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August 17, 2015 | The Vermilion Voice
Lakeland College Alum Paints His Path To Success
Lakeland College Submitted
When Colin Starkevich started Lakeland College’s wildlife and fisheries conservation (WFC) program in the fall of 2008, he had a definite career path in mind. He wanted to be an artist. His artistic journey began in high school in 2006 when his art teacher Dr. Brenda Savella taught him to paint with oils. A year later he won the national Get to Know Your Wild Neighbours art contest. In 2009 he was personally invited by Robert Bateman to attend his weeklong Master Artists Seminar in 2010. Star kevi c h enrolled in the WFC program at the Vermilion campus so he could learn more about wildlife and their habitats because he knew that was the subject he wanted to paint. “The program gave me an opportunity to work with wildlife and see them up close in places most people can’t access.” Af ter g r ad u at i n g fr o m L ake l an d College in 2010, Starkevich transferred his diploma credits to the University of Lethbridge where he completed a bachelor of science in environmental science in 2013. He then moved to the Arctic where he worked for Environment Canada as a wildlife technician in a snow geese breeding colony. Later
he did bird surveys for Nature Alberta. When Starkevich wasn’t working, studying or creating bird mounts (he’s also an avian taxidermist), he was creatingthe artwork that would one day help him achieve a goal he had dreamed about since his days as aLakeland student. During an ornithology class, instructor Chris Olsen encouraged students to visit the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton as it has the largest collection of mounted birds in Canada. While at the museum, Starkevich became inspired by all of the wildlife exhibits featuring paintings and taxidermy and began daydreaming of one day having his own exhibit at the Royal Alberta Museum. He no longer needs to dream. This year more than 60 of Starkevich’s original paintings are on display in the Royal Alberta Museum’s 2,500 sq. f t. feature galler y. The exhibit opened May 16 and can be seen until Sept. 27. For details on the hours of operation, visit www.royalalbertamuseum.ca Glimpses of the Grasslands: The Artistic Vision of Colin Starkevichfeatures work from The Grassland Series that he started creating in 2009 after he visited southern Alberta. “I really connected with the Grasslands
Region and started painting landscapes and wildlife in that setting. It’s the work I’m most passionate about,” explains Starkevich, who also paintsen plein air which is outside surrounded by the landscape he’s depicting. Since the exhibit opened at the Royal Alberta Museum, Starkevich, 25, has received accolades about his artwork from family, friends and strangers. “The feedback has been very positive. I know that I want to keep painting and be the best artist I can be.”
Some of his pieces from Glimpses of the Grasslands will be on display from November until Januaryat CASA (Creating Arts in Southern Alberta)in Lethbridge. That is also the city where the native Edmontonian will be living this fall as he returns to the University of Lethbridge to work on his master’s and “a project that will start the next chapter of The Grassland Series.” To learn more about his work visit www. colinandthegrasslandseries.com or www. colinstarkevich.com.
Chris and Colin. Photo submitted
Wildlife Artist Colin Starkevich Talks About His Passion
Marie Conboy Reporter
At just 25 years of age, wildlife artist Colin Starkevich has achieved what many artists dream about achieving their whole lives but never get - an exhibition at the Royal Alberta Museum! For Colin, being a wildlife artist is his number one priority and he can’t imagine himself doing anything else. Starkevich said he can spend anywhere from 150 to 300 hours on some of his bigger pieces and it can take from 30 hours to over 150 hours on the smaller paintings. “Since I was 16 and I started to paint I realized that this was what I wanted to focus on. “I know it will take a little while to get there but it just seems that every year that passes I am getting more and more success and now this recent exhibition at the Royal Alberta Museum has been a huge step forward. It really is a dream come true for me,” said artist Starkevich. After studying at Lakeland College in Vermilion, Starkevich received a diploma in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. “I felt that by gaining more knowledge about my subject matter and about what I love to paint... that by gaining that knowledge I am able to paint my art work a lot more accurately, and from a biological perspective as well, to paint more realistically. “I felt that Lakeland College helped me a lot. At the same time I knew it would also open up doors for me where I can contribute to the conservation of our natural world.” Starkevich gets his inspiration for some of his paintings when he is out hiking or when he has an encounter with a wild animal in its natural environment. “I just say to myself, wow that’s my painting. I have to paint that and then I kind of get the visual in my mind of what I want my painting to look like. I sketch the visual of my painting then I go out and take about 20 reference photographs of the environment to give me an idea of which colours I want to portray in my painting.” “I am really passionate about the wetlands and that part of the country and that is what I want to keep working on right now. “It takes a lot of discipline. It’s a big part of my life. It’s not always fun and easy; I can get really tired sometimes when I’m
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painting for hours,” said Starkevich. Colin’s intentions are to improve his at the Gallery On Main in Lacombe and Starkevich said he greatly admires artistic practice, while growing his body available for purchase. You can contact wildlife artist Robert Bateman, whom he of work. Colin on his email at c.starkevich@ has met and attended Bateman’s master Starkevich’s work is also on display Hotmail.com artist seminar in 2010 after he was invited by Bateman himself. “It was great to learn from one of the greatest wildlife artists in the world today and that really helped my training so far and hopefully one day I can see myself on that level too.” In this exhibition at the Royal Alberta Museum, Colin depicts his passion for painting the grassland landscape of southern Alberta and its wild inhabitants. Colin wants the artwork to show others some of the beautiful wild places that exist in Alberta. He also hopes to use the work in this series to contribute to conservation projects within the region, while raising awareness of the grasslands. “I am really passionate about the grasslands and I feel really connected to this part of the country.” Rejuvenation, 30 by 36, oil on canvas, 2015. Photos submitted