Peering into the eyes of one of the animals in her pet portraits is like looking into the heart of the animal itself. Artist Kourtney Hope has an astonishing ability to create the very being of each one.
“About four years ago, when my son was one, and my husband was working out of town a lot, I began drawing again,” says Hope. “I started with my dog. Then friends started asking. I spent three years just painting pets.”
Although Hope has never taken an in-studio art class, she doesn’t consider herself self-taught.
“I’ve learned from books, and videos, and definitely other artists.”
Always creative, she applies that creativity to everything — cooking, baking, home décor. “I’d see something I thought was cool and think to myself, I could make that.”
Once she discovered pastels, Hope says, she put all her other paints and crafts away, focusing solely on the medium.
Starting with pencils, Hope moved to experimenting with different grades of pastels, but fell in love with chalk pastels. As she began to work on paper, she found a fine-grit paper worked best for her portraits.
“The heavier the grit, the more colour it will hold onto,” she explains. “I use the heavier grit for the wildlife art I do. I feel like it found me, rather than me finding it.”
The effect is mesmerizing. One can see the reflection of light in the eyes of the subject and, looking closely, the reflection of what is around in those eyes. It truly looks like a flash from a camera.
Hope says she has never felt naturally talented, but, if she wanted something bad enough, she learned what it took to create it.
“When I was growing up, my mom had a kit with stencils, paints and glaze,” she says. “I painted every stick of furniture in our house, then moved onto the walls, painting murals. We never had a lot back then, but Mom always made sure I had paints.
“She gave me the creative freedom to explore. That was all the impetus I needed.”
Hope remembers that, when she first started painting, say with acrylics, she’d work hard on a project, complete it, then hate it and throw it away. And wouldn’t go back to painting for months.
“But I just never gave up,” says Hope. “I allowed myself a year of accepting that all my work would be bad. And I learned more in that year about drawing, colour, technique, brushes, all of it, than at any time in my life. I loved it!”
To see for yourself, go to kourtneyhope.ca
