The Strathmore Library shined the spotlight on Wheatland Society of Arts teacher, and children’s book illustrator for the month of April.
Emmeline Keeling’s love of art was first sparked about 10 years ago after her mother got her a book on how to draw fashion.
“From there I was kind of hooked, and just continued doing art ever since,” Keeling said.
Since then, she’s experimented with various mediums, but her favourite to work with is combining watercolour and coloured pencils.
“It all starts with an idea, I’m really inspired by my life experiences, the people around me, and by nature,” Keeling said. “My inspiration is all over the place, I’ve had ideas come to me in my dreams.”
After Keeling has an idea, she starts to roughly sketch it out, then she builds up the watercolour and will finish the piece with a layer of coloured pencils.
Typically, a piece will take Keeling anywhere from 40 to 80 hours.
Art started out as a hobby for Keeling, but it’s morphed into her career, as she teaches art classes at the Wheatland Society of Arts and illustrates children’s books.
“I’ll do art for art classes, and illustrate the pictures the authors want, but this is my personal art,” Keeling said. “My art skills from doing my own personal work have transferred over to art instructing and children’s book illustrations.”
Keeling prides herself on having a diverse portfolio, highlighting a mix of art styles.
For children’s books, she enjoys pushing shapes and colours to create classic cartoons.
She describes her own personal pieces, as realistic to semi-realistic, with elements of fantasy and nature.
Although Keeling has been making art for nearly a decade, she does struggle with art block, or unexpected challenges, like her cat stepping on a painting she’s working on.
“Things happen, especially with traditional art,” Keeling said. “I’ve had my cat step on my picture before when I’m working on it, and he wrinkles it.”
Overcoming art block has proven to be a bit more challenging, however, Keeling has found different ways to get through it, such as switching to a new piece or stepping away and taking a much needed a break.
“Oftentimes when I’m working on a piece, I don’t like it, and it’s only after stepping back and allowing time to pass that I can truly appreciate my own art,” she said. “Sometimes I need to switch to a different piece if I’m working on a painting for a long time, and take a break, even just going for a walk to clear my head, that can help. Other times art block just takes time to get over.”
Despite the challenges, seeing how happy the authors are after seeing the final book illustrations, makes up for the challenging times.
“The children’s books I illustrate, I’m so proud, just seeing it in stores, and seeing people read it has been truly a delight. I also really love my job working in the art studio, that has been a real peak,” Keeling said.
She added, “I’ve always experienced the joys of art, and how art has made my life so much better, but working in an art studio, it means I get to see other people benefit through art. I get to see kids and their days get better because they get to do art.”
Keeling’s art is currently in The Vault Cultural Collective, the Wheatland Society of Arts, and the Strathmore Library, and she is hoping to expand into Calgary galleries soon.
To see Keeling’s art visit her Instagram or email emmelinekeeling@gmail.com for information on commission pieces.
