From paintings of mountain landscapes to U.S. President Barack Obama, Agnes Hisey, a resident at Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge, can paint just about anything—as long as it’s from a picture.
Born and raised in England, she only recently rediscovered her hidden talent.
As a child, her mother discouraged her from painting because it was too messy, leaving her with few opportunities to express her artistic talent.
“When I was in high school I was never athletic so when it was graduation time they needed murals for the wall and we had a Disney theme one year, so I happily painted Disney characters all over,” recalled Hisey.
As a mother of eight children, she was often too busy to play with oils so it wasn’t until an art class in 2008 where she rediscovered her untapped potential.
“This is God’s country for the artist,” said Hisey, while looking out her second storey window.
“So long as I have a picture I can paint it.”
Flipping through a binder of postcard size pictures and paintings she explained every minute detail about each and every painting as
if she did it only yesterday.
Over the years she has donated dozens of pieces of her art to various charities and silent auctions and occasionally paints pictures for friends and family.
“You get so engrossed in it,” she said, explaining she hopes to become more of an impressionist painter in the future.
“I’m sure one day I’m going to get brave enough and sit out there and paint.”
For now, though, Hisey seems content to carry on with her work, sitting down with her brushes and paints to recreate photos.
Down the hall, fellow resident and artist Leslie Kinsey grew up in a family of artists.
“From the time I was little I wanted to be a ballerina, but my mother was the first private art teacher in Edmonton in the 30s, so I had lots of paints and if I ever felt like painting she would usually help,” she said.
Unlike her neighbour, Kinsey prefers to paint outdoors.
“You get to see the actual plant instead of a picture of it. You get more of a feeling from the plant itself,” she said.
Paul Clarke
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