Library’s April Gallery featuring Emmeline Keeling

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Local art teacher and children’s book illustrator, Emmeline Keeling is the featured artist at the Strathmore Municipal Library for the month of April. 

Though it is her first time displaying in the library, Keeling said she is familiar with having her work up for observation around Strathmore and at the Vault Cultural Collective. 

“I have been wanting to do it for years because my sister works at the library. I have been wanting to do it for two or three years now, but I never quite thought my art was good enough for it,” she said. “It has only just been recently that I have gotten the confidence up to think that my art is worthy of being put in the gallery.”

There are roughly 17 pieces on display in Keeling’s collection this month, consisting of works she completed over the last three years. 

She explained there is a mix of mediums being showcased, from acrylic, to watercolour, to encaustic paintings (pigment is mixed with hot liquid beeswax). 

“My favourite combination is watercolour, and then I like to layer over top with coloured pencil, but I like to experiment with a lot of stuff like encaustic … I do acrylic, (and) I do inks,” she said. “(Art) is ever changing and I always want to push myself to my limits and I am constantly wanting to improve. I think that need to improve in my own personal art just motivates me to keep going.”

Keeling added thus far, she has received a lot of positive feedback from the community regarding her exhibition. As a direct result of her artwork on display, she said she had received a request to illustrate for a children’s book. 

“I started art about 10 years ago and it was me drawing in my room and I kind of started to play around with it … I am primarily self-taught, but I have taken a few classes at the Wheatland Society of Arts, and I have had a few art instructors who really motivated me to keep on going,” she said. “I remember very clearly, my mom bought me a how to draw fashion book that I was obsessed with, and I finished the whole book in about a week. I went through all the tutorials, all the steps … and I was hooked.”

Keeling added she also learned and took inspiration from online content creators who also inspired her to continue improving her art. 

For those who take an interest in art in any medium, Keeling suggested improvement comes with practise and to not give up if a piece does not look immediately amazing.

“No one is good at art when they first start. I was quite bad at it, so just keep practising … if you feel like you are not making any progress, that is usually right before there is a big jump in your skill level.”