Manitoba artist Joanne Gullachsen’s paintings are proof that there is beauty in the simplest acts of day-to-day life.
In her visiting art show, Memories, she displays vibrantly depicted memories from her childhood on a Gimli, Manitoba dairy farm. “It was a wonderful, peaceful, predictable time,” she says. “There was time for everyone to enjoy the animals and the land, there was a lot of freedom.” In an aside, she added that people may remember her hometown for the ‘Gimli Glider’ incident, when an Air Canada 767 ran out of fuel mid-flight and glided to a safe landing at the town’s former Royal Canadian Air Force base.
The subjects in her paintings are primarily her family – herself, her four sisters, her parents and her grandmother – along with animals from their farm. Gullachsen relied on memory rather than photographs to capture those childhood scenes. “It’s liberating to paint that way. I can do what I want.”
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- Even quiet moments have a beautiful energy thanks to Gullachsen’s style
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- Cows Coming Into the Barn by Joanne Gullachsen
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- Everyday moments on the farm are brought to life in Gullachsen’s work
Both her style, which she says has been described as somewhere between folk art and realism, and her subject matter have resonated with visitors to the show. “An older couple were here and they said it brings back memories for them. I think kids like the colour and simplicity of them, and maybe they can learn something about how things were back then when life was more about simple pleasures.”
Gullachsen began painting seriously about 30 years ago when her two children were five and 10 years old, and is largely self-taught. Most of the paintings in the show are oil, a medium she likes because of the vibrancy of the colours. She dismisses its reputation for being unforgiving. “You just have to become acquainted with it, and if you make a mistake you just get some turpentine on a rag and wipe it clean.”
She was introduced to the Huntsville Art Society by a friend who lives here, and is delighted that the show is being held in a former train station – she vividly remembers the train rides she used to take from Gimli to Winnipeg.
Whether or not you grew up on a farm, and whether or not you’re old enough to remember the 50s, Gullachsen’s paintings are likely to strike a chord for their vivid portrayal of simple family life.
The show’s opening reception is March 31 from 5-7pm at Signal North Gallery, and it runs until May 7.
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