Local Artist Chosen for CS Western Art Show

Chestermere – We certainly have a lot to be proud of in Chestermere and amongst us is a very talented artist by the name of Ellen Lorne. Ellen has been putting her talent to brush and canvas since she retired some 10 to 12 years ago. Several years ago she went to The Alberta College of Art which was known as SAIT back then. She raised her children and hadn’t touched a paint brush until the kids were on their own and she retired. Ellen is a member of the Chestermere Art Guild and the Federation of Canadian Artists and through these organizations she heard of a contest, per se, to submit a painting commemorating the 100th year of the Calgary Stampede. The Glenbow Museum in Calgary had several black and white photos on their website and Ellen was inspired to paint a couple of scenes from the Calgary Stampede Parade of 1912. All of the colours of the flags, banners, horses and the spectators had to be added in as the photos were black and white. Ellen started painting her pictures in December and submitted them in early January of this year. Out of hundreds of submissions, only 4 were chosen, and 2 of them are Ellen’s. One of her paintings has already been sold on the opening night and the buyer graciously decided to leave it in the gallery so everyone else could see it. The Western Art Show is in Halls D & E at the BMO Centre at the Calgary Stampede Grounds.