Back in January when I posted about the special painting by Matt’s grandpa that we received for Christmas, a couple of people expressed interest in seeing more of his artwork. You caught a little glimpse of the paintings when I shared the hallway reveal. Today I’m going to give you a closer look.

Matt’s grandpa was a draughtsman. He worked on the Avro Arrow, which in the 1950s was Canada’s most-advanced (and most expensive) jet aircraft.

Painting was his greatest hobby. He painted portraits, still lifes and landscapes.

The four pieces that we’ve hung on the main floor are landscapes featuring rustic buildings.

There’s the two barns that Matt’s parents had framed for us for Christmas. We hung this painting in the foyer. When we were searching for our farm, a lot of the properties we toured had pictures, paintings or aerial shots of the farms hanging inside the entryways. Since this painting looks like it might as well have been painted at our farm, it was the perfect choice for a welcoming image right inside the front door.

Along the hall, the two smaller images are of Matt’s aunts’ former cottages. Matt remembers spending time at the green cottage as a child. His aunt has since sold it, and I never had a chance to visit.

The red cottage has been knocked down and a new cottage built in its place. Matt’s aunt and uncle still have the property. In fact, this is the cottage that we visit every fall. It’s special to have this very personal record of two memorable family places.

The large painting at the end of the hall shows the garage at Matt’s grandpa’s house. Surprisingly, this painting was stored away and unframed for decades. The sunlight in this picture is beautiful. It’s my favourite painting out of all of Matt’s grandpa’s pieces.

I’ve always said that I’d like to own some original art. I realized as I was writing this post that I do. Most artists make art because they love it, not as a “job.” As far as I know, Matt’s grandpa never tried to sell his paintings. He was prolific, and he painted because he loved it. He was most definitely an artist, and I’m very proud to display his paintings in our house.