Showcasing local talent

Andrea Roberts
Times Intern

 

Local artists are being encouraged by HOB’s Hobbies to showcase their artwork on the shop’s walls with a chance of making some money.
HOB’s Hobbies is a unique hobby, game and coffee shop located next to Joyland Theatre in Strathmore. One of the shop’s goals is to hang science fiction and fantasy-themed art on the shop walls. Already there are a number of prints hanging on the walls ready to be sold to the public.
“All pictures are sci-fi or fantasy,” said John Hilton-O’Brien, owner of HOB’s Hobbies.
“The more local they are, the more flexible we will be. If it looks like it belongs here than it probably does.”
Hilton-O’Brien and his wife Natalie want to sell the prints to allow the artist to earn a commission for it, and they hope to eventually sell the prints online too.
A Doctor Who-inspired piece by Tessa Steadman was one of the works recently added to the walls. Steadman, who has been part of the Strathmore community for about a year since moving from Calgary, is actively involved in the shop and the Hope Bridges Society.
She jumped at the opportunity to showcase her work when she was asked if she wanted to hang some prints in the shop. For Steadman, this is a way to get her name out there and get more involved in the art community in Strathmore.
The Doctor Who print is based on a Christmas gift that Steadman painted for her sister-in-law who is a big fan. Despite being an artist since Grade 10, she is still very new to science fiction and fantasy art, but she explained that she loves to challenge herself.
“I try to paint with more emotion,” said Steadman. “Just to feel the piece. So lots of textures and brush strokes, just get right into it. To feel what it is feeling and feel what I am feeling.”
There is also work from Richard Bartrop, a Calgary artist who was nominated for an Aurora in the Best Artist category in 2013; Larry Guterson, also from Calgary, who designed the shop’s logo; and photography by Natalie Hilton-O’Brien.