By SUSAN DOOLAN SPECIAL TO THE EXAMINER
http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3433313
Joanna McEwen has captured some of Simcoe County's history from a unique perspective.
Light and windows are the common thread through most of her paintings of local churches, currently on display at Barrie's MacLaren Art Centre.
While each painting tends to focus on some special detail of the church's interior, McEwen also pays tribute in the same way to some of the social events that have occurred over the years, such as church suppers. Of the 52 paintings, there is a series of six named for some of the women who worked behind the scenes, in the kitchen, to make all the food.
"I know them very well," said McEwen, who named one painting for a woman renowned for her baking. "She made the best butter tarts, you could not imagine."
There is a story behind each of paintings and McEwen will no doubt share some of the tidbits during a public tour of her work this weekend.
Many of these small area churches are now closed. When McEwen started painting churches, she had no intention of making it such a large project. That was back in 2003, when she created her first 'interiors' painting as a reply to the late Lucius O'Brien, a famous artist who grew up in Shanty Bay. It was part of a group show that MacLaren Art Centre organized.
"I went to St. Thomas Church in Shanty Bay because that's where his family went to church. Then I got really curious about other churches," she said. "For the moment, (the series) is finished, but there are several churches I haven't been in that I'd like to. But for the moment, I'm not doing any (more paintings of churches)."
McEwen was born in Parry Sound and grew up in Oro with two brothers and a sister. All still live in, or close to, Oro-Medonte Township today.
She is the only artist and for a long time, it remained on the peripheral of her career. She became a high school teacher of art and history, married, had three children, all adults now, who also live in Oro-Medonte.
While some art occurred from time to time, for the most part it took a back seat in her life until she entered her 50s. McEwen calls it the universal story of women; once her children were settled in their lives, she felt she could return to art and pick up where she left off.
McEwen credits Mrs. (Bettina) Judge Harvey, an art teacher at Ovenden, a former Barrie girl's school, for encouraging her interest and love of art.
"On Saturdays, she gave lessons to kids so I used to come by train from Shanty Bay," said McEwen, recalling that, at 10 years old, she paid 25 cents for the train ride in 1951.
"She was my teacher and mentor for almost 20 years. She was a great painter and an excellent teacher."
Egg tempera is her medium. Like its name, it is egg yolk mixed with pigment that, when layered, has a transparent effect. It is an age-old form that is also very durable when it dries. It can take up to 30 hours to do one painting, but McEwen calls it a meditative process
"I like the detail you can achieve and I love the luminosity," she said.
The 52 pieces were completed between 2003 and 2011 and many are owned by private collectors.
The paintings were loaned to the MacLaren for the exhibition and will be photographed for a hardcover book to be published by the gallery.
Fundraising is also in the works.
The book will be distributed to schools, libraries, cultural institutions and other galleries across Canada. It will also be for sale at the gallery.
The paintings that have windows and/or reflected light in common are on display in the Carnegie Room. In Gallery 3, the paintings are grouped by church.
Interiors of Place is on display until Feb. 20.
McEwen's tour of the exhibition takes place on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 1 p.m. at the gallery.