“The inspiration came from God,” seventh generation Sault Ste. Marie native Jeanne M. Tubman said to begin her art-filled story. “All I did was hold the brush and watch God do all the work.”
Tubman’s paintings have circulated the world, opening doors to 144 juried art shows and five solo art exhibits in her name: Alberta House Art Gallery of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 2005 and 2007; McCormick Arts Council Gallery of McCormick, South Carolina in 2008; Grand Haven Michigan’s U.S. Coast Guard Festival in 2009; and Master Oil Painters Art Show at Eldon B. Dow Center for the Arts in Midland, Michigan in 2017.
Among numerous awards earned include the "Best Oil Painting Award" at Fall Festival of the Arts, Art Gallery of Algoma in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in 2004; "First Place in Fine Art" at the Pavilion ArtShow in Cheboygan, Michigan in 2010; and "First Place in Fine Arts" at the St. Clair Shores Fine Arts Festival of St. Clair Shores, Michigan in 2010.
Tubman was a member of the International Society of Marine Painters from 2009 through 2016, as well as the United States Coast Guard Artist Program (COGAP) from 2009 through 2018.
She entered the International Guild of Realism, and American Artists Professional League of New York in 2009, finishing up in 2013.
Prior to Tubman's professional art career, she travelled the sci-fi realm to comic-con conventions nationwide as owner of Starflight Enterprises.
“Starflight was a Star Trek and Star Wars business,” Tubman explained. “We manufactured original series, movie series, and Next Generation uniforms.”
All the stars in the night sky seemed to align when Tubman placed a business advertisement in Starlog magazine. Thousands of orders flew in at what seemed to be light speed.
The designer, seamstress remembered Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in Star Trek and its film sequels.
According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Nichols’s portrayal of Uhura on Star Trek was one of the first non-stereotypical roles assigned to an African-American actress. From the late 1970's through the late 1980's, NASA employed Nichelle Nichols to recruit new astronaut candidates, many of which were female and/or of racial minorities.
Nichols very recently passed away of natural causes on Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Tubman painted a portrait of the late American icon before meeting her several years back. She took the painting to a convention, where Nichols happily signed it.
Leaving the sci-fi world for other ventures, herself, Tubman created the following charts for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): "Lake Michigan Northern Lights" NOAA chart in 2008, "Straits of Mackinac Lights" NOAA chart in 2006, and "Lake Superior Lights" NOAA chart in 2007. Each depicted lighthouses in the Great Lakes, published and distributed in 18 by 24-inch prints by Avery Color Studios.
To date, Tubman has completed more than 650 paintings, nine wall murals, and approximately 1,466 Christmas ornaments.
“I've painted on just about everything: canvas, wood, glass, cement walls, clothing, canvas bags, large boulder rocks, large circular saw blades, king-size headboards, birch, bark, leather feathers and maple leaves,” Tubman said. “I used to joke that I would paint on a slow-moving turtle shell if commissioned to do so.”
Tubman obtained all her success wihtout a fine arts degree. She did, however, study art at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) in 1985, and at Sault College in Ontario from 1984 to 1987. She even studied with nationally acclaimed instructor Priscilla Hauser at the Binney and Smith Co. in Detroit, Michigan.
“God gave me a talent for painting that no university could equal,” Tubman said, tracing her heritage all the way back to 1675.
It was the year great-grandfather seven generations back, Louis Denis Sieur De La Ronde, was born. He became a naval commandant and made his way to Madeline Island, Wisconsin, where he helped develop copper mines in the Lake Superior region.
“In 1734, he built a 25-ton sailing ship at Superior’s first shipyard, Point Aux Pins in Sault, Ontario,” Tubman said.
Grandfather C.E. De La Ronde was born a few generations later. He crossed the St. Marys River to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, establishing permanent residency.
For reasons unknown, he changed his surname to Lyons. He was the owner of Lyons Hardware.
“My grandfather also started the Tip Top Paint Company, which was incorporated as the Pinnacle Paint & Wallpaper Co. in 1901,” Tubman said. “This was the first paint manufacturing establishment in the area. My grandfather was also an artist. I have one of his oil paintings depicting voyageurs portaging the St. Marys rapids. I proudly display it in my home gallery.”
Like Grandfather Lyons, Tubman has painted several ships and Coast Guard vessels of her own. The Hempel Paint Company of Denmark even published one on the cover of its 2010 calendar: USCGC Mackinaw (WAGB 83). Hempel published six more oil tanker paintings in its 2017 calendar.
Tubman's Parents, Stanley and Vieno Ahola Lyons, took over Pinnacle in 1945.
“Artistic genes are in my DNA,” said Tubman, whose love for art began at an early age when her mother gave her a Jon Gnagy sketching set to teach the basics.
The Tubman family lived in the house her father had built on Riverside Drive near Sugar Island Ferry launch. This gave the young artist a view she could have only dreamt of.
“I spent hours sketching everything from passing freighters to two ducks on the St. Marys,” Tubman said. “It was years before I actually started painting.”
She married Wilbur “Bill” C. Tubman Junior in 1975. Together, they had two children named Chris and Joni. First came Chris. Her creative inspiration had reemerged.
“While he napped, I painted, eventually moving on to oils and thoroughly enjoying the blending of time and brilliance of colors,” she said.
Then, tragedy struck. The loving wife and mother lost Bill to health conditions in 1987. It was solely up to her to make ends meet in the household. She started spending more time at Pinnacle.
“I taught myself painting and sketching, often with emphasis on northern Michigan scenes,” Tubman said in reference to her free time. “I even taught macrame classes when that craft was popular and in demand.”
Tubman also taught basket weaving, and canvas painting.
But once the artist started Starflight Enterprises, she had to hire a Pinnacle store manager. The goal was to keep Pinnacle open, but the weekly workload soon averaged over 90 hours.
She hired several women from the Sault community looking for part-time work. Tubman traveled all over the country with her Starflight employees and two children.
“I ran Starflight for about eight years,” she said. “There weren’t many hours left in the week to teach art classes, attend craft shows, or earn a bachelor’s degree, but I was determined to fulfill the creative drive within me.”
By 2003, Tubman knew it was time to lock Pinnacle Paint & Wallpaper Co. once and for all. The following year was when her professional art career started to unfold.
United States Coast Guard, Sector Sault commissioned a painting of STA Marquette in 2010. It was Sector Sault’s Tom Sullivan who encouraged Tubman to become a US Coast Guard artist. Tubman said many Marine professionals considered her water vessel paintings detailed and accurate.
“It was Tom’s belief that my artwork would be lauded by people outside of Michigan, and he was right,” said Tubman. “The Salmagundi Club of New York City accepted my painting of the cutter Bertholf into its permanent collection of Coast Guard art. The cutter is named after Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf.”
Other paintings accepted into Salmagundi Club of New York City were “Ice Rescue” and “Operation Taconite.”
Tubman’s art can be found on interior and exterior walls throughout the country. She has been commissioned by the US Coast Guard and various other notable agencies. A few more murals can be found around Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
The Chippewa County Historical Society received a Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) grant in 2006, allowing Tubman to paint a mural of fur trading routes along the Great Lakes region in the early 1700’s to mid-1800’s. The 108-square-foot mural was completed in May of 2006, and is currently displayed at the River of History Museum in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
“If you look long enough you’ll see Bernie Arbic, Tom Robinson, Cecil Marshall, and Paul Sabourin,” Tubman pointed out. “You’ll also see my brother, Dr. Daniel Lyons, as he carries a barrel out to the waiting canoe. My daughter, Joni, can be seen beating a deer hide. My grandchildren, Jonas and Jared, are dressed as Native children. They are watching activities from shore. My son, Chris, is cooking a meal on the right side of the mural.”
A second MCACA grant received by Chippewa County Historical Society allowed Tubman to bring Anishnaabe Natives of the Sault area back to life to ice fish during the cold winter months. It was completed in May of 2007, and can be found at the River of History Museum.
The River of History Museum received a third grant from the MCACA, so that Tubman could paint a mural of French Voyagers encountering Anishnaabe for the first time.
The museum also commissioned Tubman to paint a scenery through a window of the John Johnson home in 2015.
Wildlife scenes of northern Michigan were painted near the entrance of Antlers Restaurant in 2007.
Sault Historic Sites commissioned Tubman to paint a 50 foot wall in 2008, bringing the St. Marys River into the Tower of History. Also in 2008, Quality Inn of Sault Ste. Marie commissioned a rather large painting of the infamous Edmund Fitzgerald.
Sometime after, Dennis Hank commissioned a painting of the Soo Line Railroad crossing the train trestle of the International Bridge entitled “Forget Me Not.”
In commemoration of Sault Ste. Marie’s 350th anniversary, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) of Sault Saint Marie, Michigan commissioned Tubman and a fellow artist named David Ripley to paint an outdoor mural on the west wall of Soo Brewing Company on W. Portage Ave. The 15 by 30 foot painting depicts Father Marquette greeted by Anishnaabe Natives during his first visit to the area. It was completed in 2016.
Another mural commissioned by the DDA and completed that year can be seen along the upper east wall of Islands Books and crafts and Birdseye Outfitters.
Driving south on the Business Spur, you will find Nevell's Meat Market. The market commissioned both Tubman and Ripley to paint outdoor murals on the north and south sides of the building in 2017.
One day, Nigel Lowry of Athens, Greece came across Tubman’s website: Jeannetubman.com
“Lowry is a Lloyd's list of London resident expert on Greek shipping, and author of ‘Onassis and His Legacy’ published by the Onassis Foundation,” she said. “He saw my painting of the oil tanker ‘Tina Onassis’ and bought it, and another painting, ‘T1 Europe.'"
Both were to be part of an international auction held in Athens sponsored by his foundation to raise money for disadvantaged Greek children. The auction was scheduled for 2020, but postponed due to COVID 19.
As the years passed by, Tubman’s health took a hit. Arthritis and joint replacements have prevented her from art instruction, travelling to art shows, and daily painting.
She said she would no longer climb ladders to paint murals. In fact, she has sold all her supplies.
Instead, Tubman’s house has become a full time art studio. Its walls are covered with art. Standing out amongst her many paintings is the "Lion and Lamb."
Area backpack programs mean a lot to Tubman, who turned to God for inspiration when Lincoln Elementary School needed community support in 2019.
“I heard His voice whisper, ‘Paint the lion and lamb,’ she said about the art piece. “This painting has brought me more excitement, passion, and pure joy than I had ever experienced in my entire career as an artist.”
The painting raised over $1,000 in two months for the Lincoln Elementary backpack program.
Just a brief reminder, Chippewa County Project Backpack is set for this Friday, Aug. 12 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at VanCitters Athletic Field. Back to school donations are needed.
As for Tubman, she is content selling to various companies, reading the Bible, serving the Lord, and selling art out of her home gallery.
“God has shown me a new and exciting path in my Christian walk with him,” said Tubman. “I am listening to Him and following what He leads me to do.”
