Monika Shepherdson has always loved to paint.
The left-handed, right-brained artist who lives in Sandycove Acres retirement community enjoys painting everything from landscapes to animals, on anything from rocks to canvases.
"When I see something that catches my interest I want to paint it. I want people to feel great when they look at my work, be inspired, feel calm and at peace," she says.
Shepherdson always painted for fun throughout her life, but once she had her twin daughters, her passion for painting took a backseat.
"Once you have kids, any kind of hobby or thing to do for yourself goes out the window," she says with a laugh.
It wasn't until 2009 that she picked up the paintbrush again with the encouragement of her husband. At the time, the couple lived in Markham where she was part of the Markham Arts Council. Her art garnered a lot of public interest, exhibiting at the local art centre, and receiving a special mayor's award.
"It was amazing, there was such a big tourist component in Markham," she said, noting many of her pieces ended up being sent over to Japan and Tokyo.
Shepherdson and her husband decided to move to the Barrie area and have been living in Sandycove for the past five years.
"I really like it here, it's such a great community," she says. "Because we have beautiful big picture windows here, I feel like I am always outdoors and connected to nature with the trees around us."
Every year, she takes part in the Innisfil Studio Tour and is a member of the Innisfil Arts, Culture and Heritage Club, the Sandycove Art Club, Plein Air Group, International Watercolour Society-Canada, and Society of Canadian Artists. She recently started an international Facebook group for artists that meet online every week, called Artist Paint Club.
Living farther away from the city, Shepherdson noticed there weren't many spaces to have tourists and visitors view her work.
"Most of my art depends on the local venues," she says.
As a senior, travelling to Toronto for larger art shows was no longer ideal for Shepherdson, so she discovered a new way of getting her art into the hands of the public.
"I am trying to learn the ropes of selling online," she says.
Shepherdson has a website that connects visitors to two platforms where she has set up her own virtual shops. She says having these options allows her to focus on painting while the platform handles the selling, packaging and distribution of her work.
One of the platforms she utilizes is Society6, a space for artists to sell their works online. They are a community made up of 300,000-plus independent artists from more than 160 countries. The website can take any artist's works and copy them onto any product, whether it be a tote bag, canvas or piece of furniture.
She continues to perfect her craft by taking extensive courses and programs. The next one coming is in March called 'Plein Air', which means 'outside' in French. Shepherdson explains how Plein Air paintings are usually done at a basic level, with not a lot of detail.
Throughout the pandemic, Shepherdson says not much has changed in terms of her productivity level for painting, but she has found a whole new network of fellow artists online to share her passion with.
"I am actually seeing more people than I ever had," she says. "I made some great new friends, and relationships online with people that share the same passion."
Shepherdson even started her own online artist paint club with members from all over the world. She says the members range in experience but are always encouraging and supportive of one another.
"It's so much fun," she says. "By reaching out to the art community online... we have opened up a whole new way of communicating with our art."
She was disappointed after Innisfil's only art gallery closed up shop after two years last month.
"It's unfortunate because we lost the only local gallery that we have," she says.
This past fall, she took part in the Innisfil Library's art sale and show, which she said went really well. As pandemic restrictions begin to ease, Shepherdson is hoping to take part in more local art shows and events.
To learn more about Shepherdson and view some of her work, visit her website here.
