Local art featured in 2021 calendar

Nov. 4, 2020

By Kristena Schutt-Moore

It feels like the year 2020 has been around longer than most. One local artist has her eyes set on the future and is looking to help inspire other artists in the year 2021. 

Ketha Newman has created a 2021 calendar called the Backwoods Calendar. It features 12 of her landscape paintings. These paintings were inspired by the local nature that surrounds her studio in Hastings Highlands. Each month depicts the areas changing seasons and the beauty it creates within the North Hastings environment perfectly.

“The paintings are all watercolours that were inspired by my love of nature and reflect what I see throughout the year in North Hastings. I have been living and painting from my studio in Monteagle full time since 2004.” Newman says. “I looked for images that represent the activities and scenery of each month such as fall colours, snowshoeing, maple syrup making and winter birds.”
Newman has been thinking about making a calendar for a couple of years. Then she got the push she needed in March during the lockdown. 

“I was inspired to make a calendar this year during the spring lockdown when, suddenly, everything ground to a halt and I realized that more shopping was going to be done online and that shopping locally for Canadian-made products was becoming a priority for many people including me,” Newman explains. 

This is Newman's second publishing. The first was her 2016 colouring book called The Canadian Backwoods Colouring Book which was arranged monthly similar to a calendar. 

This book allowed local artists learning to paint or draw to use Newman's paintings as a template. She is hoping that the new calendar will give artists inspiration year-round to create.

The calendars are printed and ready to be used by those who want to start planning for next year. They are $25 each and can be found at Ashlie's Books in Bancroft, A Place for the Arts in Bancroft, and Bayberry Design in Barry's Bay. Newman can also have them shipped anywhere in Canada for $28. Those interested in having them mailed to themselves or others can contact Newman at ketha@kethanewman.com.