Love of Cariboo scenery inspires artist to paint

A desire to help out the community is what inspired Penny Bailey to donate her art to the Wrangler’s secret auction.

Bailey donated an 11×14 acrylic piece of some Cariboo trees and a fence covered in snow called January’s Blanket, which she felt helped represent the Wranglers. Ever since she’s come to the Cariboo she said she’s been in love with the scenery of the area and finds herself taking inspiration from it for her paintings.

“I just wanted that country, Cariboo feel in my painting and I hope I achieved it. I just wanted a relaxing winter feel,” Bailey said.

In January’s Blanket Bailey said she played around with different brush styles and colours to put a “little drama in the sky” which worked out quite nicely in her opinion.

“I thought donating the piece was a really good thing to do for the community. The Wranglers they’re young guys and really having a tough time right now due to the lack of playing,” Bailey said. “I just thought it’d be something cool to do to help out and raise some money.”

Bailey said she’s always felt the desire to make art since she was a little girl. In fact, by being an artist she’s fulfilling a dream her father had long had: to have an artist in the family. Her father had believed, for whatever reason, that if you were left-handed you were more likely to be an artist and tested both her elder siblings, who turned out to be right-handed. When Bailey came along, she said she just happened to be left-handed and started drawing with her father, who encouraged her to pursue it until he passed away when she was a teenager.

As an adult, Bailey says she paints with acrylic and oil paints and has pursued her art on the side throughout her life. Five years ago, she moved to 100 Mile House and joined the Cariboo Artist’s Guild. Bailey said that she’s never painted as much in her life as she has here.

January’s Blanket is valued at $195 and is currently on display at the 70 Mile General Store.

Other artwork up for bid is displayed at RBC, CIBC, the Credit Union, the Sugar Shack, Cariboo Floor Design, Pharmasave, Uptown Brewing, Gustafson’s Central GM, Days Inn, Andre’s Electronics, Sunrise Ford, Regency Chrysler, Western Financial and the 100 Mile Free Press. It can also be viewed on the Wranglers’ Facebook page.

The auction is slated to end March 31.

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