A love affair with Canadian landscapes

Barrhead Art Club’s artist of the month for April is Hilde Keller. German-born Keller began her artistic life 14 years ago after being entranced by Canada’s rich and varied landscapes.

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Hilde Keller, an office worker in Germany, skilled in economics, finance and mathematics. It is hard to reconcile that woman with the Hilde Keller now living on a farm south of Sangudo.

Canada’s version of Keller is someone inspired by expansive, ever changing skies, brilliant colours of the seasons, trees, mountains, waterfalls and prairies.

So inspired that 14 years ago she picked up a paintbrush and began articulating her emotions on canvas.

It was a liberating experience. Art beckoned her down a path illuminated by blessings and opportunities – workshops, classes, shows, painting sales and a prestigious award. Of perhaps even greater importance, she found the company of other artists exhilarating; they encouraged her to keep exploring and nurturing a talent that had lain dormant for so long.

Sitting at Barrhead Art Gallery last Thursday, Keller smiled as she recalled her two lives.

When she and her husband moved to rural Alberta from Germany in 1974, it was in pursuit of a different lifestyle. Keller was then in her mid-20s.

“We wanted a simpler life, and we found it,” she said.

Although life on a farm proved very demanding, it deepened her understanding of the weather, land and seasons.

Her greater sensitivity to nature made her days richer and more beautiful.

“I fell in love with the openness of the landscape all around me,” she said.

It was thanks to a neighbour, Diana Krah, that Keller’s love found expression in art.

Krah, also from Germany, started a painting workshop in Keller’s kitchen. The pair were joined by two other neighbours, Sharon Vanderwolf and Marion Coats.

That was 14 years ago. Today Keller, Krah and Vanderwolf still meet every Wednesday evening to paint, and sometimes enjoy a glass of wine. Unfortunately, Coats can no longer attend the workshops as she has moved to Spruce Grove.

“When we paint we concentrate very hard and the kitchen is quiet,” said Keller. “We each have a different style. We help each other out and critique each other’s work. It is just wonderful to have such good friends.”

Determined to pursue her newfound passion, and endlessly encouraged by friends, Keller enrolled in many workshops and classes at the University of Alberta and Red Deer College.

She also joined art clubs in Barrhead and Sangudo and the Society of Western Canadian Artists (SWCA), discovering an uplifting environment.

“I have met so many beautiful people,” she said. “I would say 99 per cent of artists are very giving. If I need help, they will give their opinion – not in a way to put you down, but to be supportive.”

Keller’s artistic focus has always been landscapes and her preferred medium is acrylics.

It is a combination that has served her well, winning her a Juror’s Choice Award at last year’s Alberta Community Art Clubs Association (ACACA) show in Barrhead. Her winning painting, “Through The Trees”, was based on a photograph she took of the Rocky Mountains.

Recognition has also come in the form of sales.

“I have sold quite a few paintings,” she said. “Last year I did pretty well. I hope 2014 will be as good.”

One thing is certain: 2014 will be very busy. Keller’s scheduled showings include: May – Mother’s Day luncheon, Golden Club, Sangudo; June – George Pegg Gardens, near Glenevis; July – Art Walk, Edmonton; August – Multicultural Centre, Stony Plain; September – Vancouver Island; and November – Miseriocrdia Hospital, Edmonton.

“If someone buys one of my paintings it makes me feel so good,” she said. “Not because of the money, but because I am making somebody happy.”

Art, said Keller, is also good for her health.

“My blood pressure goes down when I become lost in a painting,” she said. “It is such a beautiful hobby.

“Of course, there are times when I become very frustrated, and sometimes a painting will go in the fire, but mostly it has been a wonderful experience.”

As she continues her exploration of art, Keller hopes to show in bigger galleries and take her paintbrushes to Europe.

Her life continues to be full of blessings and opportunities.