Artist Laura Hamilton is eager to welcome the public into her home to see her newest artworks, eight of which she created in one month after taking time off for other endeavours.
Hamilton’s seventh annual spring studio tour occurs Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 128 Blue Sage Drive. Residents will have the opportunity to view her unique paintings and purchase some that catch their fancy.
“I’m really excited,” Hamilton laughed. “It’s been a long winter. Even though the weather has been nice, I’m kind of through with winter. I’m looking forward to spring weather and all that good stuff.”
The bubbly artist said she is keen to open her home to friends, family, neighbours and others to see her spring collection. She noted that most people have a good time when they attend.
After seven years of hosting this event, turning her home into an art gallery has become a regular occurrence for Hamilton, even though it is plenty of work.
It normally takes her — with the support of her husband and two sons — a week to move around furniture and set up displays. Moreover, she parks her art trailer in the driveway so she can grab moveable walls and other items and place them inside.
“I’m lucky I have a good family that helps,” she added.
Hamilton is anxious to display her spring collection, considering it’s the result of a burst of creativity that had built up inside her earlier this year.
She explained that she returned temporarily to full-time teaching in January and February after picking up a contract to teach pre-kindergarten students. This prevented her from doing any painting because of how busy she was.
“When I was done in February, I had so much energy and all these ideas in my head that (in) March, I think I painted eight paintings — which never happens,” Hamilton said. “It was just all this built-up energy and I had it to get it out onto a canvas. And the pictures just kept flowing out.
“So it was a really nice and neat experience. And now I have a lot of different pieces to share with people.”
One painting is called “Marigold,” which features a girl in front of a wood door within a brick wall. Hamilton said this is more of a European-type picture, and many people have been intrigued by it.
A second artwork, called “Sisters of the Valley,” showcases five women in white looking out over a valley. Hamilton said the colours are “really, really pretty” and it’s as if the women are in Ireland.
“All of my artwork usually centres around women and sisterhood and who we’re meant to be and who we are inside,” she added. “So … I think it will be really exciting.”
Hamilton said her inspiration for this collection derived from all the pent-up energy and creativity she was unable to express for those two months. That was frustrating since she was collecting ideas from her mind, from social media and conversations with people.
Yet, everything eventually flowed together, which she thought was great since her ideas fit together nicely.
“I hope people can come and they take a piece of happiness home with them,” Hamilton said, noting her artworks are reasonably priced so everyone can leave with something. “Art should be for everyone. It doesn’t matter what your income is.”
After her spring show, Hamilton will prepare for her presentation at the Rotary district conference in May.
