Peggy Watson is our October featured Art in the Café artist. Stop by to see Peggy’s artwork in our café during the October Art Walk on Friday, Oct. 4, from 4 pm to 8 pm or throughout the entire month of October.

The art in this show represents some of the many places and everyday scenes in and around Montpelier that Peggy loves and finds beautiful. She was inspired by the magic in nature and simple, joyful everyday life. Watching a parent and child walking hand in hand or a person riding their bike can stop her in her tracks, making her want to run home and try to capture these moments at her easel.

“I don’t remember ever not making art. It’s like breathing for me. There have been times in my life when I didn’t make a lot of art—at least not every day. Those times, even if they were happy, contained a longing, and sometimes sadness. It felt like I was holding my breath. Fortunately, even during these periods, my art always managed to seep into my life, via creating Halloween costumes for my sons, drawing visuals for my work as a teacher, or just making really elaborately decorated birthday cakes.”

When her children were young and doing homework at the table, Peggy reflected on rummaging through their recycling bin for inspiration. “I decided to glue scraps to a board, and eventually paint on top of that. I found this was a way I could create short snippets of time in between other tasks. When time allowed, I still painted my more traditional paintings.”

Peggy has always painted in a somewhat realistic, representational manner, but five years ago, she sustained a concussion that seemed to worsen over time, saying, “Everything became difficult, even simple tasks. When I tried to paint in my traditional style, it was too confusing. Out of frustration, I once again began fishing in my recycle bin, gluing scraps to a canvas, and then painting it. Working shape by shape, in a methodical way, made sense to my brain and became very therapeutic for me.” She continues to deal with post-concussion syndrome but has healed enough to once again paint in her former style. She now prefers creating 3D paintings made with scraps she finds.

Peggy is inspired by artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Amedeo Modigliani, and Mary Azarian. When not painting at her dining room table, she knows many Irish songs and sings and plays guitar with her dog, Rufus, each evening. Peggy says he seems to prefer sea shanties.