CARSTAIRS — The Paint the Barn Red book project has repaid Mountain View County a loan months ahead of schedule as sales of the book continue to go well, says Gwen Day, organizing committee member and contributing artist.
The result of more than two years of work by volunteers, artists and barn owners, the hardcover book features paintings of 49 local barns by 37 regional artists, along with accompanying write-ups detailing the history of each building.
“The committee is excited to announce that the $10,000 loan from the county was repaid before the end of the year, after less than six months,” said Day.
A total of 1,000 copies have been printed.
“The sales have been excellent,” she said. “With only 300 remaining books left to sell, they are now being disseminated to all the county museums and the Legacy Land Trust.
“Each organization will now have the books to sell and keep the full amount (proceeds). The total value that will go into our communities via this project will be nearly $17,000 when all the books are sold.”
Books are available for sale at any area museum or at the Legacy Land Trust office in Olds, located at 4801-49 Ave.
Images in the book can be seen at paintthebarnred.ca.
A former Mountain View County councillor, Gwen Day is one of the 37 artists who contributed paintings for the project.
There is a plan to have a barn art show featuring the book paintings later this year, perhaps this summer, she said.
