The Bright Side: Kelso artist driven to paint at age 95

When Joyce Long lived in Lynnwood in the early 1930s, the then-rural landscapes inspired her to paint.

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Now, at age 95, she continues the craft in her North Kelso home, replicating images of older barns she sees on area drives and painting them based on photos taken on her phone.

The creation is more than a hobby, Long said; it's a calling.

"You know, when you like to create, it's almost like you have to," she said.

The accumulated work over the decades was the catalyst for Long's Saturday sale at Catlin Hall in Kelso.

She plans to have up to 30 paintings available, along with a few carvings.

Paintings will be priced at $200 for unframed pieces and $250 for framed.

Joyce Long

Joyce Long, of Kelso, smiles in Catlin Hall on Tuesday, May 12, in Kelso. Long still paints landscapes and other scenes at age 95.

Long first dipped her toe into making artwork by sketching. She moved on to painting, then carving.

In the past, she's carved totem poles that reached 8 feet in height.

Sometimes she used chainsaws.

Once, a friend offered her a felled tree, so they had it transported across a lake to reach Long.

She used the tree to carve a bear, which sits today in the backyard of her and her daughter, Susan Long's, home.

"She needs more space to create more artwork," Susan said.

How to go

What: The sale of original paintings by Joyce Long of Kelso.

When: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Catlin Hall, 106 NW Eighth Ave., Kelso.

Natural creator

Creativity runs in the family.

Joyce's sisters, now passed, also painted. One designed decorative images on furniture; the other was less traditional, she said.

"Growing up in the country, there's not much else to do," Joyce added.

Over the years, she hasn't stuck to one style.

At a previous home, she painted a patio door leading to an ocean view in her kitchen. In this type of painting, known as trompe-l'œil, objects appear so real that they seem three-dimensional.

She spent a short time studying in England with a trompe-l'œil artist she admired, thanks to a connection Susan made.

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But mostly Joyce and her sisters were self-taught, she said.

"We just all worked together, and we enjoyed it," said Joyce.

Today, she still focuses on paintings featuring rural landscapes, horses and those older barns.

When asked why she was drawn to the latter, Joyce said she can relate to the aged structures.

"Their rusticity, I think," she said. "The fact that they are still standing and are old like me."

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 6:34 PM.