Ruth Hansen

From the delicate strokes on her latest pencil drawing of a water iris, you might not guess that Aldergrove artist Ruth Hansen was a construction worker for nearly 30 years. But being able to use a shovel clearly doesn't impede Hansen's artistic side.

" I'm now retired," says Hansen. "I started with flagging and then was put on different things as my knowledge [of construction] grew. I would get behind a shovel or run a roller, whatever was needed."

But it wasn't until the single mother of four retired that she had the chance to pick up a paintbrush, a talent she remembered from her childhood, but had not practised while raising her children.

"I loved to draw when I was a child," Hansen says. "I always told my kids, when they grew up, I would learn to paint." She chuckles. "And that's exactly what I did. When I retired, I picked up my pencil and started to learn,"~ she explains. "My family was quite amazed that I had the talent. Well, I always had it, but I just never had the opportunity."

Although she's self-taught, she says belonging to local art clubs and associations has been a huge help for her. "What's so nice about belonging to these clubs is you can see what others do and learn from them."

Hansen belongs to the Fraser Valley Watercolour Society, the Fraser Valley Graphic Guild, the Mission Artists Association, Mission Arts Council and the Aldergrove Art Club. Her participation with such clubs also gives her the opportunity to display her work with their group exhibits. "I always manage to sell at least one for each show," she says, adding with a laugh, "For some artists, it bothers them to sell their work. It doesn't bother me, because I can paint more."

Hansen's work is based on a variety of media and themes, everything from watercolour to acrylic to pencil to pastel to ink to mixed mediums," she says. "I try everything, from portraits to landscapes to flowers - I love it all. I'm now dabbling in abstracts; I really love it for the colour - you get to play with it."

So, on any given day, you might find Hansen sitting in her kitchen, where the light is good, or her garden, with a pencil or paintbrush in her hand, ready to capture her next image.

Ruth's contribution to the Silent Art Auction:

item no.3
NO TITLE
16½ x 21
MIXED MEDIA

go back to silent art auction, main page