 Cindy D. Sorley-Keichinger AFC |
I come from a family with strong artistic ability, but I'm the only one who has taken it out of the hobby realm. As a teenager, I resisted my parent’s attempts to have me take art classes because I was not thrilled with what the teachers called art. I would do my own thing at home, with my Father's input as to composition and design, teaching myself as I went. These efforts I entered in junior competitions and often won a placement. While at university, I tried my hand at murals, and learned how to scale things up and down in size, which has since come in handy. I really did not view myself as an artist or painter because I did not think I knew how to use colour. I was frustrated that my pictures would not match what was in my head; so I did not pursue art as a career choice.
I was born in Barrie Ontario, and with a Father in the military, we lived all over Canada, finally coming to rest in Cold Lake Alberta. I went to the University of Alberta where I took pre-med, and followed this with training in Medical Laboratory Technology at Nait. I met my husband while at University and in 1981 we married and started farming in Kitscoty, Alberta.
After my marriage, my husband encouraged me to take a painting class being offered. I was interested this time because I had since seen work by Robert Bateman. His style was along the lines of what I had always seen in my head, and admired. After being told to mute my colours; what I came up with surprised both my husband and myself, and I have continued, with my husband's support, ever since.
My training in the Medical and scientific realm is not your typical start to artistic training. As a result, I have not been formally trained in art; so, pretty much self taught. To flesh this out, I have since taken workshops with the masters of Wildlife Art; John Seerey-Lester, Carl Brenders, Allan Hunt, Robert Bateman, and Daniel Smith. All of whom are both great painters and great teachers.
Since childhood, I have had a deep interest in all things natural and wild. I was lucky to have parents who encouraged exploring areas of nature, and were firm believers in knowing the plants and animals around us. So, this meant lots of reference books on what was what, to answer my endless questions. Naturally this led to my favourite painting subjects being wildlife and nature. I also like to challenge myself with other areas that feed into that interest, such as landscapes and botanicals/still-life. Since having my children, I have also done figures. I work in several mediums, the main ones being acrylic, gouache (opaque watercolour) and oil. The particular sort of look I am after in a piece will determine which I will use. I like working in oil, acrylic and gouache, because they have the strong colors I prefer to use.
My work has been in shows in New York, Ottawa, Lloydminster, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver; as well as being in a yearlong Cross Canada show with Canadian Wildlife Habitat. I was also the artist in residence in February 1999 for the Barr Colony Cultural Heritage Center and "Education through Art Society". I am a Founding member and Past President of the artist group “Midwest Canadian Artists”, and Chairperson for the Juried Fine Art show for the “Arts Without Borders” Art Festival in Lloydminster AB/SK, of which I am also a founding member. My work is in collections across Canada, and Overseas.
I have now been painting seriously for about 20 years; fitting it around my four Kids, (the youngest of whom is autistic), and our farm.
Exhibitions:
Arts Without Borders Fine Art (2010)
Arts Without Borders Juried Fine Art Show (Lloydminster AB/SK) 2009, 2008, 2007
Calgary Stampede Western Showcase (2006, 2005, 2004)
Federation of Canadian Artists (Vancouver, BC) Water media Show (2001)
Federation of Canadian Artists Show (Now “Society of Western Canadian Artists” of Edmonton)
Hudson Valley New York Wildlife Art Show (1998)
Salmagundi Club New York International Show (1997, 1998)
Canadian Wildlife Habitat Art Show (1993 through to 2000)
Canadian Wildlife Habitat Cross Country Show (1993)
ACACA Art Show (1992, 1993, 1994)
Awards & Honours:
Best in Show for the Arts Without Borders Fine Art Show as well as 2nd and 3rd for animal/wildlife category.
Canadian Brushstrokes Online Art Magazine - Landscape Competition Finalist (2009)
Arts Without Borders Juried Show - 2nd Place Still life, Honourable Mention Wildlife (2008)
Arts Without Borders Juried Show - 1st Place Still life (2007)
Rose Zivot SFCA Award (2001)
People's Choice Award (1993)
ACACA Award of Merit (1992)
Cindy can be contacted through her email: goldfarm@telusplanet.net
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Cindy Sorley-Keichinger AFC "Golden K Studio"
Box 382, Kitscoty, AB. Canada T0B 2P0
Home 780-847-2294 Fax 780-847-2809
E-mail: goldfarm@telusplanet.net Website: http://www.goldenkstudio.com
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