Barb Brooks is a well known name in Jasper.

It’s a name that elicits admiration and appreciation. It’s a name that makes people think about brilliant paintings and an unconditional love for the arts. And it’s a name that will never be forgotten.

That’s something that her friends are making sure of with the Barb Brooks scholarship, which launched last year – a year after Brooks’ passing.

The scholarship is administered by Brooks’ close friend Eleanor Bye, with the help of It Only Takes a Dream. It is given out annually to a person in the arts community, so they can seek out further training, like a workshop or seminar. The hope is that person will gain new knowledge in their field that they can bring back to the community.

The recipient of this year’s $500 scholarship, David Baker, intends to do just that.

He will be attending a workshop in Edmonton through the Film and Video Arts Society.

Baker is a Jasper filmmaker, who owns his own company, Delphinus 18 Productions, and instructs courses at Habitat for the Arts. 

“My goal is to bring knowledge back and put cameras in the hands of students and give them a facility that’s properly equipped so they can come in and take ownership of the stories in their community and also use the tools that are used in the industry.”

He said by teaching people how to use programs like Photoshop and FinalCut, then they’ll have a leg up when they attend a community college for graphic design or film.

“You build your skills one experience at a time,” he said.

To receive the scholarship, which is open to all Albertans, Baker had to submit an application outlining what he would do with the funds.

Bye said the scholarship is a way to honour her dear friend. 

“In her memory we have this scholarship to keep her alive and keep people aware of her.”

She said it’s also a way to assist the artists, as they often are struggling to find funds to further their craft.

Brooks was proof of that, although she did manage to paint full-time, she would often trade her art for things like vehicles or music.

“Barb Brooks made her living, fed her family, with a paint brush,” Baker said with admiration.

Brooks passed away Aug. 24, 2009 at the age of 68. She moved to Jasper in 1976 and originally worked as a chambermaid, youth hostel parent and stenographer. It was 1984 before she first exhibited her art at the Jasper Craft Fair.

She spent more than 20 years painting in Jasper. 

Bye said it would be hard to find a house in town that doesn’t have one of Brooks’ paintings hanging on the wall.

Brooks’ career as a painter was cut short in 1998 when she suffered an aneurysm, which affected her painting arm. 

That didn’t stop her from trying, though.

Baker said he can remember Brooks at the Artists in the Pines event painting with her left hand.

He said he even has video footage of her that day with some of the other artists.