KNYSNA NEWS - Long-time Knysna resident Barbara Lawson will this month put her artworks on show to the public for the very first time, a month before the clock ticks over to her 80th birthday on 21 December.
The exhibition will be at the Art on Queen Gallery on 25 and 26 November.
Lawson has lived in Knysna for the past 20 years, during which she practised art for pleasure.
"My art is a lifeline to enjoyment, tranquillity, fun, and friendship," she explains. "I resolved to do something I love regularly, as an important exercise. The Covid-19 lockdown started a time of doing more of what I loved and the challenge continued into the second year."
The lady behind the brush
Lawson's love for art started young, and at age eight she won her first and only prize for art: a first prize for a drawing of an Amaryllis lily. She continued practising art throughout primary and high school. Going to Rhodes University, she studied towards a teaching diploma with majors in art and physical education before swapping out art for geography due to clashes in practical work.
A lengthy teaching career spanning 38 years followed, with most of her time spent at schools in and around Durban. This included a three-year stint as principal at Mowatt Park Girls High School before she elected to go into early retirement.
This is when Lawson's love affair with art was renewed. When she and her husband retired to Knysna in 2000, she picked up a paint brush for the first time in 40 years. "And I have not stopped since," she quips.
"All my art has been for my own enjoyment and I have enjoyed the privilege of attending art workshops by several well-known artists over the years."
For Lawson, the biggest gift from her art has been meeting artists who have become friends. "This leads to growing other interests, helping each other and having lots of laughs." She also believes that age is but a number and that it's never too late to pick up a pencil or paint brush or a needle and thread.
"I hope that others will enjoy looking at my art and pick up the challenge. The two years of Covid-19 have proved to me that adversity can be overcome. I have done more art and that is what I enjoy."
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