Heidi Ferguson
How did you get into this industry?
It was quite literally due to an accident. I was injured and had several months of recovery. Sitting at home and watching the soaps gets a little tiresome so I needed to find something to do that was creative, not too physically tiring and also close to home. I enrolled in a folk art painting class. My instructor was an accomplished artist and encouraged me to try painting in oils on old milk cans. While I found a certain satisfaction in this, it was only the beginning. I then took a transfer with my job and my husband and I moved to Kelowna for a couple of years where I was not able to do much painting. When we moved back to Edmonton, I decided that I needed to find out once and for all if I could really do this. Thinking that I wanted to do landscapes, I looked for an art class and found Hidden Talent Art School in St. Albert. There I learned the Old Masters style of painting and haven’t stopped painting ever since.
Why did you get into this industry?
I have always had an interest in drawing and art. As a child, all of my schoolbooks had some kind of (what my mom called) “doodiling” all over it, but I grew up on a farm and there was no money or time for art courses (even if I could have found one!). I love to go to art shows and exhibitions and study the works of others. I am fascinated by the works of the Old Masters and the fact that they are still so popular and have lasted over the centuries.
Did anyone inspire you or do you have a mentor?
Laura Watmough has been a great inspiration to me. She has pushed me to challenge myself and has given me the confidence to go out there and show my art to the world. Another inspiration is Robert Bateman. He is a great Canadian artist and one of the Masters. I am also a big fan of the art of John Banovich who is another wildlife artist that I would love to meet.
How long have you been doing this?
I had tried various forms of art over the years, but it was only three years ago that I became serious about art. I started with lessons at Hidden Talent Art School and still go there today to paint with my friends; I also paint in my own studio at home.
What do you feel makes you stand out from the rest?
I paint in the style of the Old Masters such as Rembrandt and Da Vinci. First, the design is drawn out and then put on the blank canvas. I then do a complete monochromatic underpainting. This allows me to find any problems in the composition or values before the colour is applied. Sometimes I like the underpainting so much, I don’t want to apply colour and finish it. Once I am satisfied with the underpainting, I would begin applying colour and reworking the entire painting once again. All of the fine details come at the end. It is a longer process, but I feel I end up with more depth to the painting. I am a very careful and precise painter, so you will find fine details in my paintings. The trick for me is to render a detailed painting without making it look like a photo. I still want to keep the “painterly” feel to it.
What have been your challenges if any?
I am my own worst critic, so overcoming that fear of “Is my art good enough, can I do this?” has been a big obstacle for me. It is one thing for family and friends to tell you that your art is good; they have to say that, right? But putting myself and my work out there for everyone to see and comment is a challenge for me. I don’t think that I will ever get over that little bit of self-doubt, but I am getting better at putting it aside. I really got a boost of confidence when my painting Dust Bath was chosen for a People’s Choice award at the St. Albert Painters Guild Art show. Another challenge for me is to find the time in my busy life to paint. I still have a full time job during the day and all of the regular issues of taking care of a family: all of this gets in the way of my painting time. I have a very supportive family and they understand that this is something that I have to do. When I haven’t painted for a while they are the first to tell me that I should get back to the easel. I think I get a little cranky.
What do you feel is your specialty if you have one?
I have tried several different things over the past three years, and each painting has been a learning and growing experience. I feel that I have now found the two things that interest me the most which are wildlife and portraits, so this is where I will be concentrating my efforts.
What is new or cutting edge in your opinion?
Well as I mentioned I use a very old style of painting, but what I do feel is new is the growing interest in the arts in our community. Alberta has some fabulous painters, but now we are seeing more awareness from the general public. The United States has a huge art community and Canada has a long way to go to catch up. I think that the free-for-all art show that the Edmonton Art Gallery had before it was demolished was a great concept, and helped to bring the public out to look at art, which is always a good thing. I would love to see that happen again here in Edmonton.
Anything else you think our readers or we should know about?
An interior designer stated “If you can afford no other decorations, buy one great piece of art that you love and decorate your house around that”. I love that idea and wish more people would look at our local artists’ work and think about how it would look in their home or office. When people see my work, one of the first questions I am always asked is” How long did that take you?” I never keep track of the hours, but I can tell you there are many that go into a painting. My painting is complete when I can look at it and think that I want to hang it on my living room wall.