Winters in Norway are very long and very dark. Olaug Jaenicke found art to pass the time.
“I grew up before TV,” she says.
“My sisters would do handcrafts, which I wasn’t very good at and tried to avoid. I did other things.”
While Jaenicke started drawing and painting as a little girl, her most recent work is currently on display for the month of October at the Showcase Gallery in 100 Mile House.
Jaenicke moved to Canada in 1973 after meeting her husband, a Canadian helicopter pilot, while working in Greenland. The couple have lived in Thailand, Prince George, Kelowna, and for the past 10 years, at East Sheridan Lake.
New to the area, Jaenicke found the Cariboo Artists’ Guild as a way to connect with the community.
Joining the group, which supports both budding and established artists, was a good thing for her.
“I don’t have any formal art education at all. When I was working on something and got stuck, or something was wrong and I couldn’t tell what it was, I could ask some of [the members] and they were always really good and could help with good advice.”
A half-dozen of her oil and acrylic paintings, depicting a variety of colourful subject matter, are on display at the local gallery, located on the main floor of the South Cariboo Business Centre at 475 Birch Ave.
One painting, which Jaenicke did in watercolour in the past, is of a woman jumping joyfully in the air.
“I like the way she is just … happy. It’s called ‘Free’.”
Other paintings show loons at Sheridan Lake, a winter scene, houses in Tuscany, a village, and a pair of African women under bright yellow stars.
Inspiration for Jaenicke comes from many places. The last painting, of the African women, was inspired by two separate photos she saw, the first being an article about Jane Goodall, the English chimpanzee expert.
“Her background was the stars,” she says of the Goodall photo. “They were close to you. That sort of got stuck in my head.
“Then I saw a picture of [the two women] coming from work, somewhere. It got stuck in my head too.”
Jaenicke was part of an art show at the Showcase Gallery a few years ago. Having her work on display at first was a scary thing, she explains. Now, she finds it nice, like having grandchildren you’re proud of and showing them off.
“You want to share something that is close to yourself.”
