Local artist in televised WPBS art auction

MORRISBURG – “Having one of my paintings offered for sale during the big WPBS art auction will give me quite a lot of new exposure,” said artist Deborah MacGillivray, talking to the The Leader from her Morrisburg business, Nifty’s Antiques. “I hope this experience will bring more notice of my work.”

“Actually,” she added, “I am dying to find out who will one day own ‘Mr. Moose’ (the painting, one of her favourites, she has donated to the public television station’s annual auction), although I suppose I may never know.”

On January 30-31, WPBS, commercial free, public television operating from Watertown, New York, is holding its annual art auction fund raiser. This local community channel, which is supported by subscribers in both Canada and the United States, relies on fund raisers.

The upcoming WPBS two day auction of exciting and unique works of art from around the North country and eastern Ontario is a major event at the station, and attracts many established and newly discovered artists.

This year, Morrisburg’s Deborah MacGillivray will be among them.

WPBS originally contacted Nifty’s because the station’s fund raiser includes antiques and collectibles as well.

“When representatives came to talk to us about our antiques, I asked them if they might be interested in one of my paintings as well,” MacGillivray recalled. “When they looked at ‘Mr. Moose’, they immediately decided it should be part of the auction.”

MacGillivray is an artist with a growing reputation.

She works mostly in acrylics, her preferred medium, and has been painting for nearly 20 years.  At first, she did not consider herself a commercial artist, painting the things which meant the most to her, and mostly for her own pleasure.

It wasn’t until visitors began trying to purchase her work that she realized that her paintings had a much wider appeal.

“I researched my style, and discovered that there was an entire school called naive folk art that seemed to really reflect my style. It was very exciting to me to find others who also worked this way. Naive folk art has a strong base in the United States, and in eastern Canada. Recently, it has begun developing a following in Ontario.”

According to art critics, naive folk art is a fully recognized genre, its paintings rich with colour and patterns, but unrefined and striving for simplicity. Artists often do not have formal art degrees or training.

Deborah MacGillivray has her own views of the genre.

“Naive artists paint what makes them feel good, and they often paint the surroundings they are most comfortable with. I find their subjects are often land or seascapes, less often people, although that is not always true. My own favourite subjects are cows, cats, white ducks and geese. I especially love doing snowmen and winter scenes.”

Naive folk art, to MacGillivray has a “story book feeling to it, that leaves the artist and the viewer both feeling good. I think of it as a little kid feeling.”

She is very excited to have one of her paintings offered for auction on national television.

And local artist Deborah MacGillivray has a word of advice for other would-be young artists.

“I say to kids, go ahead, draw, paint, sculpt, just do it. That’s what art is all about.”