A Painting, a Pilot, and a Story That Took Flight

Creativity is boundless, inspired by life and events from the simplest to the most intricate. What anyone sees or feels from the same image is always different. The observer's state of mind often alters the artist's intention. Variations on a theme, I would say.

I am an author, a storyteller, and I get my inspiration from observation, just as a painter would. Different media deliver our interpretation, but it is easy to connect words with images. Each year at the Cline House Gallery in Cornwall, something unusual happens. Paintings begin telling stories, not on canvas, but on paper. 

The annual “Words of Art” exhibition brings together painters and writers from across Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Leeds, and Grenville, an exchange between visual and literary storytelling that has quietly become a favourite local tradition. 

Interested in the opportunity, I toured the exhibition. There were so many canvases to choose from, and many ideas came to mind. In the second gallery, I stopped in front of a small piece called “Aviation” by Monique Van Someren. Monique is an Elizabethtown-Kitley resident with a studio in Brockville. It resonated with me, as a former member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. I signed my name on it, went home, and then started writing my allotted six hundred words. I made it a love story.

Like many artists working along the St. Lawrence corridor between Cornwall and Gananoque, Monique draws inspiration from everyday surroundings and memory. Her creations are whimsical compositions of playful animals from her backyard, and garden scenes featuring butterflies and colourful critters. “Aviation” was different; it was personal to her, as it was to me, a connection to our past. 

From her composition, I linked all the elements to my narrative. The model airplanes she built with her father became the plane my hero would fly, the scarf a gift he would give to a special lady, and the Delft Blue house, the link to the Netherlands. Here is the story that emerged from the small canvas.  

Robbie Connors was twenty years old when he packed a few things and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. In London, England, his grandparents had just been killed in an air raid. He wasn’t going to let it happen to anyone else. It was his fight now. His father had told him that good men needed to stand for what was right. 

Over in England, they were going to teach him how to fight in the air. They nicknamed him “Slick” because of the Brylcreem he put in his jet-black hair. They sewed wings on his uniform and told him he was ready to go. 

At the end of flight training, they had a dance. The nurses came. When she walked in, lively and so pretty, his heart stopped for a second. Looking at her, he felt like he did when he was high above the clouds. She was so beautiful, with her curly brown hair. She laughed, and she danced like seconds were precious, and she didn’t want to waste any of them.

He asked her to dance, and then another airman cut in. He asked her again, and she chose him over all the others who wanted to be her partner.

At the end of the night, he walked her back to her barracks. And they kissed. Soft at first and then deep, as if her soul was in every brush of her lips. He gave her his scarf, the one with the RCAF colours and the tiny blue planes. She promised to cherish it, think of him, and keep him in her prayers. Robbie didn’t want to leave, but neither promises nor dreams made sense anymore.

He flew, and every time the wheels of his aircraft left the ground, he could feel his guardian angel wrapping her wings around him. Again and again, he went out and came back, safe and sound. They said he was an ace, but he knew it was only luck, for a few inches left or right could have sealed a different fate.

When it was all over, he stayed for a while, teaching others to take to the sky. And then he got a job flying for KLM, the Royal Dutch Airlines.

Captain Robbie Connors stood at the door of the cabin and welcomed his passengers. KLM flight 1201 from Amsterdam to New York was boarding now. The business class came first. He made funny comments to Helga, the new stewardess. As the economy class straggled by, Robbie welcomed them in turn. 

When he heard a laugh that brought back memories from so long ago, he looked up. He saw the scarf, little blue aeroplanes, faded from the years. As the woman walked past, he saw her curly brown hair. His eyes followed her as she took her seat. She laughed wholeheartedly, as though every moment mattered.

Captain Robbie made the usual announcement over the public address system and took his passengers over the clouds. Helga came into the cabin to offer the crew refreshments.

“Helga, take a Delft Blue House bottle to the lady in seat 6 B, please.”

“But, sir, those are reserved for the business class passengers.”

“I’ll cover it. Just bring her one. And check if she has a wedding band, but discreetly.”

"Yes, Captain.”

A few minutes later, Helga smiled and said,

“No, Captain, she doesn’t have a wedding ring. But she did ask if you had one.”

“One more thing, Helga… Can you ask her if she would like to visit the cockpit?”

On the “Words of Art” Sunday, twenty authors read their work. All different, all inspired by the artist’s concept, all well received. The stories allowed the patrons to see the work differently, perhaps to feel something unexpected through the connections between sights and sounds. 

I met Monique in her studio at the Arts Hub in Brockville. She had read my short story and liked it. The encouragement I received from all who had heard Robbie and Helen’s story allowed me to dive deeper and turn the short story into a full-length novel, entitled “What the Sky Carries.” 

Next time you visit a gallery along the St. Lawrence, whether in Cornwall, Brockville, Gananoque, or the beautiful Thousand Islands, bring a notebook. You may leave with more than you expected.

By Ginette Guy Mayer

Now retired, Ginette Guy Mayer lives in Cornwall, where she actively volunteers with heritage, history, and genealogical groups. She is a writer of mysteries, romance and biographies.

Editor's Note: Luckily for us, Ginnette Guy Mayer, took the advice from the artist and wrote the novel: "What the Sky Carries, A love lost to the war, a lifetime spent searching the skies."