Our main exhibition in the Gallery in June features a collection of new work by one of the Pontiac’s most treasured artists, Jelly Massee.
Jelly was born in the Netherlands and immigrated with her family to southern Ontario, before settling in the Pontiac Region when she was in her thirties in the late 1980s.. She now lives on Grand Calumet Island in the Outaouais where she lives with her partner, Brian and her dog, buddy. Living on the Ottawa River gives her ample inspiration to follow her dream of being an artist.
Her acrylic style, pen and ink style, watercolor and gouache style is realistic. She likes to work in series. In acrylic it might be a series of food painted larger than life. In pen and ink it may be a series of portraits inked in stipple style.
Her latest series on display at Gallery 349 depicts the history of the local area as it would have appeared in the mid-1800’s. The drawings are her interpretation of photos that appeared in Volume 2 and 3 of The Picture Gallery of Canadian History by C.W. Jefferys, published in 1950 and again in 1960. Other books, the internet and research were also used in the creation of these paintings. She used pen and ink with watercolor on wood panels to give an authentically aged look. She feels it is important to embrace the past so we can appreciate the life we have today thanks to these hard-working pioneers.
Come out to meet Jelly and step back into life as it was in the 1800s at her Vernissage on Saturday, June 7, from 4- 6 pm.
