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Haste not waste is key for impatient 105 Lake painter
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Marilyn Beattie is the current artist featured at Showcase Gallery

Artist Marilyn Beattie likes to be efficient and she certainly doesn't waste time when it comes to painting a picture.

Much of her inspiration comes from the Internet, and if she spots a photograph she likes, more often than not, it will be finished the following day by noon, she says.

"It's rather fun because my neighbour is a detail painter. Where she'll take three months to do a painting, I take three hours. I prefer to start it, then not even stop for a meal in between."

She chooses to paint with acrylics and watercolours, and to be sure, oil paints will never be found among her store of supplies because they simply take too long to dry.

Painting is a relatively new hobby for Beattie who first picked up a brush just eight years ago. She says anyone can paint if they want to, and proved it with her first attempt.

"I was never artistic, but I saw a painting and wanted to own it. I'm the type who likes to make something myself and get a real kick out of doing it."

She followed up by reading everything that could be found at the library about painting and then took a set of four lessons, which turned out to be rather unfruitful.

"The instructor had this dog who just hated me. It would stand there and bark all through the lesson, so nothing much came of that."

Beattie defines herself as a practical woman, so while she enjoys painting, the painting must be sold and not allowed to accumulate in her house. She sells them for a reduced amount, made possible by the minimum amount of time put into each painting.

She calls her style, folk art, but recently tried an impressionist approach to a painting of cabbage roses. She's happy with the result, and says her husband, Brian, is crazy about it.

That painting, and several others, can be seen in the collection of Beattie's work, currently on display at Showcase Gallery. The show is timely with its summer theme and includes a variety of subjects, including a personal favourite of cottages on the ocean.

Beattie holds many fond memories of living in a cottage by the ocean, and similar scenes often end up in her paintings.

A barn scene perfectly suits its rustic wooden frame, which is the handiwork of Brian, who recycles old wood pallets and siding to make framing material for his wife.

These paintings, and more, can be seen at Showcase until the end of June. The gallery is located in the main lobby of the South Cariboo Business Centre at 475 Birch Ave. The hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m.