By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Ann Ribbs produces her watercolor works from a vision in her head, not just what she sees with her eyes.

Having painted for more than 40 years, Ribbs, who lives at Brooksby, has continued to paint despite losing much of her vision to macular degeneration in the past year. A recent exhibit of Ribbs’ work, Then & Now, highlighted pieces from before and after the change in her sight and drew accolades from many who live in the community.

“I think her work is equally successful even now,” says Virginia Dodwell, who lives in the community and organized the exhibit. “It’s different, but it’s strong and dynamic and [uses] lots of color.”

Painting through the years
The exhibit at Brooksby displayed nine paintings from “then” and five newer scenes. The older work included portrait, still life, and landscape paintings, mostly in watercolor, that reflected her life in Germany and New England.

Ribbs traveled extensively with her late husband, who was in the Army when they married. The pair lived in various U.S. cities as well as Iran and Germany, where Ribbs was born.

Though Ribbs says she was always interested in painting, she hadn’t tried it until 1966 when her neighbor in Woburn, Mass., suggested Ribbs enroll in one of her art classes. That was the beginning of many years of classes and painting workshops across the world.

When Ribbs’ husband died in 1988, she turned to painting as a sort of therapy.

“When you’re painting, you can’t think of anything else,” she says.

Ribbs’ dedication to her hobby has not been without reward. She has sold many of her paintings and received various awards for her work. Since she moved to Brooksby five years ago, one of her paintings was selected from works of other Erickson artists to appear on General Motors’ Christmas card. Another piece, depicting a Brooksby landscape scene, was chosen to hang at Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center in Northport, Maine.