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Students showcase animal art at Parkside

The Eagles Nest is on throughout the month of January

The collected works of 40 young artists are coming to roost at Parkside Gallery this month as part of the Eagles Nest exhibit.

The multimedia show includes sketch, watercolour, acrylic and ink works created last semester by Peter Skene Ogden Secondary students in grades 8-12. PSO art teacher Lianne Heales said the students range from first-time to lifelong artists.

The Eagles Nest show, which has no set theme beyond an informal focus on pets and animals, will be hung Jan. 14.

“It’s a sampling of what they’re exposed to over the course of a semester,” she said. “They’ve all had an opportunity to work on something they feel is their speciality piece.”

These specialty pieces include acrylic paintings, 3-D art and 2-D drawings created with felt markers. Student Kayla Taylor, for instance, said while she enjoys playing around with any artistic medium, she specializes in acrylic paints and the use of alcohol markers, a type of permanent marker whose intense colours are perfect for creating realistic images. She enjoys the bright colours that alcohol markers give to her pieces, bringing to life animals and botanical scenes straight from her mind to the page. She has contributed several large sketches to the Eagles Nest that use charcoal and pencils as well as a series of her acrylic paintings. One of her favourites is a painting of a branch of orange blossoms, in which she abandoned her usual realistic style for solid colours with simple outlines.

“I would say nature is my theme. Botanical and animal paintings, I find, are the ones I get my best results from,” Taylor, 17, said, adding she intends to major in art after graduating from high school.

“I’ve always done art since I was young. I find a kind of joy and calmness in doing art. I used to play around with it but then I got serious as I took courses throughout school.”

Heales said Taylor has become a very prolific focused artist over the past three years. She added she is impressed every year not only by the art but the wide range of abilities her students display.

“I would definitely encourage everyone to come out and see the amazing talent from the youth in our community,” Heales said. “We always get a lot of really positive feedback from not only family members but also community members in general. I think that always helps the student’s confidence and confidence is such a key component to being successful in art.”

Taylor, who grew up in 100 Mile House, said it’s exciting to have her art displayed at Parkside Gallery and is looking forward to the public feedback on her work and those of her peers.

“People have got so much more confident in their styles and I love to see that,” Taylor said. “They’re all things that speak to them and I’m happy to see when they’re proud of their art.”



patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net

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Patrick Davies

About the Author: Patrick Davies

An avid lover of theatre, media, and the arts in all its forms, I've enjoyed building my professional reputation in 100 Mile House.
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