An Ontario woman is using her life’s passion to help raise money for P.E.I.’s largest hospital.
Natalie Bohnen-Twiddy, a professional artist, and her husband, Ron, arrived in the province to visit family on Dec. 4 and immediately went into quarantine for two weeks.
After they got out of isolation, they moved into the Sydney Boutique Inn and Suites, at the corner of Weymouth and Sydney streets in Charlottetown.
When Bohnen-Twiddy told Gordon MacPherson, general manager of the inn, that she runs her own art studio in Ontario, he provided her with space to paint.
“It’s a passion, there’s no doubt about it,’’ Bohnen-Twiddy said of painting. “One of the things I wanted to do was acknowledge the very special qualities of Prince Edward Island and how dear it is to us, especially because it is our kids’ home.’’
Bohnen-Twiddy completed five oil paintings and then came up with the idea that she would sell them and donate all of the money to a charity. She started asking people for suggestions.
MacPherson said his favourite charity was the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation. It didn’t hurt that Bohnen-Twiddy’s son is an ER doctor at the hospital. The decision was made.
MacPherson jumped in to help again, offering to have the paintings displayed to the public in the lobby of the inn. The paintings are expected to be on display on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, but Bohnen-Twiddy is hoping they might be available a few days before that. The inn will handle the sales, and all of the proceeds will go to the foundation.
MacPherson said he has gotten to know Bohnen-Twiddy and her husband in previous visits and he has always admired Natalie’s positive attitude. He added that the inn has also hosted many doctors, both locums and long-term physicians, so he quickly developed a deep appreciation for the challenges of ensuring hospitals have the most up-to-date equipment.
MacPherson said the combination of those two factors made helping Bohnen-Twiddy and her art fundraiser an easy decision.
“Every Islander has benefited from the great institution we have,’’ MacPherson said, referring to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. “We all know it takes a lot of capital (costs) to operate. And, every Islander should take the time to step up to the plate and help.’’
Bohnen-Twiddy said the paintings would make great Valentine’s Day gifts. She plans to price the paintings with the hope of raising $7,000.
“The money will be going directly to the hospital for the purchase of equipment that ordinarily wouldn’t be able to be purchased,’’ she said.
Tracey Comeau, chief executive officer with the foundation, said she was thrilled to hear about the fundraiser, pointing out the majority of medical equipment at the hospital is purchased strictly through donation.
“The needs are never ending,’’ Comeau said. “We’re currently in a campaign for retinal detachment surgery equipment, but we are also launching, based on COVID needs really, a campaign for biosafety hoods for the lab.’’
The hospital has one biosafety hood that is being used for COVID-19 testing. That leaves other labs in the hospital, such as the chemistry section, without that piece of protective equipment.
“We are now looking to replace the hood we had, plus add an additional one,’’ Comeau said, adding that the cost of one biosafety hood is $30,000.
Bohnen-Twiddy is glad she’s in a position to help and to be able to do it with a talent that she says, “fuels her engine’’.
Bohnen-Twiddy and her husband were originally supposed to head back to Ontario on Jan. 22 but have extended their stay until Feb. 25 due to the COVID-19 case situation in their province.
“And, because we are loving our time here in Charlottetown. We’ve been exploring the Island.’’
All of the paintings up for sale are Island images.
Asked what it is about P.E.I. that inspired her to paint about it, she talks about the multitude of colours Islandwide and the layout of downtown Charlottetown, from the colours of the buildings to the parks and the architecture.
“In Charlottetown, what you have is such diversity in colour and architecture; in the ways properties are placed on streets … you have this dimension of colours, of yellows and reds and purples and greens and blues and greys. It’s literally a banquet of colour.’’
Comeau said Bohnen-Twiddy has captured it all in her paintings.
“They’ll make great gifts,’’ Comeau said.
