 30% of the Canadian Opera Company is made up of Newfoundlanders. We have more recorded musicians than any other place on the planet. We are disproportionately represented in every artistic field, from authors and playwrights to song writers, thespians, comedians and performers. Whether its our Celtic heritage, entertaining ourselves during years of isolation or a climate that promotes an inordinate amount of practice time spent indoors, away from the weather – Newfoundland is an artistic hinterland.
Which might explain why I simply accepted Jacqui’s work at face value – never once doubting her ability or questioning why it took her so long to share it.
Now, I don’t know if you can imagine the laugh we shared in Toronto last week when I brought up the subject with Jacqui’s brother David and her Mother Rita who informed me that the said painting was actually a ‘JC Roy’ that she’d purchased at a charity auction. Not laughing at her expense mind you, rather the conversation that ensued, for apparently I wasn’t the only one in error.
And because Jacqui’s original post was in no way misleading, my introduction provided a reasonable explanation for our assessment. For they knew quite a few people who thought the same as I did – People with artistic minds, who frame their world with beauty, and bring a whole new meaning to the concept, “thinking outside the box!”
