The Farmers Market isn’t just Food

Among the tomatoes and peppers at the local farmers market, sits a woman and her 40 year long hobby.

Christmas bulbs, old saws, even end tables, and they’re all original oil paintings by Wendy Talley. She started painting what she calls ‘junk’ when she and her husband owned an antique shop in Tennessee. After he passed away though, she moved her hobby back to Ohio to be with her daughter and the location now inspires her work.

“Well I guess because it was the old country, what I was painting on was old country stuff; like I said, saws and stuff and most people wouldn’t want flowers on a saw,” said Talley. “So I kind of got into the barns and houses and in Tennessee you go out and you’d see a lot of them and even since I’ve come here I’ve seen a lot of good ol’ barns and things I’d like to paint.”

Currently she’s parked at the market at the Muskingum County Fairgrounds, selling her one of a kind pieces. While she’s glad to see people buying her work, it’s about passing time and enjoying the craft. Although honing that craft didn’t come easy.

“It’s just learning,” said Talley. “Everything I learned I learned the hard way ’cause people wouldn’t tell you even if you took a lesson. The teachers wouldn’t really tell you. You had to learn yourself. So that’s why mostly I just pick it up and started painting myself. ”

You can see some of Talley’s original work at the farmer’s market this Saturday.