The Art of Retirement
Jan Fraser and Betty Dean | Article and Photos
( Jan ) I had a plan for my retirement . I wanted to be immersed in my art after years of wearing my teacher – administrator hat . Then the time came . I retired .
My first art mentor had been Murray MacDonald , my grand uncle , a well-known watercolour master , former teacher , and Supervisor of Art with Edmonton Public Schools . He gave me private lessons from his home starting in 1980 . Three generations took part in watercolour lessons in Murray ’ s old frame house in Garneau : Murray , my Aunt Edythe Markstad , and me . Murray gave us an assignment at each Sunday session , such as an atmospheric poem to respond to in paint . He gently critiqued our work and told stories . He demonstrated loosely and expected us to do the same , and in 1981 we held our first threegeneration show .
Murray MacDonald : West of Calgary — Watercolour
Jan Fraser : Into the Wind — Acrylic , In response to weather and atmosphere in Alberta
Murray also taught at the Banff School of Fine Art in the late 1950s with members of the Group of Seven , including A . Y . Jackson . Jackson had the same philosophy of teaching ; Murray told us of a time when one of Jackson ’ s students was laboriously painting every tree on the side of a mountain on her canvas . It was taking forever . Jackson put his large thumb onto her oil paint and smushed her trees together . That upset her — until , of course , she saw how much it improved the work !
Upon retiring , I was painting by myself and felt a huge gap in my learning . Murray had passed away , and I missed him . I also missed the buzz of school activity and sharing with staff , students , and parents — but I was so grateful for my retirement pension ! A year into retirement , I went for lunch with Betty Dean , a dear friend and former principal of mine , for “ Retirement Lessons .” Betty is an active and popular artist in her own retirement . When she persuaded me to join the Edmonton Art Club ( EAC ), the threads started to come together .
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