Cochrane Art Club Artist:Select
Artist's name: Cathy Albrecht
Lindsay Annand Frances Bancroft MJ Batek Anne Bercha Deanna Braun Mary Lou Brooks Donna Christensen Norma Cinq Mars Linda Cranston Annabelle Denson Linda Desmet Brenda Driscoll Marlene Dusdal Dixie Edge Shirley Edge Jillian Gabel Jan Gauthier Doreen Hanna Marlene Hehr Ron Hiebert Iryna Hill Judy Kalas Helen Lemmer Irene Lemmer Shannon Luyendyk Mary McNeil Carol Moore Bob Morris Rose Palen A.J. Pearson Karen Pedersen Maria Phan Darcy Presiloski Lorri Pullman-MacDonald Sheri Robertson Laurie Russell Anne Savannah Colleen Stan Tracy Stinson Karen Tocher Julia Trites Brenda Walsh |
Click on each artist's paintings to enlarge.
Cathy is from Red Deer, Alberta, but has lived in Calgary for the last 25 years. She has been interested in art for as long as she can remember and had considered a career in art after taking a course in commercial art as a teenager. However, life got in the way and she did not get back to painting seriously until she met Calgary artist Arlene Hobbs at an art gallery in Inglewood. Arlene encouraged her to join the Bow West Art Club, and Cathy has been painting ever since.
Her paintings are inspired by her love of the mountains and the big open prairies. She paints these landscapes in water colours and oil. As well as painting fine art, Cathy has illustrated a children’s book, Hedley the Hoglet of Sunbury Farm, by Valerie Walker. Over the years, Cathy has studied with Joan Fedoroshyn, Doug Swinton, Michelle Grant, and Robert E Wood. She joined the Cochrane Art Club in 2013, where she had been mentored by club members and various visiting artists. 
Lindsay Annand is a Canadian acrylic and gouache artist based in the Alberta Foothills. She was born in Calgary and has lived in various towns and cities in Alberta. She has always been inspired by the vast, rugged Canadian landscape, and especially the Rocky Mountains.
Lindsay had the privilege of visiting the McMichael Canadian Art Collection as a young adult and for the first time discovered artists who were able to capture the wild, fleeting beauty of the Canadian wilderness. She was inspired to paint the magnificent landscape they so beautifully represented. Lindsay excelled at art from a young age. Despite enjoying and showing promise in visual arts, she stopped for many years to pursue higher education and a professional career in the sciences. As a young Mom, she once again began exploring painting and with the encouragement of her family continued to grow as an artist. She is an avid outdoorswomen and has spent countless hours in the outdoors enjoying and observing the landscape. The solitude and vastness the Rockies experienced through outdoor pursuits continue to inspire her work. Many of her pieces are based on photographs, sketches and memories from hiking, camping, trail running and back country skiing in Southwest Alberta. Lindsay Annand was awarded the first place finish at the 2022 Leighton Art Centre Paint the Foothills plein air art competition. She continues to paint from her home studio and exhibit her art work. 
MJ is a military veteran who uses art as therapy to help in the healing process from post traumatic stress (PTSD) from military service and domestic violence.
MJ has always loved art. Even while attending the Royal Military College, she was always drawing and painting around campus. Unfortunately, MJ lost art to surviving a life of domestic violence and it was only in 2018 when she decided to bring art back into her life. MJ created a piece for submission to the International Veterans Art Exhibition held as part of the Invictus Games 2018 in Sydney, Australia where she was competing as a member of Team Canada. Her self portrait was chosen to represent Canada and was displayed in the Gallery during the Games and then went on tour with all the other Veteran art pieces across Australia. Since then, MJ has been experimenting with acrylics in an impressionist style using palette knives and brushes with heavy body paint to create texture and depth to her paintings. Her favourite subjects are flowers, wildlife and landscapes (seascapes). She particularly enjoys creating large format art. In addition to painting, MJ holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree and has considerable experience in commercial graphic design including digital illustration, web design and marketing. Her loves are her children, garden and animals. Her paintings are held in private collections in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Newfoundland and she is currently accepting commissions. 
Anne spent her childhood in Banff and Regina before moving to Vancouver, where she finished her education.
She moved to Calgary and then Cochrane raising four children with her husband. Her love of the outdoors and mountains influences her art. She enjoys the challenge of painting a variety of scenery and subjects, she paints in watercolor, oil, ink and acrylic. She signs her work MAB or MABercha. Anne has taken courses with Canadian and international artists: Robert Genn, Donna Jo Massie, Brent Laycock, Robert Kelly, Stephen Quiller and Alvaro Castagnet. Click to set custom HTML
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Mary Lou was born and raised in the Calgary area. She has lived within sight of the Rocky Mountains all her life and it is from them that she draws her inspiration. Her creative works capture the moods and moments of the land, people, and animals that share her world. A grade nine teacher got Mary Lou started with an art course and had her enter the Calgary Stampede Art Show. Her entry took second in the oil category but it wasn’t until she joined the Cochrane Art Club in 1972 that she started to paint on a regular basis. A former member of the A.C.A.C.A. her work was juried into a number of shows. Mary Lou works in oil, watercolour, pastel, acrylic and pen & ink. She finds the light and colour of the Cochrane/Calgary area a challenge to capture on paper and canvas. One must feel a connection with the subject and work to communicate this to the viewer. Mary Lou’s paintings are in private collections in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, England and Ireland.  
Donna was born in Los Angeles California in 1953. She grew up on a farm in the wintering hills near Hussar, Alberta which is approximately 60 miles east of Calgary. She went to school in Hussar to grade nine and then onto high school in Drumheller , and university in Calgary; graduating in 1976 with a BSc and in 1978 with a BEd. Donna worked for the Government of Canada for the past 30 years retiring in January 2011.
Her interest in drawing has been with her from an early age when she drew animals in all her school books as a child. She took lessons in oil painting through a Calgary leisure learning course years ago. After joining the Cochrane Art Club she has explored oil painting further. In 2010 she rediscovered drawing and is now exploring pen and ink as a medium and enjoying the experience.     
Norma, born in Fairview and raised in Grande Prairie Alberta, has resided in Calgary since 1970.
She is a graduate of the Alberta College of Art and enjoys drawing, primarily landscapes in pen and ink, pencil or watercolours. She is been a member of the Cochrane Art Club since 2013. Norma may be reached at norma@casa-sapo.com     
Linda was born in Saskatchewan; however, she grew up in small towns across Alberta.
Linda is a self-taught artist and has always been creative from a young age. Her earlier art began with using water colors, then graduating to oils. Her inspiration for her art comes from living across Canada, from the Northwest Territories; The Lake of the Woods, Ontario; the Shuswap in British Columbia; and the prairies of Saskatchewan. After several years of not painting, she joined the Canmore Art Guild in which she was a member for 10 years. When she discovered acrylics, it was a perfect medium because she’s one of those artists who can’t wait for paint to dry! She discarded her traditional ways of painting and began experimenting with mixed mediums and dabbling in abstract art. Her career began in desktop publishing, working for newspapers and commercial printing shops. After moving to Canmore, she changed her career to finance and has now retired. In 2019 Linda and her spouse moved to Cochrane to be closer to their family. Linda has recently joined the Cochrane Art Club. CraneStoneArt@gmail.com 
VCAnnabelle Denson is a veterinarian from Crossfield who retired to pursue a lifelong love of art and colour. She works in acrylics, pastels and water colours to capture a variety
of local landscapes, wildlife and livestock. Annabelle is still exploring her own style and takes many classes and workshops to advance her technique. After a career in science and medicine, painting offers relaxation and a creative outlet that is a wonderful antidote for stress. Annabelle joined the Cochrane Art Club in 2018 and especially likes the paint weekends at Beaupre Hall. Contact Annabelle on Facebook at AnnabelleDensonArt 
Linda moved from Belgium to Cochrane 2 years ago.
As a youth she enjoyed drawing. About 10 years ago she started painting and felt so happy about working with colors. For Linda everything is about Colour. For Linda, everything is about color! Working mainly with oil, she enjoys painting portraits, animals & nature. Linda says - “Painting is an exciting and continuous learning process and I just love it! "  Life Member
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Although she had an interest in art at an early age growing up in Millet, Alberta, it would not be until she joined the Cochrane Art Club in the mid-seventies that would spur Marlene to paint. She has recently become a life member of CAC, an organization she says provided both inspiration and education. The CAC’s monthly paintouts and professional artist workshops over the years, were invaluable in her development as an artist. As a founding member of the Bragg Creek Artisans, she also learned from Stanford Perrot, noted watercolorist and educator at the Alberta College of Art. Stan was a friend and mentor, pushing her to the watercolor medium. Inspired by her ranching background, in addition to western themes, her subject matter includes florals, landscapes, animals and people in her oil and watercolor paintings. An accurate sketch, followed by the use of color, values, interesting shapes, the effect of light and shadow are used to convey her emotional response to what she sees. She is “always learning” and strives to achieve a painterly quality to her work. Recognition for her work came when the Stockman’s Memorial Foundation Western Art Auction awarded Marlene with the best oil painting in the early 80’s. She has participated in eight Calgary Exhibition and Stampede Western Art Auctions beginning in 1995. A highlight in her career was when her oil painting “Desert Blooms” was accepted into the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. She has won three Cochrane and District Heritage Awards in the past. Her paintings hang in corporate and private collections around the world.     
Life Member
Dixie was born and raised in the Crowsnest Pass, surrounded by her horses and the beauty of the mountains. Dixie has worked in radiology and cardiovascular disciplines since 1980, and resides with her husband and family on a ranch in the magnificent Wildcat Hills west of Cochrane. On the ranch, Dixie divides her time between raising a family, painting and training horses. Inspiration from her mother’s painting laid the foundation and passion for a lifelong bond with art. She is a self taught artist, who strives to capture mountain scenery, the western way of life and is focusing on portraying the working cowboys with oil on canvas, linen and as well as watercolours. She has been a member of the Cochrane Art Club since 1988. In 2000 and 2004 through 2007 Dixie was honoured with the Cochrane Area Heritage Award. Dixie’s paintings can be found in many private and corporate collections and she has participated in the Calgary Stampede Art Auction since 2003. With endless subject matter and inspiration, Dixie will strive to ignite an emotion and the feeling of being there in her pieces.     
Life Member
Shirley and her husband ranch in the scenic foothills west of Cochrane, Alberta. She has been painting landscape, local wild flowers, portraits and western way of life for the last thirty years. Shirley, for the most part considers herself self taught, however she has studied with many notable artists such as Joe Abbrecia, Michael Coleman, and Neil Patterson to name a few. She joined the Cochrane Art Club in 1977. Shirley's collection of more than fifty books by great artists, has allowed her to review, summarize and experiment, leading to the development of her own personal approach and individual style of painting. Over the years Shirley has won several provincial awards as well as a millennium competition which resulted in a commission from the Department of Agriculture. Quote: "If I can portray to the viewer, even a touch of the emotion I felt in selecting the subject matter, I will feel have succeeded."   
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I have always had an interest in art since I was a child.. my inspiration to try it for myself came from a customer in our restaurant who became a dear friend. Emma always had a pencil in hand as she was always creating in her sketchbook. Since I have many grandchildren my goal was to learn enough so I could be the fun grandma's house to go paint.
When we retired we travelled 7 years full time in our motorhome which finally gave me some time to pursue art. I attended a class in the rv park in Arizona only to find out it was the last class of the season. Sitting next to me was an amazing artist Joan Congram from Calgary. She became my mentor as she invited me into her studio in Calgary to paint Thursdays with her friend Sheila. Joan was always changing mediums from scratchboard, coloured pencils on suede board and acrylics and was very patient with me.I took a real personal interest in the coloured pencils because of the horses and dogs in our family. Joan's soft insightful approach to taking me on this art journey will stay in my heart forever. Joan suddenly passed away this past year. There are no words. I have taken some acrylic online classes recently from Bruce Marion in Arizona to get some confidence but that confidence changes every time I start a new project. Originally from Medicine Hat and spent the last 50 years in Kelowna…My dear husband of 52 years and I decided to buy a farm just north of Cochrane with our daughter and beautiful family. We will be making memories watching the girls ride trails and mastering barrel racing. We are currently finishing our cabin on the property. Our son also lives in the area with his wife and family of 4 children very involved with horses and sports ... so grandchildren close by. What a joy and some of them love art…perfect! Our eldest son lives in Charleston South Carolina and his wife…also an artist have 2 amazing children who are world reigning champions and Sheldon has a strong interest in art. Such a lucky grandma. My other hobbies include my sewing machine. I make a lot of creative tote bags, blue jean quilts and repairs. My husband and I love to spend time together in the kitchen preparing for friends and family dinners... I am a new member of the Cochrane Art Club and look forward to being more creative with this group as they support and guide me through my art journey with friendship and lots of fun. I already feel more confident…. 
Now, living in Alberta, Ron was born and raised in ManitobaStarting at a young age, he was exposed to sports, fishing and the great outdoors. He discovered his gift for art in elementary school, but it always took a back seat to other interests; work and family. It wasn’t until 2015, after retiring and moving to Alberta, that his love for art was rekindled.
Ron and his wife moved to Crossfield in December of 2015 to live closer to their grandchildren. He became a member of the Airdrie Art Society, and in 2021, became a member of the Cochrane Art Club. Ron is a self-taught artist working in a realistic style. Utilizing the media of acrylic paints or graphite pencil, his work varies in subject matter from old barns, farm trucks and equipment, to domestic and wild animals. He enjoys the challenge of capturing the essence and personality of the subjects in his work. Some of Ron’s art can be seen on Instagram under “Art by Ron Hiebert”. Quote: Creating art is a gift… I thank God for it every day. 
Iryna Hill was born in Ukraine where she lived most of her life. She immigrated to Canada in 2015. As a young child she demonstrated a natural talent and passion for art which was supported and nurtured by her parents. She attended 5 years of art school there where she formally studied art composition, art history, drawing, sculpture and painting.
She is proficient in oil, acrylic and pastel but her primary passion resides in watercolor. Her work has been exhibited at the Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts (ACUA) in Edmonton, AB where she has also taught watercolor. Iryna creates realist original art which is enjoyed by clients in Canada, the USA and Europe. 
Judy was born in Windsor Ontario but has lived most of her adult life in northern Ontario and Northern BC. She moved to Cochrane and joined the CAC in Aug. 2017 . Judy’s work is mostly in acrylic but she also enjoys pastel, coloured pencil and silk painting . Most of the subjects are nature and wildlife or pet portraits worked in a realistic style. Her art work can be seen in Kamloops Art Gallery or Peace Gallery North. She enjoys learning and sharing with other artists and has been a Federation of Canadian Artists member since 2014.   
Helen Lemmer HELEN WAS BORN AND RAISED A CALGARIAN. LIVING ON AN ACREAGE JUST OUTSIDE THE CITY, SHE WAS EXPOSED TO WILDLIFE HER WHOLE LIFE AND DEVELOPED A PASSION FOR NATURE. HER GRANDMOTHER IRENE ENCOURAGED HER TO PAINT AND EXPLORE HER TALENT.
SHE WORKS PRIMARILY IN ACRYLIC, BUT HAS EXPERIMENTED WITH PENCIL AND WATERCOLOR. SHE MOSTLY PAINTS BIRDS AND OTHER WILD ANIMALS, FOCUSING ON THE FINE DETAILS TO MAKE THEM LIFELIKE. PAINTING ON SLATE OR WOOD IS A SPECIALTY OF HERS, USING THE NATURAL BACKGROUND TO COMPLIMENT HER ANIMALS. 
Life Member
Irene grew up in Denmark and in 1954 she returned to her place of birth - Calgary AB. Irene joined the Cochrane Art Club in 1978. He medium of choice is oil and she paints with a rich pallet of colour. Her subjects vary from landscape, floral and urban street scenes. Catching the light in the painting is of special interest to Irene. 
Mary comes from Quito, Ecuador and now makes her home in Cochrane, Alberta. She was formally educated in both the Legal profession and as an educator teaching art at the high school level. Mary also studied languages, cultural clothing design, history, business administration and accounting.
Coming from a very artistic family, she has been involved with art since she was seven years old. Many of Mary’s family work as commercial artists, painters and gallery owners. Mary first started painting using oils but in recent years migrated to using acrylics. Inspiration for her paintings comes from her love of nature, landscapes and urban designs studied during her many travels around the world. She restarted her painting career a few years ago to take her mind off treatments for cancer. This renewed her passion for creating her art and prompted her to explore the use various mediums and painting styles. Mary can be contacted at: latitudezeroart55@gmail.com 
R. F. (Bob) Morris was born in Stratford, Ontario. He has lived in the northern boreal forest cities of Canada for over 35 years and took non-credit level watercolour painting courses at Keyano College, Fort McMurray. In 2007 Mr. Morris moved to Calgary and lives on the western edge of the city overlooking the Bow Valley with vistas of the Rocky Mountains.
Bob’s northern lights paintings have been exhibited at galleries in Fort. McMurray and his paintings can be found in private collections in England, Germany, South Africa, Japan, United States and in most of the provinces in Canada. Since moving to Calgary Bob is now focusing his watercolour painting on local subject matter such as mountain scenery and the western lifestyle. Bob has been an active member of the Cochrane Art Club since 2009.  
Rose has called the Cochrane area home since 1980, after moving from Manitoba with her husband and daughter. In the mid 90s Rose rekindled her love of art and began classes with Nancy Lynne Hughes. She joined the Cochrane Art Club in 1999 to have more opportunity to learn technique and paint with other artists.
Learning from club members has been enhanced by participating in several workshops with artists such as Neil Patterson, Doug Swinton, Ursula Reynolds, Michelle Austin-Bachmeir, Brent Laycock, Mary Lou Brooks and Linda Thomas. Her medium of choice is acrylic for its ability to produce vivid colours, but she has experimented with watercolour, colour pencils, and even collage. As an amateur photographer, Rose has used the camera lens to capture inspiring “moments in time”, providing excellent subject matter to draw inspiration from, whether it be a vibrant autumn scene or city skyline, curious yearlings set in the prairies, or sunlit pansies growing in her garden.     
AJ Pearson
 Life Member
Life Member
Karen is a self-taught artist living in Carstairs AB. Karen's has a loose interpretive style, that allows her the ability to portray feelings and emotions onto the canvas. Having had the privilege to study with a number of notable Canadian and American artists; she believes that art is a continuous process of study and learning. Whatever the medium her focus remains the same: to achieve a quality of movement, form, and light. Her favorite quote is from Sergit Bongart - "Paint all subjects - Paint your first impression; that first glimpse which excites you" Karen is represented by Leighton Centre Gallery, SW of Calgary To view more of Karen's work go to: www.karenpedersenfineart.com karenpedersenart@gmail.com Click to set custom HTML
Darcy was born in Alberta, Canada and for part of her childhood lived on a farm that was homesteaded by her grandfather. She has always been an artist. Her earliest memory involves drawing a horse. Darcy’s main interest is Western art, featuring animals, wild and otherwise.
The people, animals and land are always changing, so creating a visual record of western life is very important to Darcy. She paints wildlife you don’t usually see and rodeo and ranch images. Her wish is that you enjoy western art for the stories it tells, the feelings it evokes and to understand its roots. She has been involved with the Calgary Stampede Artists’ Studios for many years and is a charter member of the Pure West Art Auction. Darcy is a signature member of the Cowgirl Artists of America. Darcy lives in Calgary with her husband Larry. Contact info: www.darcypresiloski.com dpresiloski@shaw.ca        
Lorri was born in Calgary and has lived in Cochrane for the past twenty years. Lorri studied art at the University of Calgary.
She loves to spend time in the mountains and gets most of her inspiration there. She is fascinated by the mountain's elusive and vibrant light. To try and capture that in paint, she starts with transparent glazes in warm colours and paints layers of cool hues, until the subject matter emerges. Lorri's paintings are realistic but capture a mood as well. Lorri's paintings have been part of the Stampede Showcase Gallery from 2006 to 2010 and she won the Gallery Choice award in 2006. Her work has been published in ATB calendars and Topline Printing Christmas Cards. 
Sheri has always had an interest in the creative world, whether it be playing musical instruments, baking or cake decorating. She decided to try her hand at painting in 2012. Sheri is primarily self taught, although has attended some workshops.
When Sheri is not painting, she is an avid outdoor enthusiast. You can find her hiking, biking, kayaking or snow-shoeing. She finds a lot of her inspiration for her work in nature. She is very thankful that two of the thinks she is most passionate about enrich and compliment each other beautifully. 
Laurie was born in Southern Alberta and grew up in Calgary.
She has always had an interest in creative arts but found her passion for painting, drawing and sculpture in high school, graduating with honors and overall outstanding student in Art award. Work and other responsibilities then became the priority until moving to Canmore. Inspired by the art community and beauty of the mountains she attended an evening oil painting class and participated in her first Art show. Laurie has taken workshops with many talented artists, experimenting with different mediums and techniques. She has spent the most time self studying and finding oil paint as a favorite medium to express the beauty of still life and Alberta landscapes. Laurie is now a resident of Cochrane and recently joined the Cochrane Art Club. 
Karen and her husband live outside of Cochrane where there is a constant source of inspirational beauty, being horses, dogs or wildlife. Most recently after attending various local powwows Karen was stuck by the beauty, culture, history and the story being told by the dancers, and this has become her absolute favorite subject.
Karen is a active member with the Cochrane Art Club and works primarily in colored pencils, graphite and acrylic paint. The preferred favorite being the colored pencil as it works well for helping achieve the level of detail, she strives for to reflect the strength and beauty of her subject matter. 
Julia is a self taught artist who paints in acrylics and watercolours.
She enjoys photography and sculpture as well. She was born and raised in Central Alberta and moved to the Cochrane area in 2017. Julia is an active member of the Cochrane Art Club. She has attended workshops in Canada and the United States and operates a home studio. 
Brenda Walsh grew up on a farm at Madden, Alberta and first became interested in art in high school. As an adult, while residing in Airdrie for many years, Brenda continued initially taking many workshops and lessons from artists whose technique interested her and eventually spent some time in programs at the Alberta College of Art. During this time Brenda was active in the Airdrie Art Guild. Brenda later moved to Canmore where she spent 13 years exploring the rich art community talent and landscape of the Bow Valley while navigating her career in Human Resources. Now retired and living in Cochrane with a new landscape and art community to explore, Brenda has set up her studio in their home and is a current member of the Cochrane Art Club.
Brenda works primarily with acrylic, watercolor and oil and occasionally plays with pastel, and mixed media using her photographs and acrylic. Workshops including a recent painting trip to Italy and plien air painting outings are part of Brenda’s lifestyle. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram or contact me at Brenda Walsh. 403-804-2050 or brendawalsh1959@gmail.com My painting found its way to you, may eyes upon it love it too! 
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Cochrane Art Club
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email: cochraneartclub1959@gmail.com
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