Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/603345
258 "You paint with your heart, and your hand follows," says Ames- bury–based, self-taught artist Joan Gessner, whose works, at 78 years old, number in the many hundreds. In fact, her collection is so voluminous, she can hardly remember all the titles. Gessner's work is remarkably diverse in subject matter and me- dia—from portraits to landscapes to still lifes to abstracts, in watercolors primarily, but also acrylics, pastels, pen and ink, oils, and, lately, alcohol inks on plastic paper. "I feel like, at this point in my life, I can paint anything," says the artist, noting she enjoys depicting people most. She also teaches students both young and old and travels the world. Most recently, she went to Vietnam—a trip that resulted in a fascinatingly eclectic group of paintings. In her lifetime, she has visited 17 coun- tries, with Argentina, Chile, and Patagonia on the horizon in the near future. "I have to do it quick," she quips. "I am 78 years old!" Having moved to New England— with what she terms "fresh eyes"— from the West Coast, Gessner says, "I was so taken with the snow—it's a spiritual message for me." The painter walks daily with her dog at Woodsom Farm, an old dairy farm comprising 370 acres bordered by the Powow River. She calls it an ideal spot for a romp in the snow, and a place from which she draws deep inspiration. "My eyes are new—they weren't raised here," she notes. "That's why I can see things differently." Sharing a number of winter scenes she has painted, she moves her hand in a gentle wave over the foreground of one and says: "Notice the snow and my feelings about it— to me that's all feeling. That stark whiteness—that was hard to do." Gessner has learned much from landscape artist Ray Hendershot, whose book Texture Techniques for Winning Watercolors numbers among those in her extensive library. "When I first started paint- ing with watercolors, there were only two books out. For years, I looked for a teacher," she recalls. Eventually, she thought she found one—in Mississippi, where she took a six-week course, during Top, Alfalfa Farm Bottom, West Newbury "I WAS SO TAKEN WITH THE SNOW—IT'S A SPIRITUAL MESSAGE FOR ME." photographs by Dawn Kingston