Lancer artist says painting is her passion!

By Joan Janzen

Tucked away in the small community of Lancer, Sask. lives a talented artist named Shirley LaPrise. Shirley displayed her watercolours at last month’s ‘Artist Days’ at the Great Sandhills Museum in Sceptre.

Shirley and her husband have lived in Lancer for the past twenty-one years. Back in 2003, she said they arrived, where she planned to stay and paint for the summer and ended up becoming permanent residents. These days, Shirley has become the caregiver for her husband and has recently welcomed her daughter and grandson into their household.

Shirley LaPrise from Lancer displayed her watercolours during “Artist Days” at the Great Sandhills Museum in Sceptre in August. Photo by Kate Winquist

“I paint a lot of stuff from my childhood because I grew up north of Meadow Lake,” she said as she continued to describe her artistic journey.

She began painting in her 40s when she visited an art gallery and admired the work of a certain painter. She immediately signed up when she discovered this artist was offering art lessons.

“Every Saturday, I went for art lessons for a year,” she said. At the end of the year, she requested more art lessons, but her instructor told her she didn’t need any more lessons, and her family agreed.

“I always told my family I’m still practicing, and they said I think you’ve done enough practicing,” she chuckled.

“I do mainly watercolours because that’s what I learned. I also practiced acrylics on my own. I love to use imagination rather than paint from photographs,” she said. “Some paintings aren’t finished, but I do get back to them eventually. I like landscapes, flowers, still life, portraits. I like everything.”

It had been some time since Shirley displayed her art; however, years earlier, she had sold pieces at art shows in Quebec and Edmonton. In fact one of her paintings is in Paris, France. Lately, her paintings have gone primarily to family and friends.

“I love painting; it’s a passion!” Shirley exclaimed. “I just wanted to paint and not worry about selling.” Now, her living room serves as her art studio, where she plans to do a lot more painting this winter now that her daughter is here to help out on the home front.

“I can paint from 2:00 in the morning until the evening if it’s something I really want to finish, and other times, it’s just a couple of hours,” she said.

“I absolutely love painting!” Shirley reiterated.  “I do it for the love of it, but now I’m thinking it’s time to do something with it.”