Throughout the summer, the North Thompson Arts Council will host an artist of the week at the Clearwater Farmer’s Market. On July 24, artist Norma Watt will have her paintings on display during the market at the Dutch Lake Community Centre.
Watt was born in Quebec City, Que., and grew up in Ottawa, Ont. She has always been into art, winning poster contests in school and studying classical art until Grade 13. After high school, Watt trained as a commercial artist at Algonquin College, and worked in the industry until lead from the sign paint got into her lungs, forcing a career change.
She established her own business, a window graphic design company called, Have Brush Will Travel, which ran from 1974 to 1999.
Growing up, she loved the artwork of Lautrec, Monet, Group of Seven, Emily Carr and Bill Reid. Some of her most notable memories include meeting A.Y. Jackson and Andy Warhol, who she had great conversations with, albeit a tad short. A visit to the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, France, allowed her to see famous artwork, such as Van Gogh and Loutrec in real-life size.
Watt is fascinated by all kinds of art and alternates between chalks, water colour, oils pen and ink. Her parents didn’t approve of her lifestyle choice, though, which made Watt more stubborn and has been creating works of art all her life.
“Cremate me with my brushes,” she said.
The NTAC is a registered B.C. society that encourages and supports arts and culture projects and any creative pursuit. Membership is open to people of all ages.
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