OUTLOOK - An artist with roots in Outlook was commissioned to take on the challenge of painting a mural in one day as part of an Art Walk in Banff celebrating Canada Day.
Sarah Hicks, daughter of Dale and Leslie Hicks, is an artist and adventurer who has successfully combined the two passions on expeditions involving hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, snowshoeing and dogsledding with her artist’s eye capturing the beauty all along the way.
Her love of nature inspires her sketches and paintings so the chance to paint outdoors while creating a nature scene seemed a perfect fit. The organizers in Banff thought so too, after being recommended for the commission by someone familiar with her work.
Amal Alhomsi knew Sarah’s talent and brought her name to the organizers when they were deciding on an artist for the mural. His work with the Town of Banff as well as having started an art magazine in Bow Valley called Oesa put him in a good position to help the town plan for the Art Walk on Canada Day.
Sarah has another connection to Banff. She previously lived in Canmore and started selling her art at the Banff Farmer’s Market three years ago.
The Art Walk consisted of the painting of a mural, a chalk artist and a live stage with local musicians. The mural would be painted for the Whyte Museum, named for artist Peter Whyte, so Sarah was commissioned to re-create one of his paintings of a scene in Banff. “They sent me a few from the archives to pick from,” Sarah explained. “They also allowed me some flexibility in having my own style show through, so I included my linework on the outside of the image.”
Although the painting was completed on July 1, Sarah started preparing long before she picked up a brush. “I had to draft the design to fit the size and timeline I had to work with,” she said. “This is the biggest piece and fastest time I’ve had to work with so I spent a lot of time figuring out logistics, way more than normal.”
She spent time strategizing her paint colors so she would have the correct tones and pre-mixed shades to maximize painting hours. Even with all the planning, she was grateful her parents came to watch her take on the project. “My mom and dad would get last minute supplies for me which was very helpful,” she remarked, “and the event organizers would stop in occasionally to check in and see if I needed anything.”
Waking up on July 1 she knew she had a daunting task ahead of her. “The goal was to finish in a day,” she said. “Felt like a tight timeline to work with but figured I’d give it a shot!
The Art Walk gave people a chance to not only watch artists at work and ask questions, but the unique event also allowed them to see a mural come together start to finish. “Quite a few people would stop to chat or just briefly say something while passing by,” Sarah said. “Some people made an effort to stop by a couple times to see the progress, which was fun.”
Sarah has the satisfaction of having achieved her goal, completing the mural in about eight hours and is hopeful it may lead to more. “It was good to challenge myself with this,” she stated, “but it was also a good opportunity to hopefully help me get other public art commissions in the future by building my professional art resume.”
That resume includes quite the combination of art and adventure, and the next few months are reflective of that. Until the end of summer Sarah can be found bringing her artistic sense to work at a florist shop in Revelstoke. “It’s been fun to make flower arrangements which just feels like another form of art to pair all the different colours and textures together,” she said.
She can also be found at the Revelstoke Farmer’s Market on Saturdays where she is selling her paintings. Later in the fall she will be a bit closer to home when she attends Signatures: Our Best to You Handmade Market in Saskatoon October 27-29, featuring the work of artists, artisans, makers and designers from across the country.
With an eye always to the next adventure she will also be teaching watercolour lessons during a women’s glacier mountaineering course in Banff in early September with the organization “Inspiring Girls Expeditions.” Also in the works is time in France for a climbing trip.
The artist who grew up in Outlook was honored to be part of such a special event on Canada Day, reimagining the work of a Canadian artist and showcasing the nature of one of the country’s prettiest spots. “The past few years I’ve always been away on trips over Canada Day so it was fun to be part of a celebration for the first time in quite a while,” she said. “I think the Art Walk was a great way to support so many local artists and musicians, especially on one of the busiest days of the year for Banff.”
