Bakersville artist Germaine Galjour stands beside some of her creations on display inside the Crossnore Fine Arts Gallery on Thursday, Aug. 12, the night of a reception in her honor. (MNJ photo/Ariana Maniatis)
CROSSNORE — The Crossnore Fine Arts Gallery this past week hosted a special reception for Bakersville artist Germaine Galjour, who showcased her various paintings and creations at the gallery.
The money raised at the event was put toward college tuition for the children in foster care of Crossnore Communities for Children.
Galjour is a self-taught artist who was born in New York City and lived in France for several years.
“I come from a family of artists,” she said. “We grew up in the projects. When my mother wanted to get rid of us, she would give us a dime and say: ‘go to the Metropolitan Museum.’ I grew up looking at all that stuff and my mother was a painter, so that was just something I gravitated towards.”
Galjour found herself in Western North Carolina after living in New Orleans.
“I was in New Orleans when Katrina hit,” Galjour said. “There was a home up here that I could have moved into after it hit, so I moved up here and I didn’t want to go back.”
Galjour, who also enjoys writing and beekeeping, is not limited to one style of painting and says that she simply paints whatever she is feeling and that there are endless possibilities when painting. She added that during the pandemic, she remained in high spirits.
“It didn’t really hit me,” Galjour said. “I entertained myself. I don’t watch TV and I take that stimulus and make it my own. I have a release. Some people don’t have a release.”